Truck Delivered with Dirty Undercarriage and Rust

[GeorgeK]

Picked up my new truck on Friday and didn't really have time for a thorough inspection until Saturday afternoon. I'm pretty happy with the overall fit and finish so far; doors are aligned, panels seem straight and tight. I'll post a separate thread with my initial impressions of the truck itself after driving for a week or so. However, I decided to get under the truck and was pretty disappointed with what I found. I was hoping I wouldn't be one of those rust victims, but unfortunately it's actually pretty bad down there. Beyond the rust, the entire undercarriage is filthy. It honestly looks like one or two of the yahoos in Dearborn took this thing offroading during production; there are muddy water splatters everywhere, including well up into the door frames and plastic/rubber bits on the body. This might explain why the truck had 94 miles on it upon arrival at the dealer. It's also possible that it was driven to the dealer for the last leg rather than convoyed...not sure. I'm not sure what my recourse is here, if any, but I feel like any company should be embarrassed about delivering a brand new $70k truck in this condition. The dealer kind of rushed the prep, but they were good guys, so I don't want to knock them for this. The dealer is also almost two hours from my house, so I have no intention of asking them to make it right. Ford should have cleaned this thing up before it left Michigan. Instead, they probably just slapped on whatever remaining parts it needed after sitting for a while and put it on a railcar. I was about to install my Husky wheel well liners on Saturday, and I found probably 3/16" of dirt caked up inside the top lip of the wheel wells. This should not be normal for a brand new vehicle. Again, this may go nowhere other than me venting and paying for a thorough detail including undercarriage, but I figured I would share so others know what to look out for and maybe share their related experiences. Let me know what you all think!

Spoke to the salesman, and he asked me to send him pics. After receiving the pics, he called me to apologize for the mess inside the doorjambs and sills, etc. He said the underbody is "typical" and "what you'd expect". I know this is not the case, but arguing about it over the phone won't get me anywhere. He offered a thorough detail if I should be in the area anytime soon, but that's unlikely to happen, so I guess I'll be biting the bullet and having it cleaned up locally.

I am still thinking about going full Karen and registering a complaint with Ford Customer Service so at least it's on file, if nothing else.

Im guessing that they used your truck as a loaner vehicle or a parts delivery truck for the dealership

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[Rod507]

Picked up my new truck on Friday and didn't really have time for a thorough inspection until Saturday afternoon. I'm pretty happy with the overall fit and finish so far; doors are aligned, panels seem straight and tight. I'll post a separate thread with my initial impressions of the truck itself after driving for a week or so. However, I decided to get under the truck and was pretty disappointed with what I found. I was hoping I wouldn't be one of those rust victims, but unfortunately it's actually pretty bad down there. Beyond the rust, the entire undercarriage is filthy. It honestly looks like one or two of the yahoos in Dearborn took this thing offroading during production; there are muddy water splatters everywhere, including well up into the door frames and plastic/rubber bits on the body. This might explain why the truck had 94 miles on it upon arrival at the dealer. It's also possible that it was driven to the dealer for the last leg rather than convoyed...not sure.

I'm not sure what my recourse is here, if any, but I feel like any company should be embarrassed about delivering a brand new $70k truck in this condition. The dealer kind of rushed the prep, but they were good guys, so I don't want to knock them for this. The dealer is also almost two hours from my house, so I have no intention of asking them to make it right. Ford should have cleaned this thing up before it left Michigan. Instead, they probably just slapped on whatever remaining parts it needed after sitting for a while and put it on a railcar. I was about to install my Husky wheel well liners on Saturday, and I found probably 3/16" of dirt caked up inside the top lip of the wheel wells. This should not be normal for a brand new vehicle.

Again, this may go nowhere other than me venting and paying for a thorough detail including undercarriage, but I figured I would share so others know what to look out for and maybe share their related experiences. Let me know what you all think!

looks like your door is touching the running boards… or is that just a bad angle?

 

[thebigdu]

looks like your door is touching the running boards… or is that just a bad angle?

Funny you should mention that. It's an illusion, but I thought the same thing looking back at this pic when posting. Thankfully Ford managed to mount the running boards correctly. ?

 

[TexasRealtor]

Spoke to the salesman, and he asked me to send him pics. After receiving the pics, he called me to apologize for the mess inside the doorjambs and sills, etc. He said the underbody is "typical" and "what you'd expect". I know this is not the case, but arguing about it over the phone won't get me anywhere. He offered a thorough detail if I should be in the area anytime soon, but that's unlikely to happen, so I guess I'll be biting the bullet and having it cleaned up locally.

I am still thinking about going full Karen and registering a complaint with Ford Customer Service so at least it's on file, if nothing else.

I filed a complaint with Ford on an issue with my truck and the dealership.
They helped me solve the issue, and gave me a 75,000 mile extended warranty for my troubles.

 

[thebigdu]

I filed a complaint with Ford on an issue with my truck and the dealership.
They helped me solve the issue, and gave me a 75,000 mile extended warranty for my troubles.

Wow, that's great! Would love to hear more! Did you call Ford directly? Do you consider yourself a particularly persuasive person? ?

 

[Robpm]

Sorry to hear of your issue but this is not new. F150 "Rustgate" started in 2021. My KR was a mess, after multiple calls the dealer said they would resolve but decided to do myself as thought would be done better. I disconnected all, sanded and painted.

