I'm noting the slight bubbling and starting of rust on my rear fender wells... anyone else have this issue?

I'm contemplating grinding it down and sealing it with some thick anti-rust stuff... possibly topping it off with some 3M clear to stop any rock chips/dings.

it hasnt made it outside the "lip" of the inner tire well yet... but i think i wanna get it fixed before its a problem.

Yep, it's a common problem.. I hear tell of a TSB even (but I could not find one).

The dealer is getting mine repaired, I have rust under both rear wheel wells and under the passenger side spoiler mount point.

I've had that problem as well. I mean, my car has. I got it in July 2003 and drove it through three Minnesota winters; even though I tried my best to keep it clean by rinsing it off nearly every time it snowed and roads were salted, I'm afraid the rust is gonna kill my prized ride. I stored it the last two winters.

I took it to one local dealer who must have had a blind service manager, as he couldn't see any bubbles using the "oh, those are spot welds" excuse, and the "it's gonna rust if there are rock chips in the paint" excuse even though most of the rust bubbles are occuring where there's no evidence of chipping.

Another dealer acknowledged there is rust but said Mazda won't do anything about it since the car is out of the rust warranty time period.

It really pisses me off; recently made cars just shouldn't start to rust so soon.

Now it appears the rust is creeping into the fuel filler compartment and other seams. Long ago one of the club members voiced concerns about the fuzzy wheel well liners - maybe all the moisture gets trapped between these and the metal?

For the rust issue alone, (really my only major issue with the car so far, at about 40,000 miles) I would recommend buyers steer clear of any Mazda that will be diven on salted roads.

champiOn - good luck, let us know how it gets resolved.

My rear wheel wells are rusted too. I went to look at my brake rotors and was like.. what the heck? I don't get it =\

I'm noting the slight bubbling and starting of rust on my rear fender wells... anyone else have this issue?

I'm contemplating grinding it down and sealing it with some thick anti-rust stuff... possibly topping it off with some 3M clear to stop any rock chips/dings.

it hasnt made it outside the "lip" of the inner tire well yet... but i think i wanna get it fixed before its a problem.

Just wanted to revive this thread as I am also noting the same bubbles around my wheel wells. I drive my 2004 RX-8 in the winter but had the dealer rust proofing applied when the car was new. It was stored for the first two winters so it has only seen 4 winters. I take good care of the car, yet it is already starting to rust!!! Besides the paint bubbles at the back of the wheel wells, the car basically looks like new. Looking at other forums, this seems to be a problem with other Mazda models. Anyone have any input?
I was planing on getting the next rotary model, as I love the car otherwise, but if this is how Mazda's age, no way!!

Very common for rust to start at 3 years for any car.

The Rx8 is not immune to cancer.

You've got to be kidding!! This is my 4th car. Before this, I had a '96 MX-6 which I traded in to get the RX-8. It had a small rust bubble at the front window rim after 8 years. None of my other cars rusted at 3 years.

I had surface rust on my rear wheel wells and worse on the trunk lid just over the license plate. Mazda fixed it under the rust warranty. That has expired now on my car.
The body shop applied a guard on the edge of the wheel wells so we'll see how that works out.

My driver's side fender is rusty; the passenger side not because I crashed last year and it was replaced. I'm worried it's too far gone for superficial repair.

Anyone can post some pics of their rusts to share?

I took it to a local body shop yesterday and the owner suggested that I take it back to the dealership, as this amount of corrosion is not normal for the age of the car especially if it was stored for two winters. I am not getting my hopes up too high, but at least I will make them aware of the sub-standard metal treatment on their cars. He also told me that Mazdas, especially the 3's and the Proteges are the worst. He has seen several RX-8's as well. He would estimate the repair to be about $400 a side with no guarantee.
Here are some pics of what may be brewing under your paint. There was no sign of this last summer, so what you see is all a consequence of Winter '09. :tear:

I (cross my fingers) havent had any issues so far, it is a 2004 Velocity Red bought used with 51,000kms and was never winter driven. I rust proofed it at rust check and used it for one winter, every week i would take it to the touchless carwash to get it undersprayed. I am currently at 66,666kms (i know fucked up number lol) and I have not seen any rust on my vehicles body.
My input.

I took it to a local body shop yesterday and the owner suggested that I take it back to the dealership, as this amount of corrosion is not normal for the age of the car especially if it was stored for two winters. I am not getting my hopes up too high, but at least I will make them aware of the sub-standard metal treatment on their cars. He also told me that Mazdas, especially the 3's and the Proteges are the worst. He has seen several RX-8's as well. He would estimate the repair to be about $400 a side with no guarantee.
Here are some pics of what may be brewing under your paint. There was no sign of this last summer, so what you see is all a consequence of Winter '09. :tear:

That's way worse than mine was!
Make sure that you get stone guard put on the area when it's repainted.

I (cross my fingers) havent had any issues so far, it is a 2004 Velocity Red bought used with 51,000kms and was never driven. I rust proofed it at rust check and used it for one winter, every week i would take it to the touchless carwash to get it undersprayed. I am currently at 66,666kms (i know fucked up number lol) and I have not seen any rust on my vehicles body.
My input.
66,666 :SHOCKED: Your car is about to explode!

I (cross my fingers) havent had any issues so far, it is a 2004 Velocity Red bought used with 51,000kms and was never driven. I rust proofed it at rust check and used it for one winter, every week i would take it to the touchless carwash to get it undersprayed. I am currently at 66,666kms (i know fucked up number lol) and I have not seen any rust on my vehicles body.
My input.

I'm at 86000km. This is the first car I didn't rust-check yearly. I was an idiot and believed the dealer when he told me that this was not required after they apply their treatment. I have some sort of extended warranty with the treatment they applied, which he told me would be void if I applied another rust treatment. I'm sure the "extended warranty" is BS.
Regardless, I will get it fixed and have the car rust-checked. I'm not sure about another Mazda. The RX-9 or new RX-7 better have some pretty convincing specs.

Wow sorry to hear rreindl. Your pics almost made me cry...

Do you drive on a lot of gravel roads?

Wow sorry to hear rreindl. Your pics almost made me cry...

Do you drive on a lot of gravel roads?

No- no gravel here, just tons of salt in the winter. I babied this car, so I really think that the galvanization process to protect this pannel is either done poorly or not at all. There are some owners that have this problem on their 07's-- that's definitely not normal. I'm a bit surprised Mazda hasn't tackeled this issue on the newer models.
I'm going to the dealership tomorrow- we'll see what happens.

RR

No- no gravel here, just tons of salt in the winter. I babied this car, so I really think that the galvanization process to protect this pannel is either done poorly or not at all. There are some owners that have this problem on their 07's-- that's definitely not normal. I'm a bit surprised Mazda hasn't tackeled this issue on the newer models.
I'm going to the dealership tomorrow- we'll see what happens.

RR

Good luck!

OK, so I went to the dealership. The service guy looked at the car quickly and was under the impression that I had a point. I have to go back to have a detailed review of the amount of corrosion. Apparently this will take about an hour. They will make a report with pics and send it to headquarters. I remain optimistic.
I browsed their lot-- there were 4 other RX-8's there for other reasons. One of them was brand new-- it was the only one that did not have early rust formation in the same locations as mine.

happened to me, had to get it repainted, and did the front fenders too as they were starting to chip too... After it was painted I put on some of the 3M tape just inside the lip for extra protection.

happened to me, had to get it repainted, and did the front fenders too as they were starting to chip too... After it was painted I put on some of the 3M tape just inside the lip for extra protection.

Good idea!

Keep us update, rreindl.............

I have rust on the inside of the drivers side door at the bottom. There are multiple blisters. I am going to see if the dealer will repair it under warranty. This thread has given me some hope.

I've seen a couple of Mazda 3s with rust issues as well. Seems awfully early for these cars to be rusting...

Going on vacation for a couple of weeks. I have my appointment for the rust inspection on August 30th. Thanks for your input. While I am sad for all of us, it is good to know I'm not the only one with this issue. I'll keep you posted.
Add your pics if you have any.

RR

had small tiny spots of rust, took it to my dealership, and they took care of it, after that I got my fenders rolled

i have a tiny bit of rust forming under the rear wheel wells, but i plan on rolling the fenders so it doesn't really matter to me.

2004 with about 54,000 kms on it
never winter driven

Anybody had any luck with the dealerships submitting a claim to Mazda North America for the Wheel Well rust repairs? i have an 04 Brilliant black with 104000kms. Never abused. washed regularly. always sleeps in a garage... anyway, I took mine to Maple Mazda over a month ago and haven't heard anything from them. The rust has gotten worse. I have the mazda extended warranty... i had a buddy have his 05 rx8 fenders repaired under warranty...

Anyway, just seeing if anybody had any luck??? this is completely stupid, for a car to rust this quickly. my mom has a 2000 protege, and there's barely any signs of rust. only places that has rust is where it's been dinged or chipped.

My 2004 is now getting cancer-rust in the rear quarter panel. Really bad ones, like you see on the Protege5. I showed it to my body shop guy, he shrugged and said "it's a Mazda."

OK-- had my inspection today. It was not as elaborate as what was described to me a couple of weeks ago. Basically, after arguing with the guy for a while, the car is outside the warranty period and "there is nothing he can do". The extra rust protection I purchased for $400 when I bought the car is basically worthless and does not influence the warranty period. He referred me to a body shop. There, they told me it would cost about $1500 to have this fixed. Is it worth it? --Not sure.

Mine was repaired on the last week of the rust warranty...
The dealership was a friendly one.... but it has since changed management.

There, they told me it would cost about $1500 to have this fixed. Is it worth it? --Not sure.

I just looked at the pictures of your car. I'm getting the exact same cancer rust. The rear quarter panel is literally rotting away from the inside. I don't think there is much you can do other than cutting the cancer off and bondo it.

OK, I paid my $1500. They re-painted the rear quarter panels and blended onto the doors on both sides. Yesterday I had Rust Check apply their stuff. Looks like new-- hope it lasts a couple of years.

Anyone can post some pics of their rusts to share?

I'll take and post pics of mine tomorrow when it is light out. Had a bubble outside the drivers side rear wheel well right by the lip and it finally burst today. Big chunk of paint came off. Probably around an inch square. Does not look good and I'm sure it won't be cheap to get it repaired. Funny thing is the rear wheel well on the passenger side is pretty much unblemished. Maybe some very slight rust on the lip but that's it. 7 years and 7 winters worth.

What exactly is the rust warranty on this car?

like 4 maybe 5 years of coverage and that's it for that kinda thing.

maybe we should post it on facebook lol

Now a days it seems cars don't rust until they're quite aged. Mazda's seem to be the exception. RX-8s and Mazda 3s often seem to have problems. Some earlier products had this issue too. Why is this? Do they use a lower grade galvanizing treatment, or very low carbon steel?

It's really a shame. I think Mazda has an incredibly strong lineup, but it's hard to recommend someone to buy one if they are going to experience rust issues and drastically reduced resale value once they're 5-6+ years old. My wheel wells have held up so far.

So is it all the RX-8 driven in winter will eventually have rust here and there? omg......... yeah, I let Avante Mazda to rust-proof before winter all the time, but i think they are just "eye observe" to check only. I don't know!

Paint warranty is 5 years. I had visible signs of rust and got it fixed under warranty. Though, I'm starting to see rust again. And I even have the car stored for the winter.

My rust problem is worsening steadily. While the paint itself haven't fall off yet, the cancer under the paint is growing at a rapid pace. This only happen on one panel (the passenger side rear quarter). The rest of the car are still in great shape at the 6 yr mark.

Funny enough I park beside a similar vintage Mazda3 at the condo sometimes, and the cancer on that car is even worse than mine. The lip had already rusted through on that car and fell off.

I've owned a bunch of rusty Hondas before, but the rust on this car is quite epic.

The problem isnt gravel or stone chips, its the treatment to the metal before paint. Im going to sand it all of, acid etch prime and B/C mine this spring. The stuff from the factory is garbage.

Here's my tumor. I'm almost afraid to get estimates to get this repaired. It's gonna cost a fortune. Funny thing is the rest of the car is pretty flawless except for that spot and that lip. The metal in that spot is completely solid underneath so it's not like you can poke a hole through it but it's still pretty ugly.

Wow that is brutal. There is no reason why a 6 yrs old car should rust like that, unless it was dipped in an acid bath the whole time.

I'm planning to keep this car for another 5 yrs or so as a daily beater, but it will probably be missing a rear quarter panel or two by that point.

That is outrageous. I hope I don't have that to look forward to one day. My partner has a '03 Malibu which has had a couple of exposed metal areas ~1" square that have just basic surface rust. It's not progressing quickly at all. Take paint out of the equation, why does Mazda steel rust catastrophically, while Chevy steel doesn't? Heck my '87 FC (pre-galvanizing) didn't rust like that...

protege 5's have the same problem its almost impossible to find a used protege 5 without rust its why i ended up with a focus. i've never seen a focus with anything but light surface rust from paint scratches.

Man, I hate the rust on our RX-8............... so i assume the cancer will eventually comes to my 8 as well.....

protege 5's have the same problem its almost impossible to find a used protege 5 without rust its why i ended up with a focus. i've never seen a focus with anything but light surface rust from paint scratches.

I've noticed that with that generation of Proteges as well. Not to be contrary, but I've seen some of the early Foci with rather catastrophic rust. Granted, the earliest of Foci are '99s which is 12 model years old. I saw one yesterday that was missing a good 4" off the bottom of its doors.

I know every car rusts and rust came be fixed; Grinding/cutting and POR-15 for prevention, but I think Mazda has a real problem. They build such good cars in every other way that they should be held to account to improve. You never read about it anywhere.

Wow that is brutal. There is no reason why a 6 yrs old car should rust like that, unless it was dipped in an acid bath the whole time.

I'm planning to keep this car for another 5 yrs or so as a daily beater, but it will probably be missing a rear quarter panel or two by that point.


I am 100% convinced the problems are being caused by that carpeting-like covering inside the wheel wells. Water will eventually saturate through and get underneath to the metal. I had no surface damage at all to the paint in that spot. The bubble I had came completely from inside out. Now I'm even having trouble finding a body shop that will repair rust in my area.

I've got rust on both rear fenders.
Started the second year I owned the car.

My car is stored for the winter and doesn't see much gravel and dirt.

I've taken it too my Mazda dealership twice and both times I got blown off.
I hate to say it but I was too lazy to put the effort in to bitch about it.

I love the rotary, enjoy the 8, but I hate Mazda .... with an f'n passion I hate Mazda ... if any other car manufacture produced the rotary I would jump ship in a second ....
So I guess I got to at least like that about Mazda ... they're the only ones that make a rotary.

I drove my RX-8 in two Winters for now, glad there is no rust so far....
But wcs, you store your 8 in winter, and it still got the cancer??? Damn..... I hate Mazda, maybe you shall try another dealership or something??

Just thought I'd add my two cents in here guys.

I started noticing rust on my GT along the three infamous spots: the rear wheel wells and the third brake light. I had those areas repainted under the 5 year corrosion warranty less than a year ago.

From what I recall, the rust came back pretty quickly. I had it repainted again just last week. And what do you know, I already see rust stains in all three areas. My car still smells like fresh paint for crying out loud!

When asked for an explanation, I was told this from my service advisor and body shop guy: Apparently, the metal along the wheel wells for our Rx8s are 'double skinned'. Imagine two pieces of metal welded/stamped together, or something along those lines. The body shop can sand and rust proof the outer surfaces of the wheel well, but it can't get in between the two pieces of metal, where the rust is residing. The only real solution is to cut the metal from the wheel wells and have it re-patched and painted. Unfortunately for me, my 5 year corrosion warranty had run out and such a repair won't even be considered by Mazda Canada.

