Rusted Body on 1 yr old Sprinter

[jjwithers]

I have a 2023 White 2500. It has been owned less than one year.

Any surface of the vehicle that faces the sky has many rust spots over it. I thought the roof was dirty so I started giving the van a good washing and realized that there is rust all over this thing.
The local Mercedes shop sent me to a body shop they contract with to see if it is a warranty issue. The body shop said it's an exterior element that is causing the rust.
The Van has spent 9 months in NJ and the last 2 months in CA. No 'exterior elements' other than typical rain.
Even the sliding door track is rusted.

Any idea how to escalate this with Mercedes? The dealer will not call me back now.

I'm considering giving the roof a good scrubbing and then painting it with POR 15 or something.
I don't know what to do with the hood and all the window sills. I am certainly not paying $20k for a paint job.

Any thoughts or help would be great. This is really disappointing.

-J

 

[MASTER THIRD EYE]

Possibly Rail dust.

 

[MASTER THIRD EYE]

Foot wells under plastic covers is a notorious area prone to RUST.

Footwell drain and surface rust

Got a 2017 4x4 that lives in Denver and spends most of the year in the west. I have 45k miles on it and only a handful of days in salt states. Pulled the footwell panels to do some cleaning and found this surface rust. There is a drain in the back (red arrow), and it appears much of the dirt...

sprinter-source.com

 

[FlaJoe]

Threaten revocation of acceptance for a material defect in the vehicle. I have done it successfully a few times on relatively new vehicles. You can do this for a material defect that affects the value of the vehicle.

 

[ECU]

I have a 2023 White 2500. It has been owned less than one year.

Any surface of the vehicle that faces the sky has many rust spots over it. I thought the roof was dirty so I started giving the van a good washing and realized that there is rust all over this thing.
The local Mercedes shop sent me to a body shop they contract with to see if it is a warranty issue. The body shop said it's an exterior element that is causing the rust.
The Van has spent 9 months in NJ and the last 2 months in CA. No 'exterior elements' other than typical rain.
Even the sliding door track is rusted.

Any idea how to escalate this with Mercedes? The dealer will not call me back now.

I'm considering giving the roof a good scrubbing and then painting it with POR 15 or something.
I don't know what to do with the hood and all the window sills. I am certainly not paying $20k for a paint job.

Any thoughts or help would be great. This is really disappointing.

-J

That is from metal filings/dust landing on the surface and rusting in place. Parked near some construction?

It might buff out.

 

[MASTER THIRD EYE]

I recommend NOT plugging drain holes Three are located outboard of foot well.

 

[MASTER THIRD EYE]

Nhttps://youtu.be/gCbkkL7_rr4?si=6tftyJgAa-zDxSUX

 

[Wrinkledpants]

I have a 2023 White 2500. It has been owned less than one year.

Any surface of the vehicle that faces the sky has many rust spots over it. I thought the roof was dirty so I started giving the van a good washing and realized that there is rust all over this thing.
The local Mercedes shop sent me to a body shop they contract with to see if it is a warranty issue. The body shop said it's an exterior element that is causing the rust.
The Van has spent 9 months in NJ and the last 2 months in CA. No 'exterior elements' other than typical rain.
Even the sliding door track is rusted.

Any idea how to escalate this with Mercedes? The dealer will not call me back now.

I'm considering giving the roof a good scrubbing and then painting it with POR 15 or something.
I don't know what to do with the hood and all the window sills. I am certainly not paying $20k for a paint job.

Any thoughts or help would be great. This is really disappointing.

-J

View attachment 314883
View attachment 314884

That looks like rail dust which is essentially surface dust. You can ask them to buff it out, or just do it yourself. It's not rusting through the paint, nor has it etched past the clear coat. It's fine metal powder thatI fell on the van and is now rusting.

My suggestion would be to clay bar it, then polish with a medium compound, and then wax. I did this first thing when I got our van to avoid this. Normal washing won't get rid of rail dust - you need something more aggressive.

 

[Wrinkledpants]

For example, this is surface metal shavings from our van builder. It's alarming to see, but once you clean it up, you realize it's just surface rust.

 

[elemental]

I have a 2023 White 2500. It has been owned less than one year.

Any surface of the vehicle that faces the sky has many rust spots over it. I thought the roof was dirty so I started giving the van a good washing and realized that there is rust all over this thing.
The local Mercedes shop sent me to a body shop they contract with to see if it is a warranty issue. The body shop said it's an exterior element that is causing the rust.
The Van has spent 9 months in NJ and the last 2 months in CA. No 'exterior elements' other than typical rain.
Even the sliding door track is rusted.

Any idea how to escalate this with Mercedes? The dealer will not call me back now.

