mhamric- I feel your pain on the warranty. Funny how Ford tells you the warranty starts whenever they want. Next time they'll tell you the rust warranty starts when the iron ore was orignally mined, not after its processed and made into a car!

Also, why wouldn't you expect rust in 3 years? Just because the shoddy piles of horse dung the big 3 turned out in the 1960's and 1970's would usually wait about 5 years before they started rusting, why would we expect more expensive, better engineered, computer quality controlled vehicles not to turn to metal dust? Wait I have it...my hat is off to you Ford! Great strategy! You make better, smoother, more efficient, more powerful longer lasting motors, but how do you get these schmucks coming back?? AHHHHH, Yes have the body deteriorate! That way the customer can't b(*&ch about being stranded on the road, because everything rusts right? And the truck always ran good! Correct Watson! They won't realize they just invested $45,000 for a future return of...rust!

I personally think both my lower control arms rusting out was going a bit far, having a vital piece of my suspension rust off, but Hey they gotta make their $$!!! Can't make stuff too good you know!

Brilliant I tell you! Just Brilliant!

 

mcn420 if it wasn't for the epa and emissions laws here in Ohio I would sell my newer $40k vehicle for 2 $1000 rusted full size 70s trucks and tune the motors and drive the hell out of them with no $400 a month payment and rusty doors. At least the rusty 70s model would be paid for LOL

 

I have a 2003 F-150 Supercrew that has been "babied" all its life. We use it like a car with a bed. It, too has heavy rust at the bottom of all 4 doors. We live in Maryland with some snow but not much. This is a second vehicle for me so it doesn't get driven in the snow/salt. I told my dealer about this problem since about 20K miles. They said there's nothing they could do. Now it is extremely bad (the truck now has 50K miles) and I've contacted Ford to see what they are going to do about it. There is nothing I did as a consumer to cause this issue nor is there anything I could have done to prevent it (other than to keep it in a garage and never drive it). This is 100% Ford's fault. This is a design flaw that I'm stuck with.

Removed references to class-action lawsuits. -Beast12

 

I pressure wash the inside bottom of the doors to get the salt and gunk out of the drains. Seen many types rust from clogs. This truck came from desert and started to show changes almost immediately. You would not believe the amount of sand and debris I washed out of it the first time. The drains were almost completely clogged when I noticed and started cleaning.

 

Well all you can really do do for the rusty doors is repair them. But it can be prevented by using Crown rust proofing or something comparable. For those of us that live in winter and salt conditions this is a must.

 

mine was starting to do this same thing, so i took my grinder to the whole seam on all four doors making it almost flat and smooth, even though only one door did start to rust, then i rhino lined the whole door seam around the drain holes and up about a foot of the door jam.....did this procedure on the tailgate as well, so far so good and it now saves me from waxing the jam in the spring/summer months.....looks rugged, only time will tell if this will hold up or not....

 

Yeah... I got all the same rust on my 98 that you guys speak off. In fact I had the post for the tailgate rust COMPLETLEY off. No rust showing on the outside though, so I'm OK so far. I've done 1 exhaust manifold with the typical broken studs and rusted down manifold- pipe studs. The other side looks like it is held together by pencil lead, I think rust IS the only thing that keeps it together (LOL).It's kinda'hard for me to blame Ford, there isn't one thing outside that doesn't have sheets of white goo and salt dust on it. You're more likely to slide thru an intersection due to loose salt pellets than actual ice or snow. Minnesota LOVES it salt. I read that Indiana uses beet juice, any of you Hoosiers know about that?

Spotty

 

My 01 is Deep Wedgewood Blue and I 've had it for just over a month now and I did notice that all 4 of the doors have a little rust starting on them. So today after I washed it all down, I got out my POR 15 and painted the inside bottom of the doors with it. This stuff works excellent, and I'm confident that this is where my rust ends. I used this on my 96 frame and I never had any rust issues. I also started using it on the body underside in a few spots already.
Rich
PS I still love my truck and would not drive anything else

 

It is never a good thing to see rust forming on a vehicle, especially some that are not that old such as the trucks that are being mentioned here. How ever that being said, most vehicles of all makes and models are rusting from the inside-out now. I work in autobody and have now for 21 years, and I see vehicles that for instance need a new door skin due to a collision, and the door shell has minor surface rust. Vehicles that that are almost new. I see it every day and I can't believe it. But this happens to all makes, not just Ford. Since I live in the Northeast, rust in body seams are common. Doing things like spraying a petrolium-based rust inhibiter in drain holes and into body seams along the lower portions of a vehicle, or even using a water-dispersant oil (WD-40) should drastically slow down rust formation. This also goes for behind chrome bumpers, rust often forms there too.

 

Not where I'm at. I live in So. Indiana just north of Louisville. It's all salt here... and they sure put enough on it. Originially from backwoods kentucky and used to roads not getting salt. Just being cleared off with the local tractor whenever you get snow/ice...



I just bought a 2003 F-150 SuperCrew last friday. When I saw this post I went and looked at my truck and sure enough, I've got a little bit of surface rust around where the outer door skin meets the inner door skin just above the drain area. Is this where everyone else is seeing rust? What should I do to stop it. I like the sounds of the POR15, anyone have pictures of that?

 

http://www.por15.com/prodinfo.asp?grp=1&dept=1

 

I am glad to see this post. I have a 2000 F-150 rusting badly underneath the driver side door, front bumber, tailgate & bed area. This started when the truck was about three years old. We had it fixed when it was five years old but the fix did not stop the rust. The bottom rear of my bed, the area that closes against the tailgate, has holes. The rear underneath of the bed is rusting so badly that it is hooving the spray on bedliner.

I don't believe it is a regional thing. Yeah, we have salt on our roads in WV but the company trucks I am around, (95/96 F-250s) are in better shape body wise than the 2001 F-250/2000 F-150 I have owned and currently own. I take care of my trucks. I kept both of these trucks washed/waxed frequently. They are mostly used on paved roads too. I work for a pipeline construction company and the majority of their vehicles stay offroad. I can't uderstand why their older trucks that stay primarly offraod look better than mine.

 

I just bought a quart of Rust Bullit. Waiting for spring. the rear passenger door is rusting at the seam.

 

Just a reminder guys from the Guidelines (www.ford-trucks.com/guidelines.html)

8. Legal Actions .

* You may not use this site to discuss or organize any legal action including, but not limited to, class-actions. FTE does not give legal advice or host legal discussion. If you have any legal questions or concerns, please consult your attorney.

Thanks.

-Matt

P.S. People that drive on salty roads are going to have rust on their vehicles. If you don't want rust move to Florida.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/full...p?tsb=04-18-11