Rust on chassis leg

[Maxz]

Checked mine. My car is low mileage 15 plate 20k miles, but an underworked car can have it’s own set of issues versus an older/high mileage example.

Apart from the thin surface rust on the bolt the area is clear of corrosion. However, what I did notice is the grit in this area looked distinctly like that inside the air filter box when I have hoovered it out in the past. In the lower corner of the airbox is a small indentation with a hole, that allows dust, grit and moisture collected in the air box to fall or run out. This appears to sit above the bracket/bolt in question. Pure speculation but if water is getting into the air box ( just from travelling at speed, jet washing the grille, or ill fitted/compromised/non-Denso air filter that doesn’t form a full seal around the airbox, could be the source? Seems too far fetched if I’m perfectly honest, maybe just co-incidence the airbox drain hole happens to sit above here.

[Sazabi2001]

I checked mine, 14 model with 63k on the clock. The air box mount looks OK.

 

I also notice the driver side (right hand side) of the engine bay has lot more sand than the other side. I guess it’s related to the radiator fan spinning direction (clockwise from the driver view?) so all the water been thrown to the right side like a centrifugal turbine. Also the fan assembly has an opening directly towards the air filter box leg, which seems to be where the water landed first.

 

 

[wookee]

This is my 2014 IS300h (122k miles):

It's hard to see from the picture, but there's actually a pinhole spot that appears to have gone all the way through. There's basically no metal left on the left side of the bolt. I haven't taken the arch liner off yet to get a look underneath, but I might try that tomorrow.

To confirm, I've never jet washed the engine bay or anything silly like that, but I can't speak for the previous owner. I also live in London. Before that it lived in Cheshire. Car has full Lexus service history.

Needless to say, I'm a bit concerned.

I did point it out to Lexus Croydon when I dropped it off for a service last week, and asked them to investigate. Heard nothing back. Going to chase on Monday.

Has anyone had any positive results on this with Lexus? And if so, was it on the basis of the factory warranty, extended warranty, or the 12 year corrosion warranty?

Incidentally, the strut mounts aren't looking too good either:

(passenger side is much the same)

[wookee]

So I have quite a few updates on this that may be of interest to others with this rust issue.

I took the matter up with Lexus Croydon. They asked me to bring the car in for inspection. Paint depth readings where taken, although strangely none from inside the engine bay. The matter was then referred to Lexus UK. Their response was simply that the 12 year anti-corrosion warranty only applies to body panels, and not the engine bay. So that was a bit of a dead end.

So I bit the bullet and tried to tackle the issue myself. Since the car is in daily use, this has proved quite tricky. Once the air filter box and the inverter coolant pump mount were removed, I was able to fully assess the damage. Annoyingly, the rust was more extensive than it first seemed.

I was able to grind out most of it with a cordless drill and wire brush. I then used Bilt Hamber Deox Gel to attack what was left. After 24 hours, it looked like this:

After two rounds of Deox, lots of cleaning and degreasing, there was still some small pitted areas of rust remaining.

So I decided to use a rust converter to be on the safe side. I went with Loctite Rust Remedy 7503. Initially this seemed to work quite well.

I then left it for 4-5 days. This weekend my plan was to repaint the area and get the job done. Once again I pulled the airbox out, and I was shocked to see that the rust was already starting to return under the rust converter! Unbelievable. Suffice to say the Loctite is going in the bin. So... more stripping, sanding, grinding, degreasing. I didn't have time to get the paint on, so I decided to apply a different rust converter - Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80. Fingers crossed this one actually works. I'll hopefully get the primer on tomorrow.

Once I've got the job completed, I'll post some photos as a follow up.

 

[Spacewagon52]

10 hours ago, wookee said:

So I have quite a few updates on this that may be of interest to others with this rust issue.

I took the matter up with Lexus Croydon. They asked me to bring the car in for inspection. Paint depth readings where taken, although strangely none from inside the engine bay. The matter was then referred to Lexus UK. Their response was simply that the 12 year anti-corrosion warranty only applies to body panels, and not the engine bay. So that was a bit of a dead end.

So I bit the bullet and tried to tackle the issue myself. Since the car is in daily use, this has proved quite tricky. Once the air filter box and the inverter coolant pump mount were removed, I was able to fully assess the damage. Annoyingly, the rust was more extensive than it first seemed.

I was able to grind out most of it with a cordless drill and wire brush. I then used Bilt Hamber Deox Gel to attack what was left. After 24 hours, it looked like this:

After two rounds of Deox, lots of cleaning and degreasing, there was still some small pitted areas of rust remaining.

So I decided to use a rust converter to be on the safe side. I went with Loctite Rust Remedy 7503. Initially this seemed to work quite well.