The dealer is not the manufacturer. In the United States, the entity that stands in for the manufacturer is MBUSA, and MBUSA is the entity that warranties your vehicle. When you contact a dealer, that are acting as an independent entity with the ability to act as an authorized agent for MBUSA, but the dealers can basically refuse to cooperate with an owner on an issue that might well be covered under warranty but that the dealer thinks their chances of getting reimbursement for the cost of investigation/correcting from MB is low.

Your owner's manual describes the escalation process. It probably says something like this:

• Take the issue up with the service advisor of the dealership
• Take the issue up with the manager of the dealership
• Contact MBUSA to escalate the issue further if not satisfied by the dealership (and has contact information)

Good luck.

 

[Cheyenne]

That is from metal filings/dust landing on the surface and rusting in place. Parked near some construction?

It might buff out.

Or it could be railroad dust if transported by rail. The dust is actually minute grindings from the rails, wheels and brakes of the railroad.

 

[NA’s Van]

Looks very much like rail dust, or some type of outside influence. This would not be covered in most cases. The good news is as others have reported most of the time it will come off.

 

[wojtas]

car pro ironx will take care of it most likely

 

[akira]

I have a 2023 White 2500. It has been owned less than one year.

Any surface of the vehicle that faces the sky has many rust spots over it. I thought the roof was dirty so I started giving the van a good washing and realized that there is rust all over this thing.
The local Mercedes shop sent me to a body shop they contract with to see if it is a warranty issue. The body shop said it's an exterior element that is causing the rust.
The Van has spent 9 months in NJ and the last 2 months in CA. No 'exterior elements' other than typical rain.
Even the sliding door track is rusted.

Any idea how to escalate this with Mercedes? The dealer will not call me back now.

I'm considering giving the roof a good scrubbing and then painting it with POR 15 or something.
I don't know what to do with the hood and all the window sills. I am certainly not paying $20k for a paint job.

Any thoughts or help would be great. This is really disappointing.

-J

View attachment 314883
View attachment 314884

Looks like Iron contamination. Most proficient detail companies can do a paint decon and bleed a lot of the embedded particles from the surface. This product works great https://shinesupply.com/products/smooth-move-1. Since you are in California, Shine Supply is a California based company and can likely recommend a local detailer to correct this issue for you. I have no connection with the company, other than using their products.

 

[jjwithers]

For example, this is surface metal shavings from our van builder. It's alarming to see, but once you clean it up, you realize it's just surface rust.

Just surface rust? My dealings with rust is that once it's there, it won't go away. I can see getting rid of it with the various techniques mentioned in this thread but I also see this looking the same in less than a year and having to clay bar ( or other suggestions) often.

I did hit the sliding door rail with some scotch brite and it came clean easily. I'm more worried about the paint/clear coat and it going deeper into the paint.

 

[akira]

Just surface rust? My dealings with rust is that once it's there, it won't go away. I can see getting rid of it with the various techniques mentioned in this thread but I also see this looking the same in less than a year and having to clay bar ( or other suggestions) often.

I did hit the sliding door rail with some scotch brite and it came clean easily. I'm more worried about the paint/clear coat and it going deeper into the paint.

Use a paint decon product, clay bar, then apply a quality wax or a ceramic coating to protect the finish. Ceramic coating has the abilities to provide longer term protection by forming a harder, glass-like layer of protection over the surface. Better long term shield from the elements.

Whatever you choose, the best thing to do is frequent washes.

 

[gas_sprinter]

Oh wow, lots of new topics to learn, which never happened to other vehicles, glad this forum exists!

 

[37 Caddy]

Take it to a detailing shop and show it to them,see if they want to do it or give you some help as to what is the best product to use.You should have this taken care of as soon as possible as it will eventually "eat" its way to the metal and will be a bigger problem. 99% of it should come off with a bit of work,its possible its coming from someplace handy you are parking or used to park?.

 

[Wrinkledpants]

Just surface rust? My dealings with rust is that once it's there, it won't go away. I can see getting rid of it with the various techniques mentioned in this thread but I also see this looking the same in less than a year and having to clay bar ( or other suggestions) often.

I did hit the sliding door rail with some scotch brite and it came clean easily. I'm more worried about the paint/clear coat and it going deeper into the paint.

there is a big difference between something with iron in it rusting ON the surface, vs the chassis rusting through the paint. It will come off with no damage to your paint. People have been doing this song and dance for years dealing with rail dust. It’s a one-time effort. You would think the dealer would handle this, but you can’t see the dust when you wash the car. It’s only after some time passes you see the rust form.

Clean it once, polish, and you won’t see this type of rust again. No damage to your paint. A good podcast and a beer after will complete the project.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Just surface rust? My dealings with rust is that once it's there, it won't go away. I can see getting rid of it with the various techniques mentioned in this thread but I also see this looking the same in less than a year and having to clay bar ( or other suggestions) often.

I did hit the sliding door rail with some scotch brite and it came clean easily. I'm more worried about the paint/clear coat and it going deeper into the paint.

You won't have any problem getting it out of the clear coat. You don't have any to get it out of.