Essentially the axle was installed unpainted and rusted. They said was surface, I thought poor quality. My vehicle was built 1/21, purchased 3/21, painted with 270 miles.

You are not alone, actually was hoping Ford had fixed by now. Here are pics before and after.

A couple of questions for you.
1. you said "I disconnected all, sanded and painted. " Does that mean you basically disconnected the rear axle from the springs etc and then painted and then put it all back together again? I have read when you remove the U-bolts from the springs you should put new ones on because of how the threads are etc.
2. what paint did you use, Rust-Oleum brand or some other? Did you do a primer and then a black coat? I am assuming you did but wanted to learn what you used. Also did you spray paint it or brush paint it?

 

[780]

Apologies for the poor quality. This was a new tundra being towed that I was driving behind for a few seconds and I got a full view under there when I was right up to it.
That underside was almost as glossy black as the body. Ford should take notes. I’ve heard of older tundra owners talking about how theirs always arrived cleaned and maybe have been treated at the factory with some special black stuff to keep it looking new

Okay. The underside isn't rusty.... but it's a new Tundra.... being towed...

 

[Tremorman]

My story. Truck was on chip hold only 1 month. I looked at it the day it arrived at dealer. It arrived on same truck as another truck built approx 1 month after mine. My truck was dirty underneath and had a rusted diff and axel. Other truck looked sparkly clean you could eat off it My truck had 70km on it at delivery. My theory it was driven to and from the storage lot for chip hold wich caused it to get dirtier. My dealer power washed axel and most of that surface rust came off the axel portion so that tells me maybe the axel were sitting outside prior To install and there was metal rusting and dripping onto it. Anyway it seems to me chip hold has something to do with it. Buttt the rest is a design defect. I do belive it will not affect operations forbsure but theyvshould paint the diffs at factory. If your lucky enough to get a clean diff... a few months later yours will look like all the rest. For me I will fluid film and forget it. If it gets bad in 3yrs lease isbup and keys go back. In canada all cars have undercarriage rust within 2 yrs. Wife has a 2yr old acura with rust under it so really to me it's how will these trucks last? Time will tell.

 

[twelpo19]

A couple of questions for you.
1. you said "I disconnected all, sanded and painted. " Does that mean you basically disconnected the rear axle from the springs etc and then painted and then put it all back together again? I have read when you remove the U-bolts from the springs you should put new ones on because of how the threads are etc.
2. what paint did you use, Rust-Oleum brand or some other? Did you do a primer and then a black coat? I am assuming you did but wanted to learn what you used. Also did you spray paint it or brush paint it?

Good question -- no I did not remove the axle. I did however remove the tires, unhooked the lines and hoses, tape off all the bolts, covered the rotors... so no black paint would be on parts not suppose to be painted. I also used a rust remover and sanded prior to paint. lots of tape, aluminum foil (pro tip on long hoses as is easy and forms onto hose easily). and patience.

I use Duplicolor engine paint. Satin black in this case. Versus others it dries within 15 minutes, is thicker than others. As an ex-owner of a 4x4 shop it is what we used as could not wait for paint to dry and wanted durable product. You can find it at any O'Reilly's. No brushes used.

 

[Eric]

Okay. The underside isn't rusty.... but it's a new Tundra.... being towed...

It still had stickers and white markings on it that are usually all cleaned off before the customer picks it up so I think it was a brand new one being transported to another location maybe for mods or something.

 

[JeffInCOS]

Into shareholder's pockets.

Ford stock closed today at $14.56 a share. They pay .40 cents a share dividend every quarter. The shareholders don't see much from Ford.

 

[hotrodmex]

Ford stock closed today at $14.56 a share. They pay .40 cents a share dividend every quarter. The shareholders don't see much from Ford.

Ford has 3,900,000,000 shares of stock issued. If they each get $0.40 this year (historically that's a bit low, from $0.60 a year), that's $1.6 billion.

 

[780]

It still had stickers and white markings on it that are usually all cleaned off before the customer picks it up so I think it was a brand new one being transported to another location maybe for mods or something.

Ah okay. Surprised they wouldn't just thow a D plate on it and drive it to save the cost of a tow.

 

[Rod507]

Wow, that's great! Would love to hear more! Did you call Ford directly? Do you consider yourself a particularly persuasive person? ?

seriously, please share! @TexasRealtor

 

[RJL1400]

I purchased a Toyota Tundra 2008 brand new. When I sold it in 2019 (?) it had 124,000. (I had a company vehicle so I didn't use my truck much). In 2013 I brought it in for warm AC. They then told me I had to leave it with them, it wasn't safe to drive. The frame was completely rotted like so many other Toyota trucks. Never got a recall. They said they would replace the frame. I said what about giving me some $$$ off a new one. Nope. They kept my truck for three months. Dealer sucked, no updates, no apology, no additional warranty, no nothing. I did get a loaner from Enterprise. When they finally called me (oh yeah, I couldn't use my plow all winter) they said a bunch of things were rotted off to the tune of 5K and did I want to repair them? (strucks, shocks, gas shield, etc.). Said no thanks and got them done someplace else. The point of all this is yes, Toyota replaced the frame, but in all those years they knew they had a problem and never fixed it until a lawsuit got shoved down their throats. Just saying all these companies are the same and only pay out when they have no alternative. So I switched to Ford. Very happy. Tundra new models have not kept pace with Ram, Ford, etc. because they are saving money--probably because of all the frames they had to replace.

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