2008 gmc 1500 sierra rust problems

[pintailslammer]

I own a 2008 gmc sierra 1500 z-71 crew cab 4x4. I thought I had a small rock chip happening on my passenger side of my truck. A few days later and another one appears,then more start popping. So I go to body shop and get quote to repair.($4000)Now my left side is doing the same. I take very good care of my truck,washing it regularly as needed.Only travel gravel for hunting,and the rest is pavement.
Truck just turned over 180kms and I've seem lots of these trucks locally with rust in the same spot. Im just wondering how many other AO have a chevy or gm doing the same problem.

I contacted GM and they told me the only way it can be covered is if I can poke my finger through the fender.What a Bleeping joke! I was then told because of my concern he felt bad and was sending me a free oil change at my local dealership.OOOOH!thanks Very much......I told him I do my own service and he could paint my truck box and that would make me happy. Ill post some pictures tomorrow, oh and if you do have this problem pm and Ill give you the GM reps name so you can tell him you have the same problem,Enough of these corporate a-holes thinking consumers don't matter

Now that I've vented lets see how many others have the same issue


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[moosemad]

I have the same truck, rust is starting on both back wheel wells above the tire. Didn't notice them when I bought the truck but now they are blooming. If you look behind there is a couple holes that were plugged from the factory, my guess is water is going in there and rusting like crazy. What a stupid design. My solution is fender flares. Life sucks.

[Getzcold]

Got the same truck and got rust above the rear wheel wells on both sides


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[Sooner]

It's coming from the inside out. Bad primer from the factory is my bodyman's guess. My first explorer did it to. Little rust spots coming out in weird places where rock chips dont happen. Only thing i could guess was a problem in the plant with their prime/paint process got contaminated some how.

Had a 90 f150. Blue color stuck, silver two tone peeled. Ford had a big problem with that silver peeling yet warranty said efff you if you were over the time line.

Check out some GM forums, I bet you will find many more with it and see what they did. You can always keep calling up the chain at GM warranty.

[arnsem10]

2009 chev 2500

Rust started above passenger side wheel well this spring. Maybe 10 or 12 spots in a row over an area of 2 feet. Seen on many other trucks too.

[TimeOff]

When washing, always try to spray out mud and road grime from inside lip of wheel wells.
It retains moisture and salt in winter. Rusts from the inside out. Also spray in behind rear bumpers, you'd be surprised how much crap accumulates in there.

[pintailslammer]

I pulled the 4 pugs on each side of my truck and do rinse under the fender and also through sides above where the fenders are no rusting. These plugs were installed by GM at the factory. If you don't have any rust happening I Strongly suggest you remove them. This is where the dirt and crap builds up.Make sure to rinse with the car wash thought the side and then get some lubricate spray in there to prevent it from rusting,
I still wish global tv had the trouble shooter as I would take this publicly on there.Bs that we all have the same problem,if you want send me a pm if you'd like to call Gm and Ill give you the guys name who I spoke to. Complain that you are having the same problem.

Maybe if enough of us complain something good will come out of it.
Also if you truck is under 160,000 kms (i believe)you can be compensated or warranty of some sort is still covered.Call you local Gm dealer and see.

Good luck to you all,
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[JohninAB]

My 2009 Chev Silverado at work is rusting around both rear wheel wells. Truck only has 108000 kms on it. Rust appeared around 95000 kms. Our other 2009 Chev is doing the same thing. Our 3 2009 Fords are fine. Obviously a design issue with the GM's.

[Big Sky]

Originally Posted by pintailslammer

..... get some lubricate spray in there to prevent it from rusting.......

Originally Posted by moosemad

My solution is fender flares.

Krown rust proofing and flares. Beats the heck out of $4G.

https://www.krown.com/

[Bushrat]

Originally Posted by JohninAB

My 2009 Chev Silverado at work is rusting around both rear wheel wells. Truck only has 108000 kms on it. Rust appeared around 95000 kms. Our other 2009 Chev is doing the same thing. Our 3 2009 Fords are fine. Obviously a design issue with the GM's.

They all do it. It's not a mileage thing it is a time thing, how much time the first time it gets wet and mud/salt gets in between the outside skin and how many years it sits there inside of the wheel well. Easiest way to prevent this on the GM is to remove the taillights and hose/flush the wet/mud/salt sludge out of there every time you have been on a muddy road, or at least run the hose up over the wheel well and spray it out from underneath, it is the same with them all, except the fords with a middle stake pocket on the box above the wheel can be flushed out by just spraying down into the stake pocket and it will flush the trapped mud out. All vehicles have pockets where mud ,water and salt get trapped, it is predictable where a vehicle will rust out by these design factors and the same vehicles will all eventually rust out in the same spots dependant on how much exposure to mud and salt and whether these areas get flushed out and allowed to dry out. When full of mud these areas rarely if ever dry out, constantly rusting. Door bottoms, wheel wells, cab corners, rocker panels front and rear lower box panels, lower front fenders and fron fender wheel wells, etc, wherever stuff accumulates and doesn't get flushed out, gets wet and stays wet, freezes and expands opening seams and allowing corrosion to begin. Flares can cover this up and hide it, but flares themselves are mud traps and accelerate rust, take a few flares off a vehicle that has seen mud for a few years and the rot/rust/corrosion hidden under them can be disturbing though you would never know until those plastic pieces of cosmetic junk are removed.

