Hey all,
Does anyone have rusty-like fluid coming out of their exhaust? My exhaust pipes right now have a dried puddle near the end and a streak of this stuff in the inner exhaust Also, it comes off if I wipe it...

 

Yep, mine too. I guess water sits there after short trips and forms some light rust.

 

Hey MD350, thanks for replying.
Do you think the rust is harmful though? Since there has to be a source to the rust, and that definately can't be a good thing? I'm going to call my dealer tomorrow and see what they have to say about it. Buying a $50k car that has rust spewing out of the exhaust is just ridiculous

 

Same here. Condensation builds up in the muffler when the car is cold. Short trips don't get the exhaust system hot enough to dry it out completely, and then you get that moisture at the tailpipe. After longer trips the engine and exhaust get nice and hot and things get dried out. That's what caused old mufflers and exhaust systems to rust out. The new ones are stainless and resistant to rusting.

 

I agree, let me know what the dealer says.

 

So I'm guessing the Lexus muffler and exhaust system is stainless and rust proof? If it is, then what's causing the rust water?

 

Almost no complete exhaust systems are stainless.
Toyota/Lexus was in fact one of the first really big production OEM's to make the move to stainless steel exhaust manifolds in the early-mid 1990's on most models.

Not only that, but there is no such thing as a "stainless" steel. All steel can rust, etc. Especially in the presence of already rusting ferrite metal.




Without building a new manifold out of complete stainless 304, 316, 321, 350+ there's only one thing you can do. Heat & clean the pipes up as best you can & seal them. Duplicolor high-temp Aluminum gives a silverish finish. About all I can tell ya.
Just isn't anything you can do.














& yeah, this is pretty common throughout all vehicles. All exhausts will get condensation in them, which will turn to water & will turn to water vapor / particles when it heats back up & get's knocked around from the heat, flow & vibrations.

 

I have never owned a car that did not get rusty moisture coming from the exaust.

its just the surface rust cleaning itself off, the inside of the exaust gets condensation

stainless steel WILL get surface rust, even higher grade stainless steel.


just let it go.

 

Same here. This is not normal.
This seems to be a design flaw. A few drops of condensation gets stuck in the exhaust flare, causing rust. Anyone tried a small "drain hole" in the bottom of the chrome trim piece? Might work, might not.

 

Well, my Lexus dealer just told me that it is not rust water but dirty particles + water = rusty like water. And the dealer said that she assures me that the ES' exhaust system "cannot rust."

 

I have noticed the pipe that connects the two exhausts is REALLY rusted, well for a ~1 year old car...I will post pics, but can u guys get under and look at your car too? maybe its juts me. I'm in Ontario Canada, just finishing the worst amount of snow in history or something lol....

 

For some reason and somehow water does get in exhaust tips after a rain or after heavy dew in early am in my experiences with both ES350 I had owned. I noticed that after a rain storm a ton of mist/steam would rise for a while and blackish/brownish colored water in the exhaust tips themselves which discolor the bottom half of them.

 

I think your dealer gave you a pretty lame explanation about water plus dirty particles that look like rust - isn't that what rust on stainless steel is. I've never had a Lexus exhaust system rust but I believe if given enough time (a very long time) the system would rust. It does wipe off pretty easily and I think the exhaust system will last longer than you have the car. The exhaust tips retain the "water with dirty rusty particles" which makes the condition look worse than it is.

Dave Mac

 

Had a MR2 Turbo with heavy (thick) stainless exhaust tips...no rust stains. Now have a 2007 IS350...have similar stains as OPs....go figure. However, reckon it is "normal'. Move on.

 

I tend to agree with what the dealer said; at least for the stuff inside the exhaust tip. It looks like varnish and I can get it to come off if I use chrome polish and a rag on the inside of the tips, but I have to rub pretty hard.

As far as rust on the pipes under the car, that concerns me. My stock SS exhaust on my diesel pick-up has never had any surface rust like that.