I can't believe it. My 2003 model Navigator with 45,000 miles has corrosion on all 4 doors and the tail gate at the bottom edge viewed from the inside. The corrosion is just where the outer skin is folded over onto the inner skin. I can see bubbling under the paint. Is this likely to be covered by the warranty or am I am going to get the answer that it has to be perforation to be eligible. This is really disappointing on a car of this value.

 

You might get lucky, but the rust warranty only covers rust perforation.

 

Common problem on the Expeditions too. My Y2K Expe has rust on all 4 door bottoms. It really sucks b/c the paint and truck overall are in great shape, but the rust is like a small cancerous cell. I know its only a matter of time until the rust starts bubbling through the outside door.

From what I've read Ford won't fix the rust as Triton_2002 said. You may have an advantage if you take yours to a Lincoln dealer and really raise h*ll about how much those things cost and they can't even make it a few years without rusting out.

I still think a 4 year old $40,000 Xpe EB shouldn't rust like that, but that's just my $0.02.

 

I thought Ford had a problem with moisture in the sealer that covers the seams at the bottom of the door. This may have been in the 2000 year or so. Do a search and complain to Ford I know there was a TSB on how the rust sould be handled but again it may have benn early 2000's

 

Scholzee might be right, but remember a TSB merely tells the dealer how to repair it. You still foot the bill and have a vehicle that has already had rust damage!

 

Thanks for the input I am taking to the Lincoln dealer on Wednesday and see what I can get done. One thing I did notice is that there is no sealant along the seams, unlike most other cars I have owned. The finish is just paint. I wonder if they missed this in the factory or all all ford trucks finished this way.

 

Keep Us Posted and let us know what the Lincoln dealer says about your Gator.

 

I got lucky with my '98 XLT. Just before the 5-year rust warranty ran out, I had it at the dealer for another issue and their body shop manager called me and told me they could fix it for free under the warranty. They cut open the seam, cleaned it out, sealed it, and painted it. All of the doors, except one, still look good today, three years later. I'm going to have a body shop take care of touching-up the door that's going bad. I was told that the best thing you can do for that area of the door is to keep it waxed and to keep it as dry as you can.

 

I've had a similar problem at 3yrs out on my 2000 Nav---I was really upset--paid all that money and it's rusting out---I think there was a TSB somewhere but I think it was a tool or procedure on how to open up that seal area to clean it up---well I didn't do that but here's what I did. I used a engine degreaser compressed air tool--Harbor Freight---and attached a copper tube to it long as the door is wide. Pinched off the end and drilled holes in it--to act as a sprayer---then I drilled about 3/8in holes in the back edge of each door (like Zeebart used to do) and I sprayed three things in---first I used a product called Rust Mort to convert the existing rust (similar to Naval Jelly-just liquid)---(do this in the street not on your cement driveway!)---then sprayed in water the next day or so to rinse any unreacted product out. Let it dry a week or so---then I sprayed in a product called LPS Rust inhibitor (can be found on the internet). Do this in the summer time and let it dry at least a week before driving at highway speeds or the stuff climbs up the inside of the door to the glass due to air moving at highway speeds. The LPS sprays well and cures to a waxy corrosion resistant film---I did this a yr ago and the corrosion seems to have stopped.

As you can tell this is tedious to do but I figured it was worth the effort. I hope to keep this truck a long time and I hate doing body work.

I will be doing a similar process to my other vehicles. Of course a better solution is to take the door upholstry off and spray rust proofing materials in directly---I just didn't want to go through that---so I drilled holes and bought plugs at the local hardware store.

Hope this helps someone.

 

What model year is the start of this design flaw