Rust inside the car, is this normal?
 

So i have rust inside the expedition, this is a 2011 model, made 12/2010, but recently purchased 12/2011. IMAG0480.jpg picture by ufokillerz - Photobucket is this normal?

Looks like every car I've seen. It's normal.

Normal. Mine is a 2011 built 5/11 purchased in 6/11. Looks just like yours. Looked under my '96 Suburban and there is some there too but not as much as it doesn't have the same cross plate visible but it is on the Steering column and some other brackets.

I would bet you wouldn't see this on a Mercedes, Lexus or Porsche. I think for the price that we pay for these vehicles there is margin to throw some paint at things under the dash.

But what do you do...

thanks for confirming, this is my first american car, my previous cars were a mercedes and a bmw, but with this economy, i decided to keep money in the bank and go with something big and comfy, and economical. was very surprised to see the rust

Where are you located?

new york city area, expedition came from a dealer in long island.

Yea, then I would say normal

doesn't matter where you get the vehicle from. it's simple surface rust from untreated/covered metal

the dash underparts will never see water other than moisture in the air. So they'll never rust out. The rust you are seeing is actually a protective layer. It will never get any worse as the current layer prevents further oxidation

hate to break your bubbles guys, but you'll find this on every single vehicle, Foreign or Domestic. The High End imports usually have more flashing/plastic that hides this, but it's there. No point painting something that doesn't need it

Thanks Tylus, i'm just wondering, is rust in the underside of the body, axle and other solid metal pieces normal? i have a crazy amount of that under the car as well.

rust on the frame and axles and other solid chunks of metal is normal

if you live in the south, I wouldn't worry about it.

if you live up north, especially in Salt country, I would look at a product like Por15 or some other undercoat and cover the exposed metal. Short term the undercarriage will be fine, but multiple winters with salt will wear away the metal and in extreme case eat through it.

if you undercoat, make sure to avoid leaving pockets that water could get trapped into...ie: between body panels, in the pinch welds. if water gets trapped in there, it will accelerate the rust issue

I concur with Tylus on the Por15. Use the 3 step system and follow the directions. It's really quite amazing. The prep is not bad at all. Just be careful with the paint, it's the stickiest paint I have ever seen and is hard to get off if you spill.

i will definitely look into the por 15, but not sure if i can apply it before the snow hits this season, the weather is definitely not the warmest, and if por 15 is anything like paint, chances are it will never completely dry in this weather either.

If you can get it into the garage, let the area dry, you can apply the whole process in a few hours. Leave it in the garage-heated I hope-for a day you should be good.

expedition definitely doesnt fit into my garage, the garages in the new york city region were built rather small.

Well then you can wait until summer. One more season won't make much difference.