Mazda 3 - Rust on wheel arches

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Wed 27 Mar 2013 08:45
Mazda 3 - Rust on wheel arches - balleballe

Ive noticed some very obvious rust in and around all the wheel arches. I've only recently seen it so i'm assuming that its due to this winter.

Ive seen a bodyshop and they said that if they 'remove' the rust it will reapear in a few months and the only way to do it would be to cut the affected metal out and replace it. This would cost too much though.

I was wondering if there was simply some type of treatement I could apply to the arches that would prevent the problem becoming much worse and the rust spreading?

If you stand over a metre away you cant really tell there's any rust and thats the way id like to keep it, if at all possible

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Wed 27 Mar 2013 20:43
Mazda 3 - Rust on wheel arches - Galad

Common problem with the Mazda 323. Mine started to rust in both wheel arches from it was 3 years old. Haven't seen any 3's rusting yet though.

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Thu 28 Mar 2013 09:44
Mazda 3 - Rust on wheel arches - balleballe

Googling tells me that rusting on the wheel arches is not too uncommon after 6 years. Mine is a 04 plate so it's 9 years old.

My previous Mazda 6 was 10 years old when I got rid of it and not a sign of rust anywhere

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Thu 28 Mar 2013 10:38
Mazda 3 - Rust on wheel arches - BenG

Disappointing to get rust on a Mazda after just 9 years!

It's likely the rust has spread from the inside of the wheel arch so I suggest you take off the wheels, remove the wheelarch liners (plastic things) and get inside the wheelarch and clean out any accumulated crud (this retains moisture and salt next to the panel and causes the corrosion), dry the affected areas then rub down the rust to remove any loose corrosion, clean off the loose rust/dust and then treat with a rust convertor and, when dry, overspray with a cavity wax like Waxoyl. Allow this to dry thoroughly (can take days in low temperatures) and only then refit the wheelarch liners.

This might delay the process but if the rust has penetrated the paint on the outside of the arches then you really need to get the exterior surfaces rubbed down, treated and re-sprayed.

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Thu 28 Mar 2013 12:37
Mazda 3 - Rust on wheel arches - balleballe

Disappointing to get rust on a Mazda after just 9 years!

It's likely the rust has spread from the inside of the wheel arch so I suggest you take off the wheels, remove the wheelarch liners (plastic things) and get inside the wheelarch and clean out any accumulated crud (this retains moisture and salt next to the panel and causes the corrosion), dry the affected areas then rub down the rust to remove any loose corrosion, clean off the loose rust/dust and then treat with a rust convertor and, when dry, overspray with a cavity wax like Waxoyl. Allow this to dry thoroughly (can take days in low temperatures) and only then refit the wheelarch liners.

This might delay the process but if the rust has penetrated the paint on the outside of the arches then you really need to get the exterior surfaces rubbed down, treated and re-sprayed.

Cheers - just the sort of thing I was after. Anything to delay the rust!

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