Gonna pick up my Fit next week.. been offered employee discount on the Electronic Rust Protection AND Surface Rust Warranty for around $400CDN.. it's a LIFETIME warranty on the car for ANY rust (surface/bubbles etc... as well, not just perforated) unlimited mileage. The electronic unit is transferrable to any vehicle meaning I can take it out and put it in another vehicle or my next vehicle... so if any surface rust appears or bubbles, they'll replace the entire panel and what not... normally a $900 option. I'm skeptical cuz I know they'll still make money, but with lifetime warranty and what it covers I think it's a good deal.. also unsure of this type of technology as I know it's been out for a while, the science behind it makes sense, but just doesn't seem to be as popular... The module they connect to your car is an Electronic Corrosion Control unit made by Sym-Tech, and supposedly it's so good, you won't even get rust on your rotors and what not.. any thoughts? opinions? I was gonna get my car Rust Proofed at Krown for $100 a session which includes undercoating as well, but you'd have to get that done every year to keep the warranty

 

Well, everything I've read about the 'electronic rust preventers' says they're pure BS, and just a waste of money. If they're offering a lifetime guarantee against rusting, well, make sure you read the fine print. A lot of the paint protection packages have a lifetime guarantee, but it still says you have to wax the car twice a year or it'll void the coverage.

See also -
Dan's Data letters #153
Dan's Data letters #175

He's got most of the arguments wrapped up, plus links with more info.

 

I'm not sure about the deal being offered at this dealer or the system they're installing but I can tell you, electronic rust protection is not BS.

I purchased a '94 Toyota pickup in 2002. It had 93,000 miles on it and rust was beginning at the bottoms of the wheel wells and the bottom rear corners of the cabin box. After doing a lot of research I installed a Rust Stop system on my truck. When I installed it, I didn't expect it to work miracles but I did want it to slow down the rust.

After having owned the truck for five years, I recently sold it to purchase my Fit. The only rust that got significantly worse on the truck was the rust on the tailgate and the front bumper. For five years the truck was parked outside in our driveway and driven in all sorts of conditions. In Maryland they use a lot of salt on the roads in winter so rust was a big concern for me.

Here's a link to the ad I used to sell my truck: For Sale

regards,
Dave

 

haha i wax my car about twice a week!! ok maybe once a week but it still sounds like a gimmick.

 

That's pretty funny. In the five years I owned my truck I think I washed it five times and waxed it . . . never.

 

yea im quite anal about my car. esp. since this is the first car ive ever owned. in the past all ive ever owned is work trucks and motorcycles. work trucks get washed with the pressure washer and the motorbikes get washed with just a rag and polish. also, having a black car is shitty when your a clean freak!

 

Yeah, black cars are the pits to keep clean -- I used to be anal but I've got three kids now and a busy life so keeping the cars spotless isn't a priority.



My first new vehicle was a black truck -- I shoulda learned w/ this one. My second new vehicle was a black honda civic -- that was my last black vehicle.

 

My Honda dealer had the option from DK, but he reccomended against it in favour of more traditional rust prevention techniques. This type of system works well on pipelines, boat hulls and undersides of big storage tanks (noteably all large areas of homogeneous metal), while it may have some effect I can't see this working all that well on cars.

This is common practice in big industry, we use them in our designs at work. They generally refered to as cathodic protection systems or in cases where you use electronic modules in conjunction, impressed current cathodic protection. Important to note that you need to check and eventually replace the sacrificial anodes as time goes by. A true cathodic protection system requires them, If you just install a power module I call BS on your protection system in real life application, and honestly I would also say for this system to even be effective on a vehical you need an anode attached to bare metal on each panel.

Anyway, this is a very debatable topic because of all the theory's behind the protection technique. I don't want to rub anybody the wrong way, just sharing how we use it in proven applications and why.

 

My system used aluminum anodes. It was cool to watch them (rather than my car) oxidize over time. It definitely let me know the system was working.

 

That is pretty interesting, if they are oxidizing they are definetly working!!
Did you have them on every panel and frame or did the system protect by linking up all the panels with wires?

 

I had two anodes under the hood and two anodes on the underside of the bed (behind the bumper). In essence they protected both of large "boxes" of the truck. You can see one of the anodes in this picture -- it's silver w/ white oxidation around it.

 

I am pretty impressed with that system, the only ones I have seen lack proper anodes (and quantity of them). Interesting choice they decided to go with aluminum and not zinc blocks, I guess just cheaper?

If anybody does want to do this it is important to note that you need to connect the anodes directly to bare metal (much like you would a grounding electrical connection) or they won't function as well. Proximity to trouble spots and at more than a few would also be reccomended, all panels that you want to protect should also be grounded if you want the impressed current to have maximum effectiveness.

I still personally don't think this is the most effective way to prevent rust, a more traditional approch is undercoat anti-rust sprays which are basically an oily adheasive that needs to be applied every couple of years. They generally contain zincs or magnesium which provides a similar affect as the cathodic protection, but the oils also prevent oxygen from ever reaching into exposed or weaker areas. A good one to check out would be KROWN RUST CONTROL -Corrosion Control For all types of vehicles, and still ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY!