John316

Y'all are pretty brave to buy an all newly designed truck the first year! I usually wait a few years for them to iron out all the problems. The rust issue should be a big deal for everyone! What are you guys paying, 45-50k for rusted undercarriages? May be something that happens to all trucks, but shouldn't be happening when you purchase new. Ford should be ashamed. My 06 is almost 10 years old and doesn't look like those new ones!

4js8wh

Great point, maybe Dearborn was slow in the winter, and parts were stockpiled somewhere until things started clicking along

roadPilot

For the love of God ... smh.

roadPilot

This is 2015, not 1970. The old "wait until the 2nd or 3rd year" doesn't really apply anymore. Take a look at all the recalls and service bulletins for Toyota, GM, Ford, and every other make out there that cross anywhere from 1-2 model years to 10 or more years. Just goes to prove that waiting n years doesn't guarantee that you'll get a perfect, foolproof vehicle.

Surface rust on an iron axle is a "big deal"? I guarantee you that 10,000 other things will go wrong with your car or truck before surface rust on an axle creates a legitimate issue.

roadPilot

Nothing is "stockpiled" anymore at the plants. Too much of a chance of obsolescence and a huge waste of capital (opportunity cost).

What we ship today will be in a truck in anywhere from half a day to perhaps 2 days at most (unless there is a problem and they shut the assembly line down). That goes for most other suppliers, except for any with long lead times (e.g., components or sub-assemblies traveling long distances to get to the plant).

06redlongbed

It's completely superficial. Regardless, I would expect your 2015 truck to not have a spec of rust anywhere.

roadPilot

"Not have a spec of rust anywhere" ... smh.

06redlongbed

A $50,000 truck should be pretty perfect off the lot. Or or you going all **** over "spec"? Iphones tend to autocorrect, sue me.

nickalexander7

I kind of agree. I mean....I know this is going to happen in the long run and it probably won't be an issue at all. But if I'm gonna fork out 50k for a truck Im driving that thing off the lot pristine. If not then Im buying used.

Derodeo

A while back when I was contemplating buying a 2014 GMC, there was a big thread on a GM forum about undercarriage rust on their new trucks (and also rust on some engine components). Pretty much the same discussion as here, some got their dealer to fix it and most were told it was perfectly normal.

There was someone though who found a big stockpile of GM truck axles sitting on a dock somewhere on the eastern seaboard. They had been there a while after being shipped from Mexico and they all had a major amount of rust on them. So yeah, parts like axles are sometimes stockpiled and subject to the elements - not likely at the point of vehicle assembly but at the point of manufacture and during transit.