Honda Car Forum

My 91 Accord has bad rust around the rear wheel wells. It appears to
me to be a flaw in the car because I automatically look at every
Accord that looks like mine and I think that they all have rust in the
same spots.

I'm not complaining because the car has just been great. I got it used
about 7 years ago and it already had rust so it isn't like I was taken
by surprise. I'm really just curious to see if this is in fact a
design or maintenance defect.

Yes, it's common. But "defect" is arguably a strong way to
put it. For one thing, Honda owners perhaps keep their cars
longer, so they will be on the roads after a decade and so
show rust after many years.

I suspect other makes of cars have their own unique rust
locations.


"dgk" <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote
> My 91 Accord has bad rust around the rear wheel wells. It
> appears to
> me to be a flaw in the car because I automatically look at
> every
> Accord that looks like mine and I think that they all have
> rust in the
> same spots.
>
> I'm not complaining because the car has just been great. I
> got it used
> about 7 years ago and it already had rust so it isn't like
> I was taken
> by surprise. I'm really just curious to see if this is in
> fact a
> design or maintenance defect.

dgk wrote:
> My 91 Accord has bad rust around the rear wheel wells. It appears to
> me to be a flaw in the car because I automatically look at every
> Accord that looks like mine and I think that they all have rust in the
> same spots.
>

Probably a spot which collects water and road dirt. Rusty areas are
usually either places where dissimilar metals are in contact (rare on
modern vehicles) or where dirt and water collect and don't drain.

John

dgk <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote in
news:ns39e29fp43maabib4op54av93bcba1in3@4ax.com:

> My 91 Accord has bad rust around the rear wheel wells. It appears to
> me to be a flaw in the car because I automatically look at every
> Accord that looks like mine and I think that they all have rust in the
> same spots.



Very common in that location in all cars, actually. Some worse than others.


>
> I'm not complaining because the car has just been great. I got it used
> about 7 years ago and it already had rust so it isn't like I was taken
> by surprise. I'm really just curious to see if this is in fact a
> design or maintenance defect.


It's not a "defect". It's a consequence of water paths, and of economy in
construction.



--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

My 91Accord only started to show signs of rust here this year. In the
last two months it finally came through. Two or three orange spots on
the white paint on each side.

Defect? I think not! I don't know of any car of this age without
obvious rust. Most have heavy rust in some areas, others have rust
through.



On Thu, 17 Aug 2006 18:19:25 +0000 (UTC), "TeGGeR¨"
<tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote:

>dgk <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote in
>news:ns39e29fp43maabib4op54av93bcba1in3@4ax.com :
>
>> My 91 Accord has bad rust around the rear wheel wells. It appears to
>> me to be a flaw in the car because I automatically look at every
>> Accord that looks like mine and I think that they all have rust in the
>> same spots.
>
>
>
>Very common in that location in all cars, actually. Some worse than others.
>
>
>>
>> I'm not complaining because the car has just been great. I got it used
>> about 7 years ago and it already had rust so it isn't like I was taken
>> by surprise. I'm really just curious to see if this is in fact a
>> design or maintenance defect.
>
>
>It's not a "defect". It's a consequence of water paths, and of economy in
>construction.

NomoreRGS <fishman@fish.net> wrote in
news:cp4ae21o8tj9dt5rtbcmrf1iglhs16oijj@4ax.com:

> My 91Accord only started to show signs of rust here this year. In the
> last two months it finally came through. Two or three orange spots on
> the white paint on each side.
>
> Defect? I think not! I don't know of any car of this age without
> obvious rust.



Mine. I have no rust at all. It's a '91 with 272,000 miles.




> Most have heavy rust in some areas, others have rust
> through.



That's because of two things:
1) Neglect, and
2) inadequate rustproofing.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

dgk wrote:
> My 91 Accord has bad rust around the rear wheel wells. It appears to
> me to be a flaw in the car because I automatically look at every
> Accord that looks like mine and I think that they all have rust in the
> same spots.
>
> I'm not complaining because the car has just been great. I got it used
> about 7 years ago and it already had rust so it isn't like I was taken
> by surprise. I'm really just curious to see if this is in fact a
> design or maintenance defect.

The rear inner plastic wheel well liner and the metal body come
together and create a place to trap water. The left side is worse
because of water that gets in when the power antenna goes down in wet
weather. The wheel opening rubber molding also traps moisture. Most
owners of these cars pull the molding off and throw it away.
Any use of salt on the roads makes the rust faster and much worse.
Honda has learned over the years where the rust develops, but the
process is so long that updates to the design wait until the major model
changes. Believe me, most cars are much worse. bob

TeGGeR® wrote:

>> My 91 Accord has bad rust around the rear wheel wells. It appears to
>> me to be a flaw in the car because I automatically look at every
>> Accord that looks like mine and I think that they all have rust in the
>> same spots.
>
> Very common in that location in all cars, actually. Some worse than others.

Yep, my father's '94 Pontiac Grand Prix had more rust in the real wheel
wells than my '93 Accord currently has.

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 01:52:18 +0000 (UTC), "TeGGeR®"
<tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote:

>NomoreRGS <fishman@fish.net> wrote in
>news:cp4ae21o8tj9dt5rtbcmrf1iglhs16oijj@4ax.com :
>
>> My 91Accord only started to show signs of rust here this year. In the
>> last two months it finally came through. Two or three orange spots on
>> the white paint on each side.
>>
>> Defect? I think not! I don't know of any car of this age without
>> obvious rust.
>
>
>
>Mine. I have no rust at all. It's a '91 with 272,000 miles.
>
>
>
>
>> Most have heavy rust in some areas, others have rust
>> through.
>
>
>
>That's because of two things:
>1) Neglect, and
>2) inadequate rustproofing.


I'm guessing here but I would think that several factors come into
play, with salt being number one on the playlist and freezing being
number two. Salt seems to just eat metal, and freezing water cracks
open our roads. So salt and water get into tiny cracks and start the
wonderful recycling process.

What is odd about what I've observed with the Accord is that I don't
see that damage on the front wheelwells, and those are going to get
the same amount of crud as the rears. That's why I figured that those
rear wells are a weak spot.

When I first got the Accord, I paid a body shop around $300 to kill
the rust that I saw. The guy was honest though and said that it would
delay the rust but that it really wasn't possible to cure it without
spending much more.

dgk <dgk@somewhere.com> wrote in
news:f7qbe217crrd634osrvj943bboibl61b11@4ax.com:

> On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 01:52:18 +0000 (UTC), "TeGGeR®"
> <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote:
>
>
>
> I'm guessing here but I would think that several factors come into
> play, with salt being number one on the playlist and freezing being
> number two. Salt seems to just eat metal, and freezing water cracks
> open our roads. So salt and water get into tiny cracks and start the
> wonderful recycling process.



Sort of. But freezing has nothing to do with it. With concrete, yes. With
cars, no.




>
> What is odd about what I've observed with the Accord is that I don't
> see that damage on the front wheelwells, and those are going to get
> the same amount of crud as the rears. That's why I figured that those
> rear wells are a weak spot.



Water paths is what does it. Water migrates to the rear. And it takes
forever to evaporate from enclosed panels...




>
> When I first got the Accord, I paid a body shop around $300 to kill
> the rust that I saw.


Yes, they killed the stuff you could see. They could do nothing about the
stuff you (and they) could NOT see, which is 99% of the problem.



The guy was honest though and said that it would
> delay the rust but that it really wasn't possible to cure it without
> spending much more.
>


You cannot kill it once it starts. You can only prevent it from occurring
in the first place.



--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/