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RUST UNDER THE DASH?

M

markinthedark

GUEST
I reached in my glove box the other day to get something out
and when I pulled my hand out, there was rust on it!
I looked inside with a flashlight and guess what I saw?
All the bracing structure was uncoated steel in the dash;
and covered with a fine layer of rust.

I took it to the dealership and the one of the service guy's
tried to tell me, "Oh, sir....that's OXYDATION, and it's normal
for ALL Avalanches" Of course I laughed my butt off and said
"let's call it what it is, RUST".....and after they looked at it
the service manager said I had to call Chevrolet and complain;
but did say that they have noticed it on several other Avalanches.

I am in the process of dealing with Chevy right now....
Curious if anyone else has seen this in their trucks?
 
Welcome to the club

All Cars have this as they do not paint the steel inside the dashboard area........it is stamped sheetmetal

Not sure you will get GM to do anything on that....

Good Luck



PS rust = oxidation for steel = Ferric Oxide See College was good for something hehehehe
 
yes, normal, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it happens with ALL cars.
 
RichUF said:
yes, normal, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it happens with ALL cars.
Click to expand...
...pretty much all cars....


Is that better ? >:D
 
Its funny that especially where you can see it there is not even a speck of primer or paint. I would of dearly paid more for that one to of gotten a coat of something.

I still laugh at the undercarriage being painted except for the driveshafts and front of the rear housing. Again, whats that all about?
 
It is OEM discretionary that in-cabin metals get a protective coating of something. Usually they are e-coated if they are a continuously viewed item, but it is a major cost savings to not e-coat. It would cost about $6 per vehicle to e-coat that stuff.


As for the other questions for djfcars:

Painting the driveshafts would throw off the balance, and they are made from corrosion resistant aluminum alloys. Don't worry about your driveshaft corroding.

The front of the rear housing will never corrode through, therefore it does not require protection. If you don't believe me, go to any junkyard and look at cast iron items that are 50 years old. The surface 'rust' actually prevents deep migration of oxides. That's why engine blocks don't rust through.


It's all about the $. Just between these two items, GM saved $10 cost per vehicle. That's a ton of $ to them.
 
Just for discussion's sake (b/c I really don't know anything about this ;)) why would an even coat of paint throw off the driveshaft more than the rust would ???
 
RichUF said:
Just for discussion's sake (b/c I really don't know anything about this ;)) why would an even coat of paint throw off the driveshaft more than the rust would ???
Click to expand...

very difficult and expensive to get even coat....so it would dry with more on one side or end....and then be out of balance....
 
put it on a lathe and paint/dry it :0: I gotcha, not worth it.
 
Painting a driveshaft will not throw it off balance. Where did you guys here that one??? My experience comes from street rodding from the mid '70's to the present. I have plated and painted a ton of driveshafts in my time without any such problems.

If you want proof, look at any pro restoration of a car from the 1920's to the 1980's. (My 1983 Pontiac Firebird had a painted driveshaft ) A world war II jeep even had its driveshafts painted (olive drab lusterluss)

I would of run into this several years ago if it was true.

Not trying to start trouble here but I have to disagree.

Dino Falabrino
 
I painted the drive shafts and rear diff housing right after getting my 03 AV. I used rustoleum, and gave them several coats. I have not had a problem with the drive shafts getting out of balance. That little amount of paint sprayed on fairly evenly has no weight at all. Only the 2 wheel drives have aluminum drive shafts.
 
djfcars said:
Painting a driveshaft will not throw it off balance. Where did you guys here that one??? My experience comes from street rodding from the mid '70's to the present. I have plated and painted a ton of driveshafts in my time without any such problems.

If you want proof, look at any pro restoration of a car from the 1920's to the 1980's. (My 1983 Pontiac Firebird had a painted driveshaft ) A world war II jeep even had its driveshafts painted (olive drab lusterluss)

I would of run into this several years ago if it was true.

Not trying to start trouble here but I have to disagree.

Dino Falabrino
Click to expand...

That's because they got balanced after they were painted.
 
None of my driveshafts delivered to my shop were painted or plated. I always did it myself because the cars/ show cars would not do with just a spray can job.

Of course I did not plate it myself as a shop did that for me.

I will bet that no one on this site has had trouble on this site after they painted their driveshafts.
 
OK - Anybody else have this?

I was giving my 3 month old Avalanche its first good cleaning inside when I came across this rust on the gas/brake pedal.

Looks to me that maybe at the assembly plant, the crate these were in might have been stored outside?

I love my AV :love: but I will be adding this to the list when I go back to the dealer.

Vessmech
 

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Wow that is a rust issue!!!
The dealership might just change the parts rather try to paint them. You could paint them yourself if you mask the hell out of everything but the dealership should fix this one. Those pedals look like they where in the ocean for a while :-[
 
vessmech said:
OK - Anybody else have this?

I was giving my 3 month old Avalanche its first good cleaning inside when I came across this rust on the gas/brake pedal.

