Brought my 2010 Ram (23Kms) to the dealer today to show apx 60 small specs all over the front bumber with rust on every one of them. Bumper is all painted steel, not impressed. Service Manager took bunch of pics, sent me home. WTH is the bumper not plastic? Is a clear coat of paint going to suffice?

 

there's been many issues with the rusting of our bumpers. I would think the only fix would be to sand it down, repaint, and clear

 

Will a steel bumper, painted and clear coated, resist to the normal wear expected from a front bumper though? If it has failed after 7 months, with even the best paint job...what will it look like in a couple of years? Why not make it plastic?

 

I have a 2009 with chrome bumpers and they have rust spots on them also. I live in the St. Louis, MO area so we dont have real bad winters and my truck is garaged at home and work.

 

Also have a 2010 TRX4, washed it today and noticedsmall specs all over the front bumber with rust on every one of them.

 

It's a Dodge Ram, not a Honda Element. I would prefer my truck bumpers not be plastic

 

Imagine what your bumper will look like in 2-3 years? I'm very careful with TRX4 have never abused it or even taken it off road. My truck is about 7 months old and has over 60 specs of rust on it. This CANNOT be normal.

 

This CAN be and IS normal and it appears it's not just a Ram or even Dodge issue. Lots of Ford owners are complaining of the same thing, haven't noticed it so much with GM owners, YET. Normal doesn't mean it's right, just means it's along the average of all the others produced.

I'm wondering if these bumpers or at least the finish work is sub'd out and possibly even coming from the same vendor(s).

In this day and age EVERYTHING comes from low bids and obviously, the less expense you have in an item, the lower you can bid it out. Less time in a chroming tank means less chrome material is used and you can put out more product faster. I suspect this is the issue with not just bumpers but ALL "cheap chrome" that pits and rusts so easily today.

I've not seen where Ford owners with painted bumpers are complaining, but the Ram boys sure are. Same principle here though, less paint, less cost, faster production.

It seems a shame that costs and quality has to be shaved so much on a $40k+ truck, but it's obvious that it does. The sad thing is if you get them to replace it under warranty, you are gonna get the same sh*t. I hate to say it, but I think if you want a lasting finish, you probably need to reserve yourself to the fact that you need to re-do it yourself or choose a higher quality aftermarket product...

 

I haven't seen this issue personally on any Rams yet, but I come across this issue frequently on other vehicles all the time. Would love to see some photos, but most of the time it's just metal fibers embedded into the clear coat and leaving staining, that appears to be rust behind the clear coating. Toyotas and Fords are notorious for this issue, my '08 Explorer being no exception. This doesn't always come from rail dust, there are other factors that can contribute to this.

 

Ugh! Damn buttons are to small on this phone, didn't finish...

If your TRX bumper is painted steel, rust eats through from underneath the paint, typically exposed edges to elements first. Usually you'll see your paint starting to bubble/blister before peeling paint resumes.