JUGGERNAUT Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Hi everyone, first time poster. Im posting to warn everone about an issue with the late model (2012-2017) Foresters and possibly all Subaru's built on that chassis. The problem is the area under the spare tire is rusting (you have to remove the spare to see it) I have rust and peeling paint and my car was only a month old when i discovered it! As far a i can tell from discussions I've had on another forum, the two rubber plugs in the bottom of the round depression in the trunk (spare tire well) are letting water in. Some cars only have dirt and water stains but some are rusting at a surprising rate. I would venture to guess it is a paint quality issue. A properly painted metal surface should not rust when it comes in contact with water....ever. Here are some pics of my spare tire well. ...keep in mind the car was only a month old when i noticed it. Pull your spares and take a peek and use some silacone,rtv,gasket maker to seal it when you replace it. Hope you have better luck than I did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I wonder if the water could be getting into the car from above, instead of from underneath. It's not unknown for rainwater to leak into the car through the rear door-seal, or through the mounting -holes for the roof-rack. Water can drip down hidden from view behind the roof-liner, and find it's way down into the spare-tire well. Just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUGGERNAUT Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 It might be coming in elsewhere can't rule it out. Some people are finding road gravel, bugs, and some have found the plugs half off or totally dislodged. In my case the part that worries me is the failure of the paint in a very short period of time. I have to assume if any part of the interior was to come in contact with water the same thing will happen. Imagine what the floorboards will look like. Being under carpet its also something that is very hard to monitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Have you talked to the dealer yet? Depending how it's applied sealant could trap chemical/salt laden water and actually promote rust, if it's around the sealing edges of those plugs. Happens all the time when people try to repair rust. Have you looked underneath to see if there's any starting there? i've seen leaky trunk very old subarus and they don't really rust out all that fast - it takes a long time and saturation for them to rust when it's rain water. if there are cases of really bad ones - i'd expect that's accelerated by rust and road water is the source, not rain water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryRI Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Re: "...sealant could trap..." When you say only a month old I assume you bought it new. If so did you get it with any optional undercoating? That being so (new purchase) definitely complain to the dealer. Have you talked to the dealer yet? Depending how it's applied sealant could trap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUGGERNAUT Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Thanks for your feedback grossgary, I had driven it in the rain once maybe twice (car was a month old 1700 miles when I first noticed the rust) I dont see any rust on the outside or underneath the car. The edges of the holes in the metal were the plugs go is also rust free. If you look closely at the pictures you can see areas were the paint has a wrinkled appearance. It looks to be separating from the metal or primer in an odd manner. The areas were it is rusting has a different more common look, blistered round bumps with rust erupting out of them. The drivers side only has one small blister and no wrinkled areas. Not sure what to make of it. Had a friend who I used to work with (I've been a mechanic for over 20 years) who specializes in auto body. He said it was bad paint, improper application or both. I have contacted both Subaru and my dealer multiple times. I have yet to be given an explanation of why it rusted or what is to be done. This is the third warranty issue I've had in the first month of ownership. The first being speaker grilles that would pop out of the dash and vibrate. The second being the cigarette lighter recepticle pulled out of the dash when i went to remove my phone charger. It took three trips to the dealer to get the first two fixed, not looking forward to what lies ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUGGERNAUT Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Hi GaryRi, Its brand spanking new I didn't purchase the sealant package. The issue is on the interior of the car, I wouldn't think they would apply sealant there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Take it back to the dealer and have them respray the trunk floor under warranty. It almost looks like there were contaminants during the factory paint/prep that went ignored, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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