I am new to the forum but I have been driving Dodge Trucks for the past 8 years. Previously I had a 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab. Plenty of problems with her but she was overall a nice truck. In April of 2012 I purchased a brand new 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 Express (14 miles on it). At nearly 3 months I have just about 2,000 miles on it.

Last week i decided to take a look underneath the car. I found RUST and plenty of it. Its all over the drive shaft, axle, etc. I brought it back to the dealership. The service manager look under and asked me "Where's the rust?" Of course, he finally "saw" it when I looked under with him. He claims it is Surface Rust an nothing to worry about as it is common.

We actually went around the lot and look under other 2012 models that havent even been sold and the rust was there as well. So Im giving the dealer a pass but this is an issue as Dodge is simply using cheap metal.

I know all things rust but at 3 months/ 2,000 miles? I am wrong here? Let me know.

 

I wouldn't give the rust on the drive shaft and rear end a second thought, it will take a hundred years to rust through, probably longer. It is the sheet metal and frame you should be worried about.

I have noticed some rears are painted (coated) some are not. If it does bother you you can paint it yourself, mask the area, clean the surface and spray away. The drive shaft I would leave alone, if not applied properly it is possible to slightly unbalance it and it could cause a minor vibration.

 

All makes are the same, I did like my alum shaft on my o4, but really? Detail the EXPRess model and park on mirrors, lol!

 

Put on some rubber gloves, take an old rag with a film of used motor oil, wipe the driveshaft and rear end housing down.Take less time than showing it to the dealer,problem solved. Don't know your dealer but mine wouldn't care if it was rusted all the way through the roof! Seriously every make does it, it's no big deal!

 

Purchased the Laramie Limited beautiful truck but having major rust issues with only a few months on the road any one else experience this? I understand metal rusts but this is getting a little ridiculous!

 

Where is the rust? Pretty normal for all the stuff on the bottom side to flash rust.

 

Brassy,

Have you been able to have this looked at by your servicing dealer to determine what the cause may be and ways to help prevent the rusting.

If you'd like to PM your VIN#, I'd be happy to review this further with you.

 

I oil my truck every fall with "rust check". it's an 09 and looks brand new. I just buy the cans at Canadian Tire or Walmart and do it myself. Messy job but fantastic results.

 

There are tons of metal parts under any vehicle that get surface rust on them over time. That's just the nature of using uncoated metal or metal painted with less than body-quality paint. Here in MN where they use lots of road salt in the winter this happens almost immediately. Typically it is nothing to worry about since these parts are usually very substantial pieces of metal (like a driveshaft or axle) and the rust is typically just a light surface coating. This seldom progresses to anything structural in vehicles less than 10 years old, in my experience.

Obviously if you have rust on a body panel or other lightweight piece of steel that is likely to rust through or be cosmetic that is a larger cause for concern. But surface rust on things under the vehicle is normal and harmless.

Rob

 

Thank you for all your replies. The majority of the rust is underneath. The body was rusting within 24 hours after someone drove into the side of my truck but it is currently at the dealership having all those pieces replaced. I have had scratches to vehicles in the past, none have rusted as quickly as this truck. I suspected it had to do with the type of metal they are using on this vehicle? Otherwise as far as I could tell at a quick glance the rust covering the axel is the most obvious area . . . but I think it will need to get hoisted to have a more thorough look. In the last few days I have been comparing the amount of rust to trucks that have been on the road. . . just yesterday looking at a Ford with >150,000km and less rust than my 6,000km truck. I was not aware it was not coated until I took it in for the body repair. That will be the next step however, it is still just striking me as excessive and spreading very rapidly.