[Bourbon Outdoorsman]

if you wash them properly and regularly they will never rust

[blacknorthernjk]

Originally Posted by TimeOff

When washing, always try to spray out mud and road grime from inside lip of wheel wells.
It retains moisture and salt in winter. Rusts from the inside out. Also spray in behind rear bumpers, you'd be surprised how much crap accumulates in there.

Bingo. This here.
On my '11 there are drain holes for that rear fender lip, they can't do their job plug with mud. Moisture will just sit their and rust the metal out in no time.

[357xp]

my 2011 is doing same thing, rust above fender wells. dont really care to much, i buy trucks to drive and not for looks, wont spend a dime into painting a truck. just like burning money

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

my 2003 GMC 1500 ext cab rusted out so bad . GM rep for western Canada said it was the stainless wheel well trim. Then why is the paint peeling and rusting out everywhere else - end gate, door panels, etc!!

I got a new 2009 Chev 2500HD in 2010. Rusting where there should be no rust-in the stake pockets, behind the tail lights, inside the doors, paint peeling off in places. Love the truck , hate the paint jobs. IMO, GM went so cheap for cost saving measures, bet there is no primer anymore. Steel isn't the same either.

Nothing is built to last like it use to be.

Don't know what to go with for next truck as I am really disappointed now with GM.

GM said to me before - they don't have the issue in USA-California...well do they have the environmental conditions we have !! They sell more production in one State than all of Canada - so they really don't care...all the makers are the same.

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

I had a couple rust spots on the front bumper of my 2013 chev and it was covered under warranty. A little dab of clean oil with a q tip in the effected rust area will help it from spreading quickly if that helps any..

[JohninAB]

Bought a new 1988 Chev half ton. At about 5000 kms noticed the paint chipping like crazy. Noted this on my dealer evaluation I got in the mail from GM.

Brought it up to the dealership I bought the truck from numerous times but they said rocks. Year later I am at the parents cabin and run my truck into the dealership there which happens to be owned by the family I bought the truck from in my hometown. Difference was they had an autobody shop there and the manager of it looks at my truck and said it was the primer popping causing the rock chips.

He told GM that so they had me take it back to the original dealer who had a local bodyshop repaint it. Within 6 months the paint started chipping again. They repainted it again but this time they took it down to the bare metal and reprimed and painted it. Sold it with 178000 kms on it and paint looked like the day it came off the lot 7 years earlier. Truck was a two tone silver and red and only the red paint had the issue. Was not a speck of rust on the truck when I traded it in.

[jstubbs]

I've been noticing this a lot too. Two neighbours have the 07+ GMC trucks, not sure of the year on either but both are kept in good shape by the owners and both have rusting wheel wells.

My 2006 Chevy half ton also has some fair wheel well rust but it also has 320,000 km on it, lots of which are on gravel roads and lack of care by the previous owners (was a fleet truck then hunting truck). My 2006 Chevy 2500 had those factory fender flares, and I'm too scared to peel 'em off and see what is underneath...

I find it alost ironic though, I've seen wheel well rust on pretty much all trucks except for those 09+ Dodge Rams, which is strange because I know pretty much every year of Ram before those has serious rust problems...

[pintailslammer]

Originally Posted by Chief_Pounderhard

if you wash them properly and regularly they will never rust

Not going to start a ****ing match but I do wash my truck and do take very good care of it.I've never taken the tail light out but do rinse the fenders through the box.

Gm can go %^*%^& themselves as far as Im concern. Lots of problems with there paint and they should be doing something about it

Just my two cents

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[Deer Hunter]

It's the stuff that gets washed up above the wheel well retaining moisture that causes this rust from the inside. Very tough to wash in there as it sits in the upper wheel well, inner fender crease.

Someone needs to start to manufacture replacement boxes as this is happening to a lot of trucks.

[bucksman]

been to vegas a couple times, never seen a rusty vehicle there. I wonder why?

[Mayhem]

When you don't wash out these areas (you need to do it much more than just once or twice a year to be effective in this climate) the rust comes through even faster thanks to the paper thin sheet metal and equally chincy, cheap water based paints and primers used on late model trucks...all of them. Yep, right after 07 as I recall. All in an effort to save a few dollars per unit. But hey, they gotta keep puchase costs down and increase MPG a bit somehow, right?

I'm actually surprised people even care about this, seems everyone gets rid of their truck once it's off warranty and runs new stuff..

