Abu Dhabi Off-Road Club Forums

Hi guys,

I have an FJ cruiser 2010 and went for re-registration and it has failed, this was due to 'corrosion' and had to get it fixed as is the norm. So went to a couple of shops and the guys there said they have never seen rust or holes like this on the bottom of a 5 year old car. The car is always cleaned, never leave anything sitting for too long that could have this effect.

I have put some photos in the bottom so you can see just how bad this is. The warranty period is over, just my luck, so was thinking of taking this to Al Futtaim as there is no way that this should be happening after 5 years and see if they will fix it, may be a defect in the alloy. The unusual thing is the rust is mainly on the right hand rail of the chassis and the back areas are perfect.

I have been quoted 3k to fix the holes, only make-up mind you, and the guy said even after that he is unsure if it will pass registration.

Any advice or help would be great.

James

did you drive in the sea?

Nope, car has never even been on a beach let alone the sea.

So last year it passed? And this level of corrosion happened in the last 12 months ?

Denise. Have you driven on salty deserts i.e. mix of sand and salt. Off-roading not far from the sea.


Georges
JKU 2014
0559740888

Yeah last year it passed no issues. Haven't been to a salty desert neither. This wear and tear is unheard of according to the workshops.

This shouldn't happen on modern cars - even if you get in touch with salty sand from time to time.
The corrosion protection should work better - so I assume there was something wrong from the beginning...
Imagine what else would happen with all the FJ's in Europe during winter times, when tons of salt are being spread onto the roads against ice... No FJ would survive the first 3 Years...

I would definitely have a word with Al Futtaim and maybe even write directly to Toyota, explaining the situation and attaching the pics.


Jorg

It's only on the right hand side rail. Rest of the chassis is fine. Back areas are perfect in fact.

I can help but need to see the car first.
Contact me




Proud to be AD4x4 member.
Nissan patrol
0558992870.

Could be a corrosive chemical splashed over that area, once had drops of brake fluid over the paint which corroded very fast.

I would sure contact Toyota.

I had a similar situation in a Mercedes s500. Were the doors became rusty and the car was 5years old, contacted Mercedes. And guess what? The body had a 10 years warranty ,,,,, I took it to EMC,,, car fixed all under warranty,,

Contact Toyota. If you didn't get a positive respond from them,,, say you will post the pictures and the case on digital media,,, trust me this will work !!!!

Good luck,,,

I do not know if you bought this car from new 5 years ago or not.

If not; then for sure the previous owner was using this car for towing his jet Ski or boat. This makes the car rust very quickly as he have to take half of the car to the sea water in order to drop his Jet Ski or Boat. Maybe it was used even once by a friend and was never cleaned after that.

if it was used don't tell me it was an expat lady driven and the car was very clean - excuse me this is BS - Expat lady driven cares are actually one of the worst.

USA or Japan import not GCC specs?

I also second Gladiator; as far as I know most cars have 10 year warranty on body and paint- Read your manual carefully; show your car to Al futtaim; if no help then send to Toyota.

Fixing your Chassis is against the traffic rules here and your car might not pass traffic unless done by the agency.