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The same concept applies to rubberized undercoat sealants...they are a sure fire way to make chassis rust worse. That’s the reason why there has been a switch to less permanent but much more effective underbody coatings, like FluidFilm and LPS.
I hope you can get your rust issues sorted out @JD101b.
For the record, I've spent a bit of time with the MB body shop running a scope into recesses of the G550 I'm considering and discussing the hinge rust. They've shared how they are going to repair it and I'm good with their method. Remove door, remove hinges, get behind and recoat the surfaces, repaint, seal up the hinge with new seals and some sort of sealant. The Windshield area looked OK and I could not find a sign of rust there.
The door sills look good.
I may still get some professional rustproofing done, as insurance.
Frag 101.....a white 2014 G63 I looked at had the same cracks in the paint at the seams. Chit tier paintwork (and metal work) on this vehicle. Thinking more and more I'll just wait for a nice used 2019+ model in a few years, even though I prefer the pre-2019 body
Ceramic will offer some level of protection from the outside...the problem is the metal and the inability for the paint to bond fully with the metal.
I think my method of displacing water (LPS for the undercoating and exterior rubber stripping) and ensuring that the vehicle is exposed to super dry air as often as possible (dehumidified garage + fans) is probably the best bet. The other option would be to sand it to bare metal, replace the problematic sheetmetal with higher quality metal, and reapply a higher quality paint + oxidizer inhibitor. But that's ****ing ridiculous to do for an almost new, $100k + Mercedes.
Oh man - after reading this post string, I went out and looked at my 2010 this morning. I see bubbles forming around my windshield seal. This is crazy - I bought this truck from bone dry Utah. It has only been on the East Coast for 3 years!
JD101b - Any luck dealing with Mercedes? Are you dealing with a local dealership?
I know class-actions are typically started by small groups. See the link below... 10 plaintiffs started the "Mars Red" Paint class action against Mercedes.
Oh man - after reading this post string, I went out and looked at my 2010 this morning. I see bubbles forming around my windshield seal. This is crazy - I bought this truck from bone dry Utah. It has only been on the East Coast for 3 years!
JD101b - Any luck dealing with Mercedes? Are you dealing with a local dealership?
I know class-actions are typically started by small groups. See the link below... 10 plaintiffs started the "Mars Red" Paint class action against Mercedes.
I agree that anything built in the modern era regardless of price should not have these fails. Certainly concerning and I will be paying attention to my 2018. It's garage kept and we don't drive it too much so maybe that helps but still concerning. Sounds inevitable. I'd like to hear from more owners that own modern G's.
I have dealt with the local dealership. They’ve been great - it’s MBUSA who has basically told me to F myself.
Originally Posted by Jim Sullivan
Oh man - after reading this post string, I went out and looked at my 2010 this morning. I see bubbles forming around my windshield seal. This is crazy - I bought this truck from bone dry Utah. It has only been on the East Coast for 3 years!
JD101b - Any luck dealing with Mercedes? Are you dealing with a local dealership?
I know class-actions are typically started by small groups. See the link below... 10 plaintiffs started the "Mars Red" Paint class action against Mercedes.
Frag 101.....a white 2014 G63 I looked at had the same cracks in the paint at the seams. Chit tier paintwork (and metal work) on this vehicle. Thinking more and more I'll just wait for a nice used 2019+ model in a few years, even though I prefer the pre-2019 body
Thanks for the info horse86. I’m in the same boat as you, I’m just going to enjoy this thing for couple more years and look into 2019+.
I talked with few body shops regarding how to fix it and I’m not sure if I want to go through with all the nightmares. Especially none of them can guarantee that it won’t crack again after few more years. As people over here mention the main problem could be how this thing put together not just the joint compound they use on these seams.
I was just at the dealership's body shop and they had the rear door off and interior out so I could inspect the body rust around the upper hinge. It is actually rusted around both the upper and lower hinges, although only on the interior around the lower hinge. The interior of the car "breathes", so it's not like the area around those seals should hold moisture, but yet it clearly does. So I suspect the rust is starting on the inside and working back to the outside. This is much like the rear fender wells on many cars. Just like you had mentioned under the windshield, the temperature changes makes this area breathe and the moisture isn't getting out of there for whatever reason.
So the body shop's goal is to coat the interior metal after some sealing as well as clean all rust off the outside and repaint.