[-JR-]

yup i have a 1989 GMC and its just starting to rust above the window !
Had the front glass replaced ,they must have scratched the paint .
Have no rust no where else.
Sure glad it got that clear coat protection put on .

[pintailslammer]

Quote:
I'm actually surprised people even care about this, seems everyone gets rid of their truck once it's off warranty and runs new stuff..

Spoken like a true salesman at a dealership. Not everyone is made of gold!
Lol

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[Mayhem]

Originally Posted by pintailslammer

Quote:
I'm actually surprised people even care about this, seems everyone gets rid of their truck once it's off warranty and runs new stuff..

Spoken like a true salesman at a dealership. Not everyone is made of gold!
Lol

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Lol...Sorry bud, I guess my sarcasm was lost on you...The truck I drive is almost 20 years old and its a GM to boot!

[Rustynail21]

I linex'd on the rocker panels, on the front plastic corners, in the wheel wells and around a 1.5-2 inch lip around the outside of the wheel well with color matched linex. Looks really decent and should help prevent the rust. I'm also using Corrosion Free 3000 (from Canadian Tire) and spraying it from the inside of the box over top of the wheel well as there are 3 different pieces of sheet metal that converge where the rust usually forms.

Also I think all Chevy / GMC truck owners should pull the plastic / rubber seals on the bottom of your doors. When they were linexing the truck they left them off for me to see the amount of rust, had to sand them down, then used Chassis Saver paint on the bottom of the door over the rust, and again, sprayed with Corrosion Free.

Also spray the inside lip through the hatch in the tailgate, as that is another place our trucks rust. Should only need to do the Corrosion free every 18 months or so.

Let me know if you want pictures.

[Deer Hunter]

I washed out the inner fenders last fall from the taillights and the box holes.
Let it dry out really good.
Next sprayed POR 15 into the box side and inner fenders. Pretty good product. Seals the rust that has started...
Then sprayed rubberized undercoating on top of that.
Will pull the taillights and wash out again every so often as well.
What a brutal design flaw on these trucks...

[jstubbs]

Yeah. If anything the best idea would be to almost pop the tailight off, spray the inside of the fender well out, then once clean and dry, spray some oil undercoating into it to stop the moisture from accumulating.

GM vehicles are pretty junk when it comes to rust. My 2006 diesel one cab corner has a few rust bubbles and it appears to be rusting from the inside out. Going to have to have the whole cab corner cut out and replaced then painted. Can only imagine how much that's run me.

[NaturalBornKilla]

its a 10 year old truck from Alberta of course you are going to have rust.

[Nova]

I understand the pain. These newer trucks are built like absolute moisture traps. If you drive any gravel at al there are so very many spots that are nearly impossible to clean without spending an afternoon a few times a year pulling access plugs and rolling around on a creeper with a pressure washer to get all the little crevices clean. They rust from the inside out, once you can see rusting on the outside it is pretty much already too late. I went through this with my 04 when it was about 7 years old, noticed what looked like surface rust on the rockers and decided to do some cleanup work a few months later. Went underneath and put my finger through the rocker. Dang. So I left it for a few more years, finally did some hacking and welding last year so it wouldn't look quite as ugly.

truck3 by bman32_320, on Flickr

truck2 by bman32_320, on Flickr

truck1 by bman32_320, on Flickr

Being that I'm in the market for a newer truck, I'm really going to nitpick whatever I buy and then be extremely diligent about thorough cleanings on a regular basis. I really don't want another 10 year old rust bucket.

[Sooner]

Best thing you can do(bodyman in another life talking here) is keep the vehicle clean. Get down and wash them wheel wells, under the cab/floor, frames. I have actually used a hole saw and made some access holes in the inner box so a pressure washer can get to those inner wheel wells. You will be amazed at how much dirt comes out of there.

Our winters are horrible now with all the "salting" that goes on instead of grading. When you drive in -15 or colder and there is water coming off everyone's wheels, that salt slurry is getting in every nook and cranny. Impossible to wash out. Plus it sits in every rock chip and starts doing it's thing on the bare primer or metal.

Clean those wheel wells as best you can, best product imo is the rust proofing spray. We had a body shop model, long wand and the stuff was like syrup. You could put a lot of product into tight spots. When you seen it ooze out of the drain holes, you knew you had it. It doesn't dry completely up and made a nice barrier. I liked it because it would run down and fill in where water would collect.

Manufactures could go a long way in building better and not incorporating so many rust starting points. Your quiet cab? That's because all the lower areas are filled with sound deadner, guess what holds all the condensation and moisture in place. Can't stop the rust, only slow it.

Op's issue is bad primer or contaminated metal at the factory Imo. Seems like all the domestic manufactures have had their paint issues over the years. I know my 1990's f150 did. So did dads and his was charcoal grey, silver was the worst. My blue paint stuck, the silver two tone peeled go figure.