MY12 warranty advice?

[Squeaky90]

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is the right place/area to be asking? Here goes anyway.

2012MY Defender 90, currently chasing up surface rust starting on the chassis - something I've mentioned before in another post but LR have agreed to fix. Waiting to book in to organise that... Any suggestions on what they should actually do, other than paint it black?

Also: bits of rust now appearing on the "plate" between the bonnet hinges and the firewall. Is this to be expected on a two year old car? Granted, it looks nothing like the horror stories I've just been Googling. Trying to avoid that path though....

Comments and direction would be really appreciated. Didn't have much luck searching for similar posts.

Kindest regards,

Clare :)

[BilboBoggles]

Fixing the chassis rust on a relatively new rover is fairly easy - a good wire brush and a coat of decent paint will do. Don't worry too much about this.

ALL of my new defenders have had the paint on the rear cross member under the rear door fail within a few weeks. It starts going white and powdery and after a while the paint is gone and the rust starts. I waited for quite a few years before I got my 2003 TD5 fixed, covered under warranty. That's lasted very well. The later 2 I got repainted at the first service. They held up really well - the latest is 18 months old now.


I woudl recommend you look into rust proofing the inside of your chassis. A good squirt of a decent cavity wax will make you sleep better at night.




I assume by the plate you are referring to the flat rectangular sheet steel that is welded onto the bulk head and that the bonnet hinges mount to. This area and the other crevices around the body especially at the back are prone to this surface rust. I think it's because the paint does not get sprayed effectively into the cracks. I have had this on my last Silver Defender, the dealer fixed it and it never came back. Just needs cleaning up and a quick squirt of paint.


(The other thing to look at on the MY12 is that the rear body cappings, the ridged metal strips around the back tub, are allegedly not painted under neath. Now it takes a few years - but eventually they can rust from the inside out. The later ones and I'm not sure which year model are apparently zinc plated so less likely to rust. But all is not lost - Buy some good rust preventer in a can - I prefer Inox3, but I've heard penetrol is really good, and give it squirt from under neath into the crack - and on the inside into the capping area. That will keep the rust out.)

I think the dealer will fix those issues you've mentioned - they don't sound too serious. but worth looking into a good clean and rust proof just for your peace of mind.

[bonZa1]

years ago on a vehicle I owned that had a bad reputation for corrossion I applied a rust preventative that was mostly made up of fish oil. when squirted into hard to get places it would spread into the nooks and crannies and set like a thin layer of wax. worked like charm as never had a rust problem in all the years I owned it. cant remember what it is called though

[Bavo]

cant remember what it is called though

It's called Fish Oil. Most auto parts places have it in spray cans for about $5

[Squeaky90]

Thank you all very, very much for the advice. A relief that it isn't going to cost too much to get this truck (?) more robust to the elements...

@BilboBoggles - I'll have a look over the weekend of the areas you mentioned, hopefully no surprises to be found... And will definitely get some Inox3. Yes, the flat sheet: I'll get onto LR about fixing that and look at rustproofing the car too.

@bonZa1 and @Bavo - thank you! Fish oil to the shopping list too.

I'll keep the post updated as to how it all goes.

Cheers,

Clare