We also discussed some rust that had formed on the inside of the spare wheel cover around it's spot welds on that center support tube. They are going to use the same tactic on that cover that they are using on the interior metal around the hinges.
Zero rust was apparent under the windshield's seal. We peeled it back and had a close look all the way around, focusing underneath. We did find a small chip in the paint about 1/4" away from the seal on the bottom, so they are going to go ahead and touch up the paint there. He was honest and said if the rust did appear under the windshield that it is a real difficult (read as $$$) thing to fix permanently.
Last edited by ScottyAC8DE; 11-01-2019 at 02:15 PM.
Places - I'm sure my truck has never been garaged. Like I mentioned I bought it from out west ( I live in PA) just to avoid any rust issues - and here we are.
It has rained quite a bit here the last couple days. Every time I lift up the corner of my windshield seal, I get multiple tablespoons of water come out. This windshield seal is really good at trapping water under it. Whether the metal is properly treated or not - constant wet is definitely going to lead to major problems. I do not have any rust around the rear hinges. When I look at the seals around the hinges, the rubber is actually a little dried out there... and it has shrunk a bit (I'm guessing the truck back end was parked toward the sun for a lot of years). The slight shrinkage pulled the seal away from the body... so it ended up that water could not get trapped there.
Rather than sit back and let it go, I'm going to make some attempts at slowing it down - or hopefully stopping it. I'm a materials engineer and I own a specialty metals company - so I will have a go and see if I can control this.
My first effort is going to be to spray under the all seals with the material below (after I test it for paint compatibility and make sure it does not swell the rubber AND do my best to dry out under the seal): https://www.shop.corrosionx.com/Corr...osol-90104.htm
The benefits of this spray are the low viscosity, penetrating action and semi-permanent residue (unlike an oil or other fluid). If this does not work, I'm not against completely filling/bonding the seal with a hydrophobic liquid rubber.
I'm also thinking of ways and will play around with allowing a path for water to drain from the bottom corners of the windshield.
I'll take plenty of pictures before... and if anyone interested wants to message me in the Spring to see how the solution has worked, please do.
Places - I'm sure my truck has never been garaged. Like I mentioned I bought it from out west ( I live in PA) just to avoid any rust issues - and here we are.
...Every time I lift up the corner of my windshield seal, I get multiple tablespoons of water come out. This windshield seal is really good at trapping water under it...
I'm interested in your progress. Don't know the year of your G, but mine is 4 years old. The seal around the windshield is quite soft and easy to peel back. Since I just bought mine, I haven't had it in the rain to see if water gets in there or not.
I forgot to pass on to you what the treatments were that my MB body shop uses to treat rusted surfaces. After they sand/grind off the rust, they use POR15 to coat the surface. https://www.por15.com/POR-15-Rust-Preventive-Coating
I had something similar done on the bottom edge of the liftgate on my l322 RR. Dealer grind/filled, and thin coat of paint then put some amber looking fluid in the drain holes looked like WD-40 and had a strong odor....assuming it was the winzer type treatment. Bottom line the edge started rusting again in 1-2 years. You won't win once it starts.
I recently replaced the rear door of my 2013 G550. The body shop affiliated with the dealer would not warrant any work unless the door was replaced. I used an OEM door at significant expense but was able to get Mercedes Customer Service to cover $1,000 of the repair even though it's no longer under warranty. That said, the rust on the old door isn't bad at all - very minor - and I have the spare door for sale if anyone is interested (listed on eBay). The fact that a truck that cost $115K new rusts in just a few years is shameful - I'm told that it is inevitable with these trucks. For those with the same vintage, I recommend running a bead of black silicone across the top of the rear door. The weather stripping doesn't set securely and lets water seep in and the silicone holds the weather stripping in place.
I have one and ultimately do want the G for a change of scenery....this is really the only thing that I'm concerned about. Other than that I love the G.
You won’t be able to get a new G for some time. Wait lists exceed 1 year.
I’ve known a few friends with Range Rovers. They all said they were garbage, due to poor reliability. They got out of them after a few years and never looked back.
I believe the new model will not have these issues. You have to remember the original car is a 40 year old design. Rust was not part of the original mandate for a desert military vehicle. The hinges and seams on the new car are smaller/narrower. Everything was changed except the door locks and the spare tire cover.
10-25-2019, 02:31 PM
