Rust

[SKidr0w]

Had a look through the previous posts re Rust. My 2022 ZS EV appears to have a lot of rust under the bonnet in the "engine" area or whatever its now called on bolts, latches and where metal joins. Had it 9 months.

Having done some reading online it would appear that the underside of the car will almost already be well on its way to being a rust bucket as no protective sprays or waxes are used on MG Evs. And also being located in the north of the UK with all the salt.

It will be due a service in a few months. Should I await the service and ask them to do any inspections and then preventative maintenance/repairs under warranty (Highly unlikely I imagine) or should I just coat the underside of the car by myself. But the fear I have here is that I then take it for a service and the coating invalidates the warranty under some obscure term or condition.

I had a 11 year old Kia - new to rust bucket in 10 years - Learned my lesson here and trying to preempt any rust issues and extend the life of the car as i plan running it into the ground whether that is 10 years or 20 years but it appears that it will be the rust that will get it first if going under the bonnet is anything to go by.

Any recommendations of products to use would be greatly appreciated and also did a main dealer have any issues with these products being used on the underside of the car in relation to warranty?

Many thanks

 

[Data]

Hi SKidr0w, I to intend to run my ZS EV for the next few years. I bought mine brand new in January. In the spring I went ahead & sprayed the most vulnerable areas under the car with Jenolite Waxoyl. It's better than the Finnigans Waxoyl in my opinion as it sprays really well from their aerosols without clumping into one area. Two medium thickness coats does the trick. Jenolite dries less sticky than other brands so doesn't attract muck so easily. I also used Bilt Hamber Dynax injection wax for outrigger cavities & main chassis members. It comes with a lance to allow good coverage inside the cavities. The aerosol that Bilt Hamber comes in is pressurised to 70psi. I used nearly two large cans costing £16.99 each including a lance. The lance by the way gives a rotary spray pattern inside cavities to ensure good coverage. I also coated the axles & suspension arms with Jenolite & injected cavity wax inside the arms being careful not to get it on any plastic or neoprene bushes as they don't like these wax products.

Obviously I've done this at my own risk. You to will do the same. I don't think it will affect my warranty & I don't really care if it does. I took great care not to get it on anything such as the undercar HV battery connection cables or other bits like that. Care needed if you use it in the doors. There's lots of electrical stuff in there. I did clean & protect the engine bay with Waxoyl. Also inside the bonnet. In fact anywhere there is a painted surface & overlapping panels I gave them a coating of Waxoyl.

The other thing to mention is that I've been under several older ZS EV cars with large mileages on them. I've not seen one with any worrying amount of rust (some 6yrs old) & usually almost no rust (all cars rust whatever the make). Most manufacturers don't use wax products now. They rely on the factory metal treatments such as electrostatic primers & galvanised metals. These need help in my opinion if you intend to keep the car for an extended period. My new Skodas & Citroens were treated with Waxoyl & I kept them for 7yrs each. No rust! Untreated cars always had rust. My ZS isn't going to rust. I've given it the right start in life. Good luck & I wouldn't worry about corrosion. The MG is no worse than any other car in my opinion.

 

[BOB353]

Ah, the joys of living in Australia is that we generally do not have ice on the roads so no salt is needed and from my experience, I have not seen any rust in any of my cars for about 20-30 years.

 

[decrep]

It's different with a surfwagon, wet salty stuff is always present, But the MG won't be used that way.

 

[BOB353]

Always amazes me seeing ads for new cars being driven along the edge of the ocean with sea water being sprayed every where, imagine the rust