Looks to me that maybe at the assembly plant, the crate these were in might have been stored outside?

I love my AV :love: but I will be adding this to the list when I go back to the dealer.

Vessmech
Click to expand...

THAT is not normal and I would go see a good dealer......

Most likely they will just paint...

See this could be safety issue in few years if it rusts enough and weakens brake pedal ....well might be a long long long time....but could happen

Good luck
 
djfcars said:
Painting a driveshaft will not throw it off balance. Where did you guys here that one??? My experience comes from street rodding from the mid '70's to the present. I have plated and painted a ton of driveshafts in my time without any such problems.

If you want proof, look at any pro restoration of a car from the 1920's to the 1980's. (My 1983 Pontiac Firebird had a painted driveshaft ) A world war II jeep even had its driveshafts painted (olive drab lusterluss)

I would of run into this several years ago if it was true.

Not trying to start trouble here but I have to disagree.

Dino Falabrino
Click to expand...


Right, but your're talking about a car you built yourself. If you're driving down the road do you expect it to be a perfect ride, free of hums, vibrations, squeaks, noises etc? And if you do hear something, do you run to the dealership or call Chevy screaming that Johnny Cochran is your attorney?? No you either don't care, because it's your car and it's something normal or you fix it. In GM, Ford, Chrysler's case it's on less thing to worry about...plus like has been said in our trucks the driveshaft is Aluminum...so it can't rust. The cast iron parts, won't rust through and every car I have ever taken apart has bare metal under the dash. If you don't get in a flood or have a leaking windshield, it would probably take 100 years for it to run through.
 
:E: I have the exact same problem, my dealer said that GM's take on it is that it is performing as designed.? BS... I'm taking it in for the tailgate recall and am going to ask them to fix this rust on pedals problem again, SHOULD NOT BE ON A NEW GM $37,000 TRUCK.? I also have the coat of rust MAJOR AMOUNT FOR A NEW CAR,? worse than my 1994 full size Blazer aproaching 200,000 miles that has only had the a/c compressor and transmission replaced, that I bought new over 10 years ago, behind the glove compartment.? I am going to ask that the service manager AND dealership manager, also sees this pedal rust and document that it is not covered under warranty, I am approaching 34000 miles, before I take the problem to GM.? Is it possible that this was a flood car, I BOUGHT IT NEW, THIRD ONE FROM THIS DEALER.? Is there a way to tell if it was a flood car, via VIN,etc.?? Had to have the front end rattle,thump,steering problem fixed; one piece of trim replaced: the plastic on the console's hinge, no leaks yet, bed ok.? my last panel is bowed down, I will also have them replace/document this for the future.? ANY more suggestions for my last trip to the dealer before the warranty expires?? I have maintenance insurance that covers all major componets for 100,000 miles thru GEICO {20.00/6mo. extra on my regular insurance? with a 200 dollar deductible, only available on new cars, this paid for the a/c compressor and transmission on the blazer}.? THIS IS A GREAT SITE !!!? ?;D ;D? thanks to all of you, have read you often, this is my first post.? GOLFMANGA? :B: LOVER FOR LIFE.
 
I was cleaning this weekend and I also noticed the rust around my gas pedal. My truck is barely 2 years old with 22k mi on it.  Has any one had luck with the dealer yet getting this fixed even though it may not be covered? So much for bumper to bumper warranty.  I also have many fit problems on the interior.  There are trim pieces installed by southern comfort around my cup holder area and the stowage areas that have come off ( the double sticky back tape doesnt stick anymore) I have tried to fix this with the dealer but they are telling me that the  southern comfort does not do buisiness with the comnpany that supplied the trim. I am still trying to get this resolved.  Does anyone have any suggestions to fix this on my own. I have bought 3M double sided tape but it did not work. I still think the dealer should fix or replace  it.

I know this isnt part of this thread, but  the trim piece around the instrument cluster doesnt seem to be installed correctly and is not fully attatched to the das, both air vents on either side of the passenger air bag are loose, and the passenger door panel is loose.  I have already had the driver door replaced, a kick panel replaced, the front end clunk fixed  and tail gate straps replaced, and need to get the steering done 

I appologize if I seem to be whining, but when you pay a lot of money for something, these little things should not happen.  Any ideas on how I may be able to fix these things myself because my dealer sucks.  All the tidewater people ..stay away from Casey Chevrolet.  Id rather go to Charlie Falk than have to deal with these bozo's again. Even with this small stuff, I love my Avy, its a great truck.  This site rocks

Thanks

 
Why are they so cheap about even a small paint coating?

I can understand adding up the expense of hot-dip galvanizing or some elaborate sparkly finish on concealed framework, but this isn't paying attention to the product quality at all.

Chevy gets a BOO from me on this.
 
I feel a lot of the problem is the CHEAP steel that is being inported. Most of our steel industry has been sold out and shipped to China and the quility of the steel is not anywhere near as good as it was a few years ago. There are all different grades of steel, the cheaper the steel the quicker and easier it will rust!

Butch
 
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