This is what my 2011 looks like. I noticed right away after bringing it home. 4th f150 1st to look like this. 2nd photo is what I used with a wire brush. Not sure it help much but it did remove some of the rust color and gave it the look it is now.

 

Only the rail head. If the wheels of passing train cars are touching anything but the rail head, the railroad has much bigger problems than corrosion on its 90-year-old rails.

 

Just got a new 2011 a month ago. I noticed a lot of rust just like everyone is having.
When I first saw it I felt sick to my stomach. Now I just read this post so I know it is not just my truck.

I checked my door sticker and see my truck was built 12/2010. So it was built in Michigan in December. My guess is it sat on the build lot in the dead of winter when they were using salt. Just a guess as to why I have so much rust on my new Florida truck.

Very disappointed to say the least.

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I agree, it is unacceptable for a brand new vehicle to look like they do. I understand that it may not rust through any time soon but it certainly doesn't meet the standards of good manufacturing practices. See Ford's response in my earlier post to my current arbitration case on this very subject.

 

Hi Guys,

This being my first post, I thought I would give you my humble opinion on this problem , cause what I see in the previous pics is definately a problem that is totally unacceptable on a new truck , heck I have a 93 and I think it has less rust underneath it than those 2011. Here up north we are in the salt for about six month a year and we have to undercoat our vehicules with rustproofing , otherwise ,they will rust in less than four years.
I am very surprised that Ford( some plants!!!) is not painting underneath
I hope these trucks aren't ship up north like that cause there will be alot of rust problems in the future for Ford .

PS This very nice site I just discovered this week.

 

I check under my 2011, i live in southern cali so no snow or salt at all, i do have some rust at the u-joints of the drive shaft, (every truck i have owned has had that) and some minor rust on rear diff, nothing that would alarm me other than that i cant tell but most parts are painted and i also have off roaded in it so there is some mud that wont wash off. Still i think that all the rust some of you guys have is unexceptable and ford should be the one to make it right, try to get enough of you guys together to make a case to ford see what they say. I dont think that many people would want to buy a "new" truck with that much rust, bad business.

 

I think alot of people in this thread are going to be unhappy customers with no matter what vehicle they purchase these days. Here in 2011, the main focus when producing an automobile is the best possible performance while being as cost effective as possible. One of the ways manufacturers were able to save money is by not painting every damn part under the vehicle. If you think about it, why paint it in the first place? Aesthetics? Who the hell is going to be looking under your purty new truck anyway? Not anyone other than the gearheads that will notice the SURFACE RUST as normal.

Do any of you bitch and moan when your brakes develop a coating of rust on them after a rainstorm and throw the "DEFECTIVE BULLSH!T" card? I'd hope not. The only components that are vital to be protected from rust is the floorpans and frame rails. Past that, its senseless. I've lived in Richmond, VA and Montgomery, NY most of my life and have driven all kinds of vehicles thru roadsalt and NEVER undercoated any of them. My 300,000 mile Jeep Grand Cherokee still only had surface rust underneath... the body was a different story. LOL.

Bottom line, if you can't deal with the way vehicles are made now adays, trade that new shiney truck in and get something from 1980-2000 that was not "inferior"... or go to your local parts store and order some aftermarket replacement components and put them on yourself. They'll be painted and look all pretty for ya. Its not the manufacturers fault some of you are the Webster's definition of ****.

Oh, and for those complaining about the rust on the bumpers... EVERY post I've seen in this forum about this (no matter the generation truck) is always in a spot that is suseptable to rock chips. Next time you notice a small spot of rust, try to track down the real culpriets... the rock that came off YOUR tire and subsequently made contact with the bumper and then the water molecules that made contact with that particular spot of bumper and subsequently formed iron oxide. Those are who you should be tracking down. Afterall, there ARE components on the market offered as accessories by the dealer (read: mudflaps) that are designed to help minize this... its not Ford's fault you opted NOT to take advantage of them.

/rant.

 

Lenn,
I would agree with you sir if all of them were not painted. The problem is that some are painted very nice and some aren't at all. If it doesn't matter then why paint any at all.

 

Are they actually painted or just undercoated?

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Exactly!

You can't become or remain a world-class manufacturer by introducing variation into your product line. Either paint the undercarriage or don't. You can not paint some vehicles while leaving others uncoated all the while making no mention of this in the option packages or on the invoice. I completely understand why these guys are pissed. I would be pissed too.