[smokey_jo]

Another rusty Duster to add to the list. Had mine (White Ambiance 4x4, 4070 miles) since October and having sorted the water ingress via the rear door speaker grill have discovered rust under the usual door and engine bay seals and around the child locks. In addition to this the two seems on the rear door sills are also showing signs of rust.

The dealer (Kineholme of Otley) sent a driver over to my place of work to photograph the offending parts and will be sending the pictures off to Dacia UK.

I'll be chasing up on Monday if they haven't got back to me before then.

I'll keep you updated of progress. Is there a poll somewhere on the forum to vote on if you have a rust issue or not?

 

[smokey_jo]

Cheers TruBrit, found it and voted.

Is there a way that Admins can send a private message to all Duster owners on the forum asking them to vote on this as uptake is a little slow so far?

 

[smokey_jo]

Update on my car. The dealer is going to collect it from my place of work in a couple of weeks time (i'm away on hols for a week so it suited me to delay it) and deal with the issues he is already aware of:

• Engine bay / Bonnet seal
• Rear door seals
• Child locks
• Rear door sill seams

and he is also going to take a good look over the car for other areas and deal with as required. I've checked the cubby in the boot and I don't have any rust there (yet?!..) but I will be keeping an eye on all of the other areas that others have reported issues.

I think a sticky/pinned post listing all potential rust prone areas would be useful to save someone having to read what is becoming a very long thread now.

 

[smokey_jo]

Asked a question about the rust over on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaciaUK?filter=2

Let's try and start a conversation with them..

 

[smokey_jo]

If you could at least like my post (I'm Martin Ditchfinder on Facebook by the way) it will advance it up their feed.

 

[smokey_jo]

I've also entered this: http://www.demographix.com/surveys/TWHI-SO67/HX7A54V2/?ref=AEresults%20

Dacia are very good at bragging about their award performances - maybe now the issues are surfacing they should be brought to as wide an audience as possible.

 

[smokey_jo]

Is that repainting around the affected area or the entire car?

 

[smokey_jo]

Are there 10,000+ Dusters in the UK? Government records show around 7,500

http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=dacia+duster

 

[smokey_jo]

Without a co-ordinated PR campaign I'm not sure that 20-30 people is really going to have an impact from a publicity point of view.

I think it would be good to get an explanation from Dacia, which can be independently verified, as to why our cars are rusting and then for a solution to be agreed, whether it be treatment of affected area, a full strip and repaint, replacement car, refund or compensation.

Sorry Chris that reply was to Stevo.

An independent (Dacia approved) paint shops full investigation report would be interesting reading. Look forward to hearing how you get on

 

[smokey_jo]

Is it a known fact that the panels on Dusters aren't galvanised and is it normal practice these days for all cars to be built with galvanised panels?

 

[smokey_jo]

They are plainly and openly saying the cars are NOT galvanised to all;;be surprised all you may!

I was allowed to assume they were when I enquired specifically prior to purchase , but they never ACTUALLY claimed they were.

Do we have a source for them saying they are not galvanised?

In the absence of galvanising I shall be asking DaciaUk what treatment the panels do receive to prevent corrosion

 

[smokey_jo]

Top sleuthing Antavi!

If Dacia are openly saying the panels on the Duster aren't galvanised then I will be interested to find out what treatment the panels do receive to prevent corrosion other then paint.

Does anyone know of other processes they might be using?

 

[smokey_jo]

So if any treatment is being applied to the panels it is likely to be taking place in India rather than Romania.

If only paint is being applied then it stands to reason that all Duster's will eventually have problems and it is only those who had thin paint who are noticing the rust at this early stage.

 

[smokey_jo]

Chris,

Is that Dacia's claimed painting process and does it take place in India?

I'm assuming that if that process is completed correctly then rust would not be appearing so quickly.

I wonder if there's any way to test whether that has taken place.....

 

[smokey_jo]

Well mine's gone in today whilst I'm away for a week. DaciaUK are sending a technical assessor to take a look so will report back next week.

 

[smokey_jo]

It's a DaciaUk assessor from Head Office. If I disagree with his findings I will look into using an independent one if necessary.

 

[smokey_jo]

Did Ray give any assurances that the repairs would be warrantied beyond the standard 2 year paintwork warranty?

 

[smokey_jo]

So my vehicle was inspected a fortnight ago and I have just received this update:

"I would advise during the manufacturing process, quality inspections have identified some imperfections that may lead to localised light corrosion. This Corrosion is localised to non-structural areas of the vehicle.

Over the next few weeks we will be able to advise you of when your vehicle will be booked in to have this operation undertaken.

At this point we do not have information that we can share with you regarding the rectification as this remains an internal repair method as with all operations we undertaken for a variety of issues.

I can confirm that any rectification work that is carried out on your vehicle will be covered by your 6 year Anti-Corrosion warranty."

So I think I will probably enjoy the car for the next 5 years and then pop it back to them for repair if further issues arise before the 6 years is up.

 

[smokey_jo]

David Mullins is the source of my quote -

David Mullins
Senior Customer Support Manager
Customer Relations
Rivers Office Park, Denham Way, Maple Cross, WD3 9YS
Tel : <a>+44 (0) 344 335 1111</a>

 

[smokey_jo]

Is that a u-braked Muddy Fox hanging on your wall Lenny?