Bench seat rust

[Ian Maddocks]

Has anyone else got spots of rust appearing on their bench seat?

if got a couple of dozen 2-3mm rust spots on the welded joints of the seat. They are initially difficult to see and then you see them all over.

Local dealer is say this is not a warranty issue on a 2019 Ocean, as the majority of the paint is 200 microns thick.

is this a common problem?

 

[Perfectos]

Hi Ian,

What did they say about the paint that is clearly not 200 microns thick and is allowing rust to form ?

you have to love the BS dealers come out with!

welds on a seat are structural and integral to the safety of the seat.

in real terms the rust is very minor and probably more of an annoyance to you rather that a potential issue. it is unlikely the rust will get bad enough to affect the structure or safety of the seat, even after many more years if left un touched.

your options are either:

a ) press the dealer to carry out remedial measures (they will simply splash some paint over the existing To cover it up.

b) sort it out yourself correctly : wire wool and brush on some metal paint locally, paint that doesn’t require primer (Hammerite smooth etc)

 

[TripleBee]

Normal:


Wait till you see this:

 

[Ian Maddocks]

Hi Ian,

What did they say about the paint that is clearly not 200 microns thick and is allowing rust to form ?

you have to love the BS dealers come out with!

welds on a seat are structural and integral to the safety of the seat.

in real terms the rust is very minor and probably more of an annoyance to you rather that a potential issue. it is unlikely the rust will get bad enough to affect the structure or safety of the seat, even after many more years if left un touched.

your options are either:

a ) press the dealer to carry out remedial measures (they will simply splash some paint over the existing To cover it up.

b) sort it out yourself correctly : wire wool and brush on some metal paint locally, paint that doesn’t require primer (Hammerite smooth etc)

Thanks Perfectos.
They said I must have chipped the paint while putting things in, and if I disagree follow up with VW Customer Service.

I could ignore it but fixing with it with Hammerite would be a long job, there must be a hundred spots when you look closer over the whole seat, for example there are spots on the slide out drawer handle mechanism!

 

[Ian Maddocks]

Normal:
View attachment 85404

Hi TripleBe. So you have the same problem too.

Are they fixing the other photo? Was this caused by weakened welds and rust?

 

[Perfectos]

Thanks Perfectos.
They said I must have chipped the paint while putting things in, and if I disagree follow up with VW Customer Service.

I could ignore it but fixing with it with Hammerite would be a long job, there must be a hundred spots when you look closer over the whole seat, for example there are spots on the slide out drawer handle mechanism!

Hi Ian,

I agree it’s not great and I would not be happy.

the dealer clearly is trying to offer very weak explanation for the issue, how can you have chipped the paint in so many places in so many hard to access places?
What do they suggest has chipped the paint, that would not have be considered normal use by yourself ?

Clearly the factory applied finish, in this instance, is poor and not fit for the purpose intended - I.e preventing corrosion and providing an acceptable finish and long term protection (for the life of the vehicle) as would normally be expected.

As with all these type of issues, be clear what you expect the Dealer / VW to do to rectify the issue.

I would expect the dealer ( if they agree to do anything) to simply slap some paint over the offending areas.

if you are going to try for new seats be aware the problem will probably not be fixed With new seats as I suspect the new seats would suffer similarly

good luck and please report back to inform & help others.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Looks likely that the pretreatment of the metal prior to the finishing coat was sub standard. If VW don’t volunteer a satisfactory solution you’ll probably have a fight on your hands :-(

If you need to resolve it yourself maybe Kurust or Jenolite is worth looking at. Then a top coat.

Annoying and time consuming but maybe less stressful than battling with VW?

 

[TripleBee]

Hi TripleBe. So you have the same problem too.

Are they fixing the other photo? Was this caused by weakened welds and rust?

What do you mean, are they fixing? A van of 11 years old?
A friend of mine welded a bar under the net.
I sprayed it all in matt black, and over the rusty spots as well.
I don't really mind. It will be good for another 10 years at least, so I don't worry.

 

[chrisdalbs]

Hi sorry to bring an old post back up but just wondering if be did anything to resolve the rust spots or if you did it yourself. Ours is 18 months old and has loads of small signs of corrosion on the bench seat! Thanks

 

[Ian Maddocks]

Nothing was fixed. VW offered for another dealership to review but COVID made things difficult to arrange.