Hello All. I bought my Ram new in 09, so I know the complete history of it. I've kept it clean, and for the past 3 years I have oil sprayed the bottom and inside all the panels. This past winter, it sat in my garage since late October as I bought a winter beater that is better on fuel. I was surprised to see that the passenger side fender has 2 rust bubbles appearing on it. One is about the size of a dime and the other is about half that. They are located about 6 inches above the arch, pretty much along the curved body line. Luckily the bed is ok, and I cannot see anything else...yet. Anyone else experiencing this, or am I the only lucky one here? I can foresee that the dealer will give me the "6 year old, and its not perforated" speech, so I am anticipating having to buy a new fender and install it myself.
Thanks for your input!

 

Fender Rust Bubble

 

None so far, but I don't wash mine in the winter and leave it outside so I don't get the constant melting that causes garage rot in the winter.

 

Couldnt tell from pic but do you have inner fender wells?

 

There is an insulation pad bonded to the inside of the front fenders in that location, it's common for them to rust there. The dealer should take care of that no problem.

 

Yes, the splash shield is in place. Good to know about the bonded pad. I bet that's the cause. I've got an appointment at the dealer this Friday, so we'll see if they will do anything about it.

 

2009 was a bad year for these trucks I had the same issue with my 09, I was told they used cheaply made panels to save on cost due to lack of money.

 

Yes. One day after I bought my 11 used, the right front fender got bubbles all over it. They replaced the fender and I got to see the old one. You are right about the pad. The bubbles where right where the pad was. The truck was only 1.5 years old at the time.

 

Check your inner door seams under the rubber. . My 06 2500 fenders and doors are destroyed by rust....

 

Went to the dealer on Friday. As my truck is 9 months past the expiration date on the rust warranty, Chrysler would not do anything for me. The dealer gave me jobber cost on a fender, emblem, and antenna assembly (as these things never come off in one piece) so I'm out $300.00 plus the cost of having it painted. Largefarva - You are 100% correct, the new fender has an insulation pad exactly where there old one is rusting. The service manager said that he'd never seen them rust there, and there were 2 other techs commenting on how nice and clean my truck was. And yet I'm responsible for the 100% of cost for the repair. I guess if there was any question on if these trucks rust as bad as the generations before, the answer is "absolutely they do."