A buddy of mine at work has a 2010 Challenger and told me the other day that he has bubbles under the paint on the left rear 1/4 in front of the wheel. I thought he was joking since it's a fairly new car but sure enough there they were. Well after talking back and forth we found out that the Challengers had foam installed in the rockers that is holding moisture and rotting out that area. And after checking the web hundreds of people are now having actually rust through and some are lucky enough that Chrysler is repairing it and some not. So what's the deal? Was it only 2009-2010 models or is it all the way up to the current model? That's pretty pathetic to spend all that money just to have rust forming after a few years of ownership and not having it covered. I will not drive my SRT in the winter or in the rain unless I'm caught but I guess it's inevitable from what I've read. How can we correct or prevent this from happening?
All these rust issues?
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As far as I have been able to determine, Chrysler (Brampton Plant) is still putting foam in those exact same areas on cars up to 2016 (so far). So, yes, your car (like mine) will too rust some day if the foam is somehow exposed to water in these rust prone areas.
What's the purpose of the foam? Can it be removed? Should it be removed?
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The main purpose of the foam is/was sound deadening from what I understand. Can it be removed? Well the short answer is yes, but it is a slightly difficult and time consuming process that leaves the void requiring some sort of anti-corrosion treatment after the fact. Some folks on this forum have done it by removing the interior panels (behind the front seats) to access this inner rear quarter fender area. By using some sharp tools to break up the foam it is possible the actual action required will scratch the inner fender -not only removing the foam but exposing the inner metal area to it's raw surface, (if that makes any sense). That's why it's important that if you remove this foam that you treat that area with some sort of paint or anti-corrosive element to prevent future corrosion.
Well I guess FCA is guaranteeing these cars to rust out so you'll want to buy another.
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Check out this thread with photos of the rusted area.
http://www.challengertalk.com/forums/f188/see-where-they-rust-350426/
http://www.challengertalk.com/forums/f188/see-where-they-rust-350426/
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I have a 2010 Challenger that is rusting in the same area too. I bought the car in 2014 and it only has a little over 62, 000 miles on it and for it to be rusting is crazy. I talked to the dealership about the problem and that got me no results. Also, I called Dodge and, of course, that did not lead to any help. The Dodge company knows that the foam used in these cars is causing problems, but they are refusing to accept responsibility. So, now I am considering starting a class action lawsuit against Dodge for this rust issue. I am just wanting my car to be properly fixed, not just a cosmetic job. Would anyone else be interested in being a part of this lawsuit??
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This is a very disturbing issue. I have a 2016 Shaker that I purchased last Monday. I was thinking that I was ready to finally keep a Challenger and this one was as good as any I've owned. I remember buying my first Challenger in October 2008, right before the election and I have owned more than my share of new Challenger's in between. I never had one with a rust problem. I am wondering a couple of things: Does the rust issue become more likely if you live in states that have snow? I live in Alabama. No snow but lots of rain at certain times of year. If just exposing the car to water is a problem then we do have warranties for rust. I think it's 100k miles or six years on a 2016. Every year may be different. When the OP is referring to foam are we taking foam like they use to fill spaces when building a home that comes in a spray can or something else that absorbs moisture. If someone could be more specific this would help. Considering the amount of money I have enjoyed spending on my cars I would be willing to explore legal action. I don't think class actions do much for the individuals in the suit. I would think that owners would want to recover as much as they could personally in damages if this can be proven to be a problem that effects every car built. A recall is probably warranted if every car built is going to rust prematurely. I would like to here more detail. I have seen the photos. The car shown looks like a Charger to me but all cars built at Brampton may suffer from this issue. I want to know a lot more detail.
buy a set of quarters and put them in storage if you plan on keeping the car.
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I'm not convinced it's as widespread of an issue as some think. No doubt there have been some, and Dodge should be held responsible for them. But how many out of all Challengers made have actually rusted out? I drove through some nasty winters with my '10, and it had no rust at all when I traded.
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I am in denial.
Well I just removed the rocker panel on my '15 SRT and started to dig out the foam. It is a long slow process but I'm willing to do it. After it's done I will spray the inside with Fluid Film. I think that and not driving it in the winters should keep it from happening.
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2010 Challenger SRT8 Rustville, USA
My 2010 SRT8 is rusted out. Currently in the shop with a bill of $1,600 for them to cut out / slice away chunks of metal and remove the foam. Daily driver, but garaged at night. Pretty sad to spend that much on a vehicle when the neighbors ford focus is nearly 10 years older with no rust... quality control.
I would join the class action, but still paying for this myself, don't want my girl to rust any further.
Count me in.
My 2010 SRT8 is rusted out. Currently in the shop with a bill of $1,600 for them to cut out / slice away chunks of metal and remove the foam. Daily driver, but garaged at night. Pretty sad to spend that much on a vehicle when the neighbors ford focus is nearly 10 years older with no rust... quality control.
I would join the class action, but still paying for this myself, don't want my girl to rust any further.
My 2010 R/T had rust starting on it before I traded it in. Pissed me off. I did drive the car in the winter a few years, but I always sprayed it off and washed it and kept it as clean as possible. I had several cars before that that were driven in the winter for many years and never had a spec of rust on them. It's due to the foam in that area in front of the rear wheels, it holds the moisture in that area and just rusts away over time. Pretty stupid design. You think they would change the manufacturing process for that considering all the problems but they haven't.
I'm keeping my 2015 out of the rain and snow this time around. Hopefully it will hold out for a long time, or at least until I trade it in for something else.
A few other guys that kept their cars and fixed it spent around $3-4K out of pocket to get new metal welded into place and remove/cut out all the old nasty rusted stuff.
I'm keeping my 2015 out of the rain and snow this time around. Hopefully it will hold out for a long time, or at least until I trade it in for something else.
A few other guys that kept their cars and fixed it spent around $3-4K out of pocket to get new metal welded into place and remove/cut out all the old nasty rusted stuff.
It's a time thing, around 5-6 years is when I started to notice rust bubbling through just above the plastic rocker cladding behind the doors in that dog-leg area. My last 2010 R/T Classic was a victim and that was one of the main reasons I sold it last May. Started noticing the bubbling in early spring and I was like NO!!! I took really good care of it but alas, I was not immune. It was gonna be pretty expensive to fix and if I was going to do all that metal replacement and repaint those affected areas I might as well repaint the rest of the car (weak Detonator Yellow paint) Going down that road gets mightily expensive $$$$!
I am not saying every Challenger will experience this rust issue but my gut feeling is a lot of them will after a time. Removing that foam seems like the best idea, I will remove mine on my next purchase.
I am not saying every Challenger will experience this rust issue but my gut feeling is a lot of them will after a time. Removing that foam seems like the best idea, I will remove mine on my next purchase.
I have a 2015, I keeping the miles low at the first sign of this, it is going up for sale before it become noticeable and devalues the car. This will be the last new car I buy. I will buy used, preferable 1970's cars.
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