Accident damage, but worse... My Swift is rusting away!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Took the Swift to MSS, Guindy, today to put in train the repairs (it'll be a new front wing, bumper, front light unit) and also the 3-yr service which was due anyway.

I pointed out, as an extended-warranty matter, rusting to the tailgate hinge (replaced for the same last year) and to the windscreen wiper arms, and discolouration of the emblems.

Whilst poking around, the Maruti guy also came across a couple of other rust spots, but far, far worse, he discovered a major body part completely corroded away. I was philosophical about the accident damage; I'd have shrugged my shoulders and coughed up the money, but this... this is nasty. It is nasty because I suspect that that cross-beam (?) is very important for the strength of the car, and it is nasty because this is a potentially very expensive repair.

I used to be proud of owning the only Swift that didn't rattle: now I find the whole damned thing is falling apart. Worrying; very worrying.

Status: being referred to Maruti by MSS. They tell us they will will get a reply by tomorrow afternoon and will call us by 3.00pm.

[nirmaljusdoit]

Thad - thats a horrifying sight

Btw. which model is your swift & how much has it run ? The rust is in a portion that one wouldn't generally notice.

PS : I have a 2006 model & its run 43 K, am going to check it out properly tonight !!

[SinghBHP]

This is is really a SAD SIGHT, watching your baby rust is horrifying. I am not aware how old your model is but such sights are visibly only in "Restoration" threads of old dying models.

[Mr_Bean]

Ouch that seems like serious rusting

Where did you get your car washed all these years, Did you anytime allow water to be sprayed on the engine bay? Did the acid from the battery spill over due to impact?

Rust is like a cancer, You need to get the engine completely removed to view the extent of the damage.
\
Check my thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...k-shape-2.html (My rusted esteem - bringing it back to shape)

I spent around 30k on repairing my rusted car.

[Thad E Ginathom]

It is 2007, vdi, driven about 15,500km.

I'm ashamed to say that I don't look under the bonnet much in these days of cars that use little oil and water , although the wash/wipe needs filling up about every three months. I didn't have a clue about this until today. Yes; I am very shocked. Didn't think to say that the entire car body, especially underneath, must be checked out too, but we will tell them that.

If it is any comfort, the MSS manager told me had never seen anything like this before.

<crossposted>

Where did you get your car washed all these years, Did you anytime allow water to be sprayed on the engine bay? Did the acid from the battery spill over due to impact?

To be honest, I do not wash it very often <Blush>. I sometimes pressure wash, sometimes just hose down. I never clean inside the engine compartment. Even pressure washing is not really going to do much that a major monsoon downpour would not.

This is above and behind the battery, and the worst collision shock the car has had was only two days ago, so no time for acid to have that much effect


.

[ported_head]

Thad, this is just under the windscreen cowl, isn't it? Below the vented area under the windscreen wipers?

It's a metal shroud (possibly heat shield). Due to the very nature of it's location, water from windscreen washer use and rain otherwise collects there and makes it susceptible to corrosion.

As far as I remember, it's held down by 4 fasteners, and is replaceable. Don't panic, take off the windscreen cowl and inspect.

[Blue Thunder]

Horrifying sight...this clearly indicates that the surface treatment was not done properly prior to the painting process (hope this is a rare exception).

The MSS manager is right...this is not something usually seen in 3-yr old Maruti cars.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by ported_head

Thad, this is just under the windscreen cowl, isn't it? Below the vented area under the windscreen wipers?

It's a metal shroud (possibly heat shield). Due to the very nature of it's location, water from windscreen washer use and rain otherwise collects there and makes it susceptible to corrosion.

As far as I remember, it's held down by 4 fasteners, and is replaceable. Don't panic, take off the windscreen cowl and inspect.

The car is at MSS now. Whilst your description seems right, the MSS guys thought it was much more serious. Like 20,000+labour-serious

[ported_head]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Like 20,000+labour-serious

Business must be slow, don't let them pull a fast one on you.

Insist on checking it out yourself before they claim to carry out any work on it.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'm fighting for a full warranty repair.

This is just not right for a 3-yr old car anywhere in the world.

[ElantraGT]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The car is at MSS now. Whilst your description seems right, the MSS guys thought it was much more serious. Like 20,000+labour-serious

Thad Sir, this is really bad. Sorry to see your car at this state. I think the labour charges quoted is very high. Which MASS is handling this issue? ABT Guindy or Maruthi Service masters Ekattuthangal?

[supremeBaleno]

God, this is awful. Especially for a car that is just 3 years old.

Originally Posted by ported_head

Due to the very nature of it's location, water from windscreen washer use and rain otherwise collects there and makes it susceptible to corrosion.

Me thinks the same too. Water, twigs & dirt etc collect here leading to moisture buildup => rust. We had rusting (even a small 1cm radius hole) at that spot on our SS80. But that was some 15 years of usage later.

[ph03n!x]

Damn! That looks pretty bad. Have you asked them to remove plastic covering the bottom of the windshield (both the pieces) to see how bad it is? And yeah, the whole car needs to be checked - you'll never know what else is rotting like this.

Seems like you're gonna be without a car for a while now :(

[Thad E Ginathom]

This is the Guindy MSS.

The guy (ex Indus, now working for a Hyundai seller) who sold us the car was kind enough to come along with us to help out with the accident damage, claims, etc (a good salesperson ). He's promised me any e-mail addresses in Maruti/Suzuki that I might need --- but the time for fighting spirit will come if they refuse warranty repair. I'm not making any assumptions on that front until we hear from them. Hoping for the best.

Anyway, yes: it would have taken a week to fix the accident damage; now I don't know when I'll get the car back.

[honeybee]

Even if the windshield washer liquid + rainwater collected there, the amount of rusting shown in the photo is extraordinary. Would it be significant the vehicle is in Chennai? The proximity to the sea would definitely make matters worse, IMO. Otherwise on both my cars I haven't seen anything like this before, specially as I have almost forgotten to open the bonnet of my Santro.