Rust Check

[nobby]

I bought my 2006 Pilot with a Sym-Tech rust and interior protection package.

Once a year, near the purchase anniversary, I must return to the dealer for an inspection to maintain the protection warranty.
So far, so good.


Last year, during my "spring cleaning" I noticed rust bubbles along the edge of the plastic sill plates at each door.

I pointed that out at the annual inspection in early August 2010 and pictures were taken, a file was opened and "we'll get back to you".

No one got back to me.
I returned to the dealer to see what was being done.
"Oh...no one contacted you?"

Phone calls were made.........."we'll get back to you".

Went back a couple of weeks later. "So?"

"So what?"


Now I'm losing my good natured approach.


WTF is going on?

"Oh...hang on a sec"


OK...go to Zenetech collision center and get an estimate and have it sent to
B.W. at Sym-Tech.


Thank you.

Done.


Waiting, waiting, waiting.....nothing.

I went to the Sym-Tech website and filled out a customer question form and was answered in about 2 hours.


They know nothing about my file.

I explained everything and they asked me to go get an estimate at another collision center as the one I was asked, initially, to go to, is not one they deal with.

What? Holy Smokes.

So off I go...another estimate, more pictures and because it was the week before Xmas...I held out no hope of hearing anything until maybe Hell froze over.


But surprise, surprise......I had an answer in a week and it is an approval for repair.

What?

Was there any doubt?

I guess the game is :

A) Hope the customer forgets to get the inspections done every year....

B) Give the customer the silent treatment and hope they go away....

C) Outwait the customer until they grow old and die....

In any event, I have an appointment to go in near the end of the month.

I'll fill in the details as they come but for now..... THE REAL POINT OF THIS THREAD was to show a spot for potential rust on YOUR beloved Pilot.

[melina]

I noticed a few years when the Pilot was just 1.5yrs old those kind of rust spots on my wife's 2004 Pilot. It was only on the drivers side but I figured out what it was. My wife is short , 5'2" and so when she steps into her Pilot she steps onto the plastic cover/trim. Over time it cuts into the paint exposing it to bare metal and then with salt(we live in Canada) in the winter and water/condensation, the rust spots appeared. The only thing you can do it to have the area repainted and to avoid it from happening again, ask your passengers to not step on that part when getting in, otherwise it will happen again. Ever since I repainted it and the wife stopped stepping on it, no more rust. Now the car is 7yrs old and no more rust has appeared.

On my 2009 new CR-V, I've told the wife and kinds to get in without stepping on the plastic trim, so far, no rust.

[armpilot]

Originally Posted by nobby

I bought my 2006 Pilot with a Sym-Tech rust and interior protection package.

Once a year, near the purchase anniversary, I must return to the dealer for an inspection to maintain the protection warranty.
So far, so good.


Last year, during my "spring cleaning" I noticed rust bubbles along the edge of the plastic sill plates at each door.

I pointed that out at the annual inspection in early August 2010 and pictures were taken, a file was opened and "we'll get back to you".

No one got back to me.
I returned to the dealer to see what was being done.
"Oh...no one contacted you?"

Phone calls were made.........."we'll get back to you".

Went back a couple of weeks later. "So?"

"So what?"


Now I'm losing my good natured approach.


WTF is going on?

"Oh...hang on a sec"


OK...go to Zenetech collision center and get an estimate and have it sent to
B.W. at Sym-Tech.


Thank you.

Done.


Waiting, waiting, waiting.....nothing.

I went to the Sym-Tech website and filled out a customer question form and was answered in about 2 hours.


They know nothing about my file.

I explained everything and they asked me to go get an estimate at another collision center as the one I was asked, initially, to go to, is not one they deal with.

What? Holy Smokes.

So off I go...another estimate, more pictures and because it was the week before Xmas...I held out no hope of hearing anything until maybe Hell froze over.


But surprise, surprise......I had an answer in a week and it is an approval for repair.

What?

Was there any doubt?

I guess the game is :

A) Hope the customer forgets to get the inspections done every year....

B) Give the customer the silent treatment and hope they go away....

C) Outwait the customer until they grow old and die....

In any event, I have an appointment to go in near the end of the month.

I'll fill in the details as they come but for now..... THE REAL POINT OF THIS THREAD was to show a spot for potential rust on YOUR beloved Pilot.

Your prob. right about there approach, nobby. Thats how many, not all, warranties are exicuted. The consumer has to remain dilligent. Also, avoid rust proofing products that dealers sell. Alot of them just dont perform as advertised and are expensive to boot. I was pushed towards an electronic rust system(Cathodic protection ) by my Honda dealer that cost $800. These, in particular, are useless on cars. They work on the electron replacement theory ( corrosion is ultimately a loss of electrons as metal is exposed to water and oxygen). They problem, as i see it, is that our vehicles are all grounded, so, the Cathodic protection gets grounded and it not as effective as in a ship application for example( where the technology originally and successfully comes from, i beleive)
Ive used Krown Rust control on my last three cars. One was a new 1993 Civic Si coupe. I sold it after 13 years, 300 000kms AND NOT ONE SPOT OF RUST. BTW, I live in Toronto and this city uses up to 150 000 TONS of salt every winter! They have a solid sounding warranty program but i am happy to report that i dont know how they treat customers that apply to have warranty work done. Yes its a yearly treatment, BUT IT WORKS. IT works by cutting off oxygen and water ( also salt, which is not nessisary for corrosion, just a catalist that speeds it up) from metal. Thats what paint doest too. Krown does it better than heavier products like symtech, because it has a Creeping property so it actually spreads after treatment, even against gravity. Also, yearly treatments insure that no part of your car is left exposed.

[nobby]

I'm in Barrie...........lots of salt especially up and down the 400.

I got sucked into the Protection Package which was almost $1K and it included a SymTech finish, interior something something and that stupid electric box.

I've had my carpets changed and 50% of the seat covers due to staining so I made out ok there and nowthe rust thing.

I'll probably break even at this point.

Ho Hum.


As far as the sills go, the plan is to repaint and put some 3M clear mask under the step plate.

[whizmo]

Every objective study done on these rust treatments says they basically do nothing except drain your wallet.

- Mark

[nobby]

Dropped the Pilot off today at the collision center.
Let's see if they get a fresh start on it Monday morn so I can get it back for Thursday am.

[nobby]

I got the Pilot back today..........on the biggest snow storm of the year.

After the fact.

Alas, it was dry and very clean and detailed.

The sills were cleaned up, painted and clear mask installed before the plastic covers were re-installed.

Looks OK.

But $1100.00 OK?...........Wow.


Glad I didn't pay for it.