Rust appearing on tailgate-beware

[sbmrinaldi]

I was switching out my wifes plates on her CX-9. One of the damn screws is busted off and will not come out. As I was working on this I realized small bubbling of the paint behind where the plate mounts. I am 100% sure this is the beginnings of rust. It appears the water is being trapped behind the plate cover and holding moisture against the paint causing rust. I will get the Mazda dealer today, but needless to say I am very upset. Her CX-9 is 2 years old and sits in the garage all the time. It has less than 15,000 miles. I am not a fan of repainting.

[CX9 SportOwner]

Maintenance, not defect

And its not the water, it's the grit and salts that do that. If you rinse the car off well regularly, including underneath, the engine, tailpipes, and behind the license plate, you won't have this problem. The water will evaporate, the dirt does not.

[sbmrinaldi]

Not so sure that is accurate. I keep her car clean. It is the cleanest 2 year old car with 15k.

[tb88]

My wife had rust appearing on the corner of the rear trim piece above the license plate holder. The dealer had it for two days and had to order parts, disassemble and I'm not sure if any paint had to be done. We live in a snowy/salty area but she keeps it rinsed quite often. I wonder if there is a seal or gasket on that piece that somehow lets in moisture.

[sbmrinaldi]

Are you talking about the rear license plate or the front? On the rear there was nothing to hold the plate, just two screw holes in the rear deck. The front has a bracket but the whole front end is just plastic. We will see what Mazda has to say, but I am not confident it will be a positive response.


My wife had rust appearing on the corner of the rear trim piece above the license plate holder. The dealer had it for two days and had to order parts, disassemble and I'm not sure if any paint had to be done. We live in a snowy/salty area but she keeps it rinsed quite often. I wonder if there is a seal or gasket on that piece that somehow lets in moisture.

[CX9 SportOwner]

It is possible there was a paint defect letting water and grime in. Otherwise, rinsing the nooks and crannys well with water will prevent 99.9% of rust problems. That said, it would be nice of car makers to provide 4 threaded stand-offs instead of the typical 2 or 4 threaded holes on the flat sheet metal. Then dirt wouldn't collect so easily.

Until then, I wash well, and a couple of times a year take the plate off and wash behind the ears. again, clear water doesn't cause the rusting. It's the dirt eating the paint, and retaining the water longer than normal evaporation would take.

[tb88]

Are you talking about the rear license plate or the front? On the rear there was nothing to hold the plate, just two screw holes in the rear deck.

It is the trim piece above the rear license plate where the light bulb shines on the plate.

[CX9 SportOwner]

Same principal. There is a tight gap between the plastic cover and the sheet metal. Any dirt collecting there will erode the paint and retain water. a regular blast with a hose will fix that. Unless it was a paint defect to begin with, but even then thorough washing will help.

[brightwhite]

The tailgate on our CX-9 GT is doing the same thing. Every single seam on the tailgate is covered in rust bubbles (there's about 12 of these spots on it). Our car is regularly rinsed throughout the winter. Dealer is going to repaint for free. I have a feeling that this is an issue that many people are going to start seeing. Our car has 24,000kms on it and is a 15 months old.

[CX9 SportOwner]

Did the dealer offer right away, or have to be talked into repainting?

[brightwhite]

Offered right away, I didn't have to demand it, although I was prepared to.

[CX9 SportOwner]

Sounds like it may be a know paint problem on a few CX9's then. Possibly the primer, or improper washing of the release agent. If it was a maintenance issue, they wouldn't be so quick to eat the cost. A repaint now is cheaper for Mazda than replacing your rusted through liftgate later.

I'd ask the dealer if they've heard of this problem, and exactly what caused it, if you haven't already. If they haven't issued any notices, they may not know which VIN's are affected, and are just handling it as the problem occurs.
Better than the way Honda handles known problems. They just keep quiet and make the owners pay for it, which is why we didn't buy a Pilot (that was before the CX9 came out)

[brightwhite]

dealer claimed they had seen a few, so it may be a known issue with them. I'm glad they've offered to repaint.

[sbmrinaldi]

Dealer is getting my wifes car in this week to repaint the tail gate. I am not a fan of repainting, but it is getting fixed and is on the rear of the vehicle as well.

[CX9 SportOwner]

Have they said what caused it?

[sbmrinaldi]

Have they said what caused it?

They didn't say. They just called and said Mazda will fix it and supply me with a rental car. It is getting done this week and I will pick it up tomorrow.

[CX9 SportOwner]

Definitely a known issue. I'll put a dollar in for release agent.

[dave245]

Mine has the bubbles as well, after only 1 winter. I have not checked it yet this year...

[Neuritis]

My new 08 CX-9 has this problem too. The dealer got the bodywork estimate and once they have approval from Mazda Canada, they will repair.

Update: The repainting was completed in 3 days. Looks good now although I don't know if the underlying cause of the rust was fixed. They had to remove the CX-9 logo so I am now incognito (still have the Mazda logo though).

[CX9ZoomR]

About a month ago, while giving my 2007 CX-9 a wax job, I noticed the dreaded tailgate rust just starting to peek out from under the corners of the plastic trim piece that's located in the middle of the tail gate just above the license plate area. I took it to the dealer to show them the problem and ask about getting it fixed. They said they've had a few others in for this problem and that they think the plastic piece was not isolated correctly when it was attached to the tailgate. They said that the plastic expands and contracts during temp changes and it slowly wears off the paint and then rust starts to form. It's been about a month since the dealer contacted Mazda to see if this will be repaired as part of the perforation warranty (5yr/60k) since I only have 37000 miles on it. This has been a great car so far and the dealer has been really helpful, so I hope I'll hear something back soon. I guess if they won't cover it I'll just take it to the body shop and pay for it myself...:'( No biggie, but wanted to let everyone else know to keep an eye out for this before it gets too bad...

[homerj]

same problem here, noticed it on my silver CX-9, dealer autobody shop said they see a lot of this, plastic metal trim apparently rubs the 4 corners when it contracts and expands, painted under warranty. Everyone should check for this, especially if you have a darker coloured car

[BIGhouse]

Ive got a 2008 with the same "license plate" problem. To be honest, I'm on the fence about whether its my fault or not. On one hand, my plate cover looks like it trapped the stuff that caused it...on the other hand, I take really good care of the car, its only a coupla years old, and it seems like the paint should've held up regardless.

My dealer said it was my fault...I should've used the dealer's plate cover...they will not fix it.

[VTCX-9]

I had a washing related question regarding 'washing' engine. How do (used car) dealers get the engine bay so clean? Can I just open the hood and drench it? Anything to avoid/watch out for?


Maintenance, not defect

And its not the water, it's the grit and salts that do that. If you rinse the car off well regularly, including underneath, the engine, tailpipes, and behind the license plate, you won't have this problem. The water will evaporate, the dirt does not.

[CX9ZoomR]

About a month ago, while giving my 2007 CX-9 a wax job, I noticed the dreaded tailgate rust just starting to peek out from under the corners of the plastic