For temporary and aesthetic relief, use a piece of clay bar to remove the rust stains.

There's no two ways around it really. And I'm a meticulous owner. I run my car through a touchless carwash every fill up. I clay bar the car once a year, wax it multiple times; I even waxed the wheel wells.

The 5 year warranty is a perforation warranty. There has to be a hole through the metal to be covered under the 5 year period, otherwise they're being very nice to you. If you had work done for rust removal and you see new rust they need to fix it again. Removing obviously visible rust on the surface while leaving the remainder of the egregious rust doesn't count. Sandblasting, grinding, cutting, those are the types of techniques that fix rust. Removing a little surface rust doesn't count.

Yeeaaawn!!! Stretchhhh! Coming out of hibernation from storing my car for the winter!

I got this cancer too ... in these same three places. It's bad in the well as the rolled lip is bulging on both sides and the bubbling on the rear quarters and a little around the centre break light.

Just as we do install days ... maybe we need to start planning body repair days!! :P

Anyone have any ideas on cost for repairs of this scale?

I run my car through a touchless carwash every fill up.

My paint bubbling gets worse everytime after going through a carwash, lol. The high-pressure water really gets into the rust-happy crevices in the rear wheel wells. I'm only hand washing now.

Yeeaaawn!!! Stretchhhh! Coming out of hibernation from storing my car for the winter!

I got this cancer too ... in these same three places. It's bad in the well as the rolled lip is bulging on both sides and the bubbling on the rear quarters and a little around the centre break light.

Just as we do install days ... maybe we need to start planning body repair days!! :P

Anyone have any ideas on cost for repairs of this scale?

I got a quote for around $900-1000. They just cut away all the rust and several inches into the good metal, then weld in new sheet metal, then refinish.

The brown has now broken through the paint on my car. :icon_no2: Looks like ass.

I wonder if buying new panels might a better solution???
<shrug>

I wonder if buying new panels might a better solution???
<shrug>

The problem is that the fender is contiguous with the c pillar and roof rails and rear bulkhead (not sure of the terminology). A good body man can blend it in perfectly though.

For those within the GTA area and share this issue and are still under the 5 year perforation warranty, give Tiffany Garrett a call or send her a message (http://www.qewmazda.com/staff_directory.php). I was referred to her by a Mazda 3 owner. She's known for her fantastic customer service on their forums and I can wholeheartedly confirm that.

I spoke with her at length; she understands that these are well known problem spots of the Rx8 and will happily take a look at the affected areas to see if they warrant repair; it doesn't have to be to the point where the rust eats out a hole in your panel as per the warranty agreement. We both agreed that the prominent rust issues stem from a manufacturing defect. If the rust reappears after a repair, she'll make it her priority to get things done right.

FYI, she knew of one Rx8 owner that sealed off the edges of his fender wells with custom cut clear 3M car/body tape and the rust hasn't come back, 2 years and counting.

Mazda refused to do any warranty paint repair when I first had this problem because they said the cause was likely from a rock chip. Then gave me a quote of something like $2500 or more to fix it. (And fix it by sanding/grinding/body filler, not cutting out and re-welding). Of course no guarantee on the work either.

I said screw it and did my own grinding/painting to keep it at bay, though unfortunately the rust was actually coming from the INSIDE of the panel. It's pretty much out of control - nothing could have been done to save it aside from cutting the metal out, no matter how often I grind and painted.

So the pic attached is what it looks like now. It really just ate it self from the inside out and I couldn't keep it controlled.

I wonder if I could make some carbon fiber molds of good wheel wells and then somehow attach and paint. That would stop her from rusting ;)

Seeing all this rust makes me glad I krowned it and have one of those rust control modules. I do have a little surface rust around the passenger rear fender where paint flaked, and some bubbles on the roof where it meets the rear window.