I then left it for 4-5 days. This weekend my plan was to repaint the area and get the job done. Once again I pulled the airbox out, and I was shocked to see that the rust was already starting to return under the rust converter! Unbelievable. Suffice to say the Loctite is going in the bin. So... more stripping, sanding, grinding, degreasing. I didn't have time to get the paint on, so I decided to apply a different rust converter - Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80. Fingers crossed this one actually works. I'll hopefully get the primer on tomorrow.

Once I've got the job completed, I'll post some photos as a follow up.

 

A very interesting thread, that IS 300h owners should read.

[Ace8800]

I had one i just sold with 102k on it.. was based all its life by Sheffield. When i came to sell it the new owner (now) said its got a fair bit of rust there - pointing out the chasis when the front bumper bar connects to. Was surprised to see this thinking this only happens to cars that live near coastal lines and/or Scotland cold weather or Ireland. 

Now reading this thread look like its a common issue on these. But then again im not suprised, because most jap carps suffer from rust about 7- 10yrs later.

[Vlady]

1 hour ago, Ace8800 said:

 

Now reading this thread look like its a common issue on these. But then again im not suprised, because most jap carps suffer from rust about 7- 10yrs later.

I am surprised to see a Japanese car with the rust, you can see so many old Toyotas and Hondas and no rust on them.

I am not surprised to see rust on Lexus though, I am very surprised it is not appearing more in threads in this forum.

On my GS I had to clean some rust under the body and respray it, also some rear frame heavily flaked and rusted surface, clamps, suspension arm/links or like that. Shocking!

[Ace8800]

I think i need to check mine and if there is a lot of rust i need to use the oil wax i bought for my Bluebird... i miss that car.

[Malc]

3 hours ago, Ace8800 said:

most jap carps suffer from rust about 7- 10yrs later.

tis is a terrible indictment ............  mine's more or less rust free after 25 years and 232k miles and living by the seaside most of it's time 

Malc

[Ace8800]

3 minutes ago, Malc said:

tis is a terrible indictment ............  mine's more or less rust free after 25 years and 232k miles and living by the seaside most of it's time 

Malc

Wow, 25yrs and rust free... Probably one in a thousand that one.

[Malc]

1 hour ago, Ace8800 said:

Probably one in a thousand that one.

probably one of 995 in that thousand methinks ..............  first Ls's' were built by craftsmen ........... 32 years ago

Malc

[Colinb623]

Reviving this thread .

Exactly the same section of rust/corrison on my IS300H F Sport 2016 model . Trying some Waxol spray on it at the weekend and giving the area a bit of a clean up

 

 

 

[Notamech]

I have found that Japanese cars love to rust. I have a similar issue on both my is300h and the wifes jazz. The moment you open the bonnet theres tons of rust everywhere. Didn't see this on my last car an E class of a similar age. That was pretty spotless under the bonnet. Now how much of this is serious and detrimental I don't know. I had my car MOTd recently and got an advisory on brake lines starting to corrode. Also when i got the tyres replaced recently i noticed some suspension components looked quite rusted and rust was flaking off. On areas that i can reach i apply fertan with a brush or spray. The rest i just roll the dice and hope it will last until I sell the car.

[H3XME]

31 minutes ago, Notamech said:

I have found that Japanese cars love to rust. I have a similar issue on both my is300h and the wifes jazz. The moment you open the bonnet theres tons of rust everywhere. Didn't see this on my last car an E class of a similar age. That was pretty spotless under the bonnet. Now how much of this is serious and detrimental I don't know. I had my car MOTd recently and got an advisory on brake lines starting to corrode. Also when i got the tyres replaced recently i noticed some suspension components looked quite rusted and rust was flaking off. On areas that i can reach i apply fertan with a brush or spray. The rest i just roll the dice and hope it will last until I sell the car.

They do, but some certainly more than others. Really depends on a car. Generally speaking, Subaru, Mazda, Honda, Nissan & Mitsubishi are prone to rust. Suzuki, Toyota & Lexus tend to be a lot better in comparison. There are exceptions of course. Lexus IS200/300 (first gen IS) are really bad for rust everywhere, but they are 25 years old this year. IS250/220d (second Gen IS) are fine except for subframes on some cars (nothing on chassis legs and other common spots). Subframes are understandable to be honest, it's exposed all year round. It seems like IS300h/250 (3rd Gen) is following First gen's footsteps.. GS300/450h (2004+) are also prone to rust a lot more than IS's. LS's not so much..

Anyway. The best thing to do is to inspect the car when on the lift, and get it rust treated with Lanoguard if you can. Or just take it to a garage but it will cost you a few hundred quid. Small price to pay if you ask me. Especially if you want to keep the car for some time.