# 2020 Kia needs an undercoat—true or false? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** forte, kia\ **Created:** [February 25, 2020, 10:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522 "2020-02-25T10:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smith48](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Smith48](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Smith48)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 10:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/1 "2020-02-25T10:33:50Z")
Just bought 2020 Kia Forte in Buffalo, NY, do I need to undercoat it? Dealer says yes ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/2 "2020-02-27T03:08:44Z")
I wouldn’t ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 3:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/3 "2020-02-27T03:09:35Z")
NO! Dealer add-on profit. Tester ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/4 "2020-02-27T03:14:08Z")
Concur, not needed. It could make any rust problem that might develop worse in fact, by trapping water/salt against the under-side of the car. Here’s some pretty good practical ideas how to keep rust to a minimum > **[6 Ways to Protect Your Car or Truck From Rust This Winter](http://bestride.com/news/6-ways-to-prevent-rust-this-winter)** > > Rust — as any Neil Young fan knows — never sleeps. There are a lot of things you can do to keep it at bay, though, and get your car through the coming winter unscathed. These options run from the nearly-free to about $1,000 to perform: Now that... ---
**Author:** ![thegreendrag0n](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thegreendrag0n/32/9265_2.png) [@thegreendrag0n](https://community.cartalk.com/u/thegreendrag0n)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/5 "2020-02-27T03:15:36Z")
Get money saved and spend a small fraction of it to regularly wash the car (including underbody!) on a good carwash during the “salty bath season”, you will get much better rust protection from this than from “undercoating” ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/6 "2020-02-27T03:19:24Z")
The big thing you do not know is if it was driven on salted roads, how well they clean it before they put the sealer on, in which case the sealer just traps in things that from my recollection can turn out worse than no sealer at all, hope others can confirm or repute my recollection. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 4:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/7 "2020-02-27T04:18:41Z")
False but in Buffalo, put the money into winter tires and a set of chains. ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 9:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/8 "2020-02-27T09:33:20Z")
> [@Barkydog](#): > > The big thing you do not know is if it was driven on salted roads, how well they clean it before they put the sealer on, It’s a 2020 how much could it have been driven, anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![COROLLAGUY1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/corollaguy1/32/7575_2.png) [@COROLLAGUY1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/COROLLAGUY1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 1:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/9 "2020-02-27T13:12:36Z")
Most people forget to neutralize the salt before cleaning the underbody. I fill up my garden sprayer with a solution of baking soda and water and spray it everywhere where road salt has accumulated. I wait 10 minutes then power wash the underbody. ---
**Author:** ![JoeMario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JoeMario](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JoeMario)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/10 "2020-02-27T13:16:52Z")
> [@Smith48](#): > > do I need to undercoat it? Dealer says yes No. Your vehicle does not need it. The dealer needs you to do it so they can get more of your money into their pockets. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/11 "2020-02-27T18:50:33Z")
> [@COROLLAGUY1](#): > > I wait 10 minutes then power wash the underbody. Just trying to picture power washing the underbody unless on a lift. I’ve got a pressure washer and the thing will about knock you off a ladder when you pull the trigger. Even laying under the car would make it hard to wash underneath. ---
**Author:** ![kurtwm1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@kurtwm1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kurtwm1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/12 "2020-02-27T20:05:48Z")
Doesn’t baking soda contain salt? ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/13 "2020-02-27T20:06:51Z")
My question about the baking soda - salt isn’t acidic, so why the baking soda? ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/14 "2020-02-27T20:08:57Z")
> [@PvtPublic](#): > > It’s a 2020 how much could it have been driven, anywhere? 5 miles on a wet salted road can pretty well coat everything imhop. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/15 "2020-02-27T20:41:24Z")
Road salt is typically sodium chloride, and when mixed with water forms an acidic solution. Spraying with a baking soda solution will neutralize the acid. If it overcompensates, that’s not a problem for steel, though it would be for bare aluminum. And yes, baking soda is a salt, but an alkaline salt. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/16 "2020-02-27T20:49:09Z")
Will the salt harm the paint if it is not cleaned off before the undercoating is applied? ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/17 "2020-02-27T20:58:05Z")
Maybe I lept to an incorrect conclusion, my thought was undercoat was for the frame. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/18 "2020-02-27T21:00:35Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Road salt is typically sodium chloride, and when mixed with water forms an acidic solution Not if it’s just NaCl: " The **pH** of a **sodium chloride solution** remains ≈7 due to the extremely weak basicity of the Cl− ion, which is the conjugate base of the strong acid HCl. In other words, **NaCl** has no effect on system **pH** in diluted **solutions** where the effects of ionic strength and activity coefficients are negligible." ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/19 "2020-02-27T21:10:33Z")
You seem knowledgeable, I think in temps below 15 liquid calcium chloride was added to the salt for the plow trucks, remembering one guy saying it ate the soles off his shoes after walking on the mix. ---
**Author:** ![pyrolord314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6a8cbe/32.png) [@pyrolord314](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pyrolord314)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522/20 "2020-02-27T21:34:23Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > And yes, baking soda is a salt, but an alkaline salt. Specifically it’s Sodium Bicarbonate, which when mixed with some water makes an excellent solution for cleaning battery terminals as it neutralizes the battery acid. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-kia-needs-an-undercoat-true-or-false/159522.md?page=2)