Rust in rear under spare tire

[echo man]

HI everyone have 09 xb i have rust around black rubber plugs under rear where spare tire sits you dont have to lift car look under bumper in rear I looked at 3 other xbs same rust around plugs worried because its thin sheetmetal Anyone know if this common or even know they have rust problem IN couple years looks like rot out THANKS

[BLUEMEANIE]

I don't have an xB so I can't say if its common, HATEnFATE should chime in soon, he'll know.

To fix it, you obviously need to find out where the moisture is coming from. Is it a leak draining to the lowest spot on the inside or spray coming up from underneath? Otherwise, all you need to do is sand the rust out and hit it with some epoxy primer (Por15 is great stuff), then an epoxy top coat if you want (not necessary tho). Epoxy primer will not absorb moisture like regular primer so you don't run the risk of it rusting underneath and causing more damage that you won't see until it bubbles the paint. Luckily its in a hidden spot so you don't need to worry about color matching or anything.

[fishing freak]

take it to the dealer,,, its a 09 and depnding on miles, still under warranty.. at least get it on record with toyota... hope this helps

[HATEnFATE]

I would take it to the dealer and def show them. that shouldn't be happening on any 2nd gens this soon.

I would do as Blue suggested(provided the dealer can't/wont do anything) and sand away the rust because it becomes problematic. get a good primer and hit the sanded area and then to take it a step further, spray it down with an undercoating type product that will seal the area and prevent ANY moisture from getting back to that spot.

I can see two reasons this would be happening.....

Spray from the underside of the car. Since that hole plug is a floor drain for the spare tire well, its also the low point on the rear body pan. When it gets wet, thats where the water will sit until it evaproates, If you drive any gravel it is worse because the dust will hold the moisture there longer then anticipated and cause it to rust even faster(my B)

You've got water getting in the spare tire well somehow and it's slowly seeping out of the plug and causing rust to form.


Either way, you've got to get that area cleaned and sealed before it becomes a perforated rust issue, because then, it wont be a cheap fix.

[echo man]

Thanks for your fixes on problem got back from dealer cliamed it was from salt on roads pointed out only rusted around plugs also showed them on xb they had for deliverys same rust Going to fix before gets worse think in 5-7 years will hear alot more when they rot out its thin sheetmetal THANKS AGIAN

[PhatRoyale]

I love this stuff:

http://www.kbs-coatings.com/

Worked wonders on my rust repair job. Depending on how big the problem it, this is a cheap investment if you don't mind getting dirty and doing your own work.