[hts1190]

The backstory is this: we had a 2004 Nissan Murano that was seemingly in good condition, operated well, and looked good.
However its oil pan rusted through from the outside developing seepage and had to be replaced. As I was under the car, I noticed extensive rust virtually everywhere and decided that things were about to fall off. The undercarriage of the car was in terrible condition. As a result, we shopped for a replacement vehicle and ended up with our 2012 Touareg TDI lux which is a delight.

There was recent news about trucking companies complaining that the brine solution now being used on the roadways here in Connecticut was causing their vehicles to rust out. I suspect that this is what has happened to the Murano.

So my question for the group is, how are Touaregs holding up with respect to undercarriage rust?

 

[tadpole]

I too own a 2012 tdi and would say the body work on these vehicles is very substantial, but I also think you need to have the under carrage washed in a car wash when it is really salty with road treatment. Maybe someone with a 2004 Treg will give a report. The crap they use is nasty for all cars.

 

[ConservativeConsumer]

The Touaregs are better protected than most vehicles. In addition to many aluminum or stainless steel cover plates protecting components mounted on the underbody, there is also a thick wax layer protecting undercarriage. Watch for damage to the wax - if your dealer is not careful when lifting Touareg for maintenance and will not place lifting machine arm pads on those specially made pad platforms on the bottom of your vehicle (for a lack of better name), they can damage wax. My dealer did this once, but then they re-applied fresh wax on a couple of spots and painted it over so it looks just like it came from the factory.

 

[johnholl]

I had an 02 Nissan Altima and it had a couple of bad rust spots underneath by around 110k miles. Now have an 04 Treg V8 which I love and in and around the rear frame it has surface rust but nothing bad. Im in the Northeast and the stuff they use is awful. My 911 stays in the garage during the winter unless there's been a rainy day to wash the road salt away

 

[markluke]

In my own experience living on Long Island (where there's salt air and road salt), my car has very, very little undercarriage rust. For a 6 year old car with over 100,000 it's very clean.

Having said that, when I wash my car (never enough) I always get an undercarriage wash as well.