Given how clean the rest of it looks, I really doubt there was flood damage.
I agree. Everything around it looks totally unaffected, which leads me to suspect that the vendor might have used the wrong protective coating… or the wrong base metal.
I’ll go against the grain here. I’m really suspicious that the part might have been rusty before it even went into the car, possibly from improper storage. There just would not be enough moisture in that area to cause such advanced rust in just one year. Everything around it seems to be pristine.
Maybe they figured nobody would ever see it.
Maybe a window left down inadvertently and wet due to rain or possibly something spilled?
The detail department would have made short work of any obvious water spotting on anything that showed but would not lift a seat to dry out anything underneath.
I agree with My 2 cents.
It seems to me that the part is defective. How it got that way, or why everything else looks fine, is just beside the point. It’s rusty as hell and should not be. If others in the dealer’s lot are the same, then they are defective, too. Toyota should replace the rusted parts without any protest, and if they give you a hard time go up the ladder of complaints found in your owner’s manual. And file a complaint to NHTSA.
I just can’t picture where exactly the part is or what it does, but I don’t think the finish on it is critical. I think it is bare metal and no finish at all and looks fairly substantial to be unaffected by surface rust. It really looks like it was in a pallet bin or on a sea container and got wet on its way over here. Parts at the bottom of a humid bin can look like that. It’ll be interesting to see if they do anything except just paint it for you if that makes you feel better. It would be a little different if there was rust in the surrounding metal but it is all pristine so must have been installed that way from the bottom of the parts bin that night.
I agree with @Bing
I think absolutely nothing will happen if nobody every primes and paints that part
In fact, I don’t think it will ever affect the crashworthiness, in any way whatsoever, not even when the car is 10 or 15 years old
True, but it’d look nicer…I just have a problem wit rust like that in the interior.
It’s not critical to safety but it’s also something that I personally would not be happy with because it should not even exist on a 2015 model car.
Why and how it came to be like that I have no idea but it comes across as very shoddy. If a few other cars are inspected and do not show similar rust I’d be wanting to know why this one.
Like shadowfax I’d want it replaced also. It’s not installed as dead weight and in few years may be evaporated…
Get after the dealer,if that does not work contact the the zone rep,Toyota has their image to maintain(talk about rust issues,you should see my Dakota)a nice new car like that shouldnt have rust anywhere,probaly that part was exposed to a corrosive element,before installation.Easily corrected,they need to stop dragging their feet.
Sheesh, a wire brush, a can of Rustoleum, an hour later you’re done.
Good for them if they replace it but I’m not sure on what warranty grounds it would be replaced. If you read the rust warranty, I believe it would only cover rust that has eaten through the body sheet metal, not just surface rust. Maybe as a defective component but the reality is it just looks bad but the welds are fine and the metal fully intact. A rusted frame member maybe, if it was rusted through and due to a defect like the truck frames. But a good dealer would probably just paint it. I can’t imagine a new part would be readily in stock, or maybe they’d just swap one with another car on the lot. I understand you want a new car to be perfect but on my car I’d rather have them color sanding and polishing the orange peal on the exterior that every new car seems to have now.
I expect the dealer will by happy to correct this problem. On a 2015, nothing on the inside of the car should look like that, even if you live on the sea coast and leave the windows down all the time, which I doubt you do. The dealer might elect to remove, de-rust, and paint the existing part rather than replace it. But that should work fine.
One thing to do, if this car has a spare tire well under the floor of the trunk, take a look to make sure water from a leaky seal somewhere isn’t accumulating there. That’s usually the lowest point so that’s where water will accumulate.
"and in few years may be evaporated… "
I doubt that VERY much
I think in 20 years, it won’t be evaporated . . . in fact, I think it would look exactly as it appears now
For those of you that said"correct it yourself", thats fine if you have a bent for these things, a consumer has a reasonable expectation of buying undamaged goods and on something as expensive as a new car,I consider rust, damage. Now if a person is picky and just looks for things to create a ruckus(like some of those people Hollywood lauds,)you dont have my sympathy.
One thing on the old"rugged ,simple,trucks" they had rubber floor mats and people thought water wouldnt hurt them,hose em out,leave the window down,etc,they will be alright,nothing could have been farther from the truth,if the mat wasnt removed and the floor pan dried off,they would rust through,if water is causing the rust problem,then you need to plug the leak(the battery isnt back there is it?(like some GM cars with the the invisible battery) anyway good luck,if you cant get the dealer to fix and it bothers you,then as others have said,paint yourself,if something bothers Me,I either fix it or learn to live with it.best.
It is an issue that should be brought to the attention of Toyota (not just the dealer) so they can explain it and maybe repair it. In your owners manual you’ll find instructions on how to contact Toyota with your concern.
Please let us know what Toyota’s official response is.
This is a brand new car. Things like this shouldn’t happen. IMHO, some parts probably got through the system without paint, and were installed on the car so they wouldn’t have to shut the line down while they waited for new parts.
The owner SHOULD NOT have to correct this. Talk to the dealer, and if they don’t cooperate, go right to Toyota.
Triedag brings up a good point. Possible water from flooding.
If it were flooding though or leakage, seems to me you would see some rusting or evidence around the part, especially on the bolts or edges of the sheet metal pans, but its all pristine.