SonOfEru

We have a 2014 ct200h. So it's already been thru 3 winters here in New Hampshire where they do salt on the roads. When we got it [new] I declined the extra they offered on treating the body, I just didnt like the price or the reviews I read.

I have a Toyota pickup, and I got one of those oil treatments at a backwoods outfit a couple off years ago [not my regular mechanic's shop], where they spray motor oil underneath and into drill holes and all that. It probably helped but gosh it was a mess dripping on the garage floor for a week.

Then my mechanic [who is a foreign car expert and I trust completely] said they were starting to offer a different option - a lanolin-based eco-friendly product called FluidFilm, that didnt have the stinky downsides of motor oil treatments. So I did that on the truck and it did NOT make a mess. Good.

So back to the ct200h. I have been thinking of doing the FluidFilm on that. I did call the dealer and the service advisor said no, it would not void the warranty, but make sure they are super careful with the sensors, exhaust, brakes, etc. My mechanic says sure, they are careful.

But I read some people saying it just doesnt matter much on a unibody car [the same thing I read when it was new and i was considering the treatment the dealer offered.

Anyone care to weigh in on it?

Johnhav430

My understanding is that those things are not necessary, but I can't say for sure. I am the original owner of a 1998 Nissan which was driven in Albany and Phila. for its entire life, and rust attacked the vehicle like there's no tomorrow. Radiator support rusted out and dropped, and my car looks like it was in Toronto for 20 years. Now I have a 2006 LS430 that was in Florida so I am told the chassis looks really good for a car this age. But unfortunately I don't garage it yet I too don't want it to rust. I just think I am averse to putting anything on cars, meaning the days of Ziebart are long gone imho....

p.s. I was changing the tires on the Nissan just 2 wks. ago, and was like WTH!!!!! A sway bar end link was snapped off, from rust! Also, the whole forget what it's called, like a water separator (it was hard to identify this part near the rear left) for the emissions, simply fell off the car from rust. Rust is awful, and no joke...but it takes time. The lower rad support detached in 9 yrs.

mmarshall

Welcome to CL.

I wouldn't be too concerned about aftermarket treatments. Today's vehicles usually come with 5-6 year rust-warranties for a reason....the bodies/frames and sheet metal are well-primed/painted at the factory and given extensive anti-corrosion treatments...often with galvanized steel. Some body parts are even non-metallic (plastic, fiberglass, etc...) and can't rust or corrode at all. The main thing (and what will be most effective) is to simply keep them clean. I know that can be sometimes hard to do in a New Hampshire winter, where temperatures can go below freezing for days at a stretch, and you can't use a regular hose. Also, of course, the extremely low ground clearance (and air dams) of a CT makes it very difficult to get a hose under the car and spray off the underbody, even if the temperatures do co-operate. I'd say, in the winter, try and rely on a car wash that has a good underbody-spray when the car rolls through it, use the hose yourself if and when the temperature is above freezing, to get up inside the wheel wells where the underbody spray might not reach, and just accept the fact that automated car washes aren't perfect and may (?) leave some faint swirl marks or scratches. SCRATCH-OUT, which comes in a small yellow bottle (runs about $4-5), is very good at getting out those small surface-scratches/swirls and paint-discolorations if they do occur.

SonOfEru

Actually around here temps dont go above freezing for days at a time, Weeks at a time. I once saw the whole month of January when the temp didnt get above zero for the whole month. So I dont have the option of hosing it off myself - we have to take the hoses in about this time of year.

But the mechanic did tell me yesterday that they dont recommend the treatment if you dont mean to keep the car for the duration. Its value in his opinion is extending the life of the car, nothing more. My wife doesnt expect she will want it that long so we will probably skip it.

Thanks, folks.

SonOfEru

Johnhav430

Here's some food for thought....on many modern cars components are stamped steel painted black. imho in the Northeast, these components massively rust--I would suspect that in Phoenix or in Dallas, the same car, same age, might have a little rust but not a massive amount. In a way I think the Northeast simply destroys cars, I can't see stuff not rusting based on a treatment or even frequent washing. The washing is not a bad thing, but it's impossible to make a New England car a Phoenix car over time....my .02. So maybe after 3 years there's little difference, but 15 a huge difference maybe to the point that one is fine, the other has failed....I mean on my 1998 Nissan a sway bar end link broke off due to rust--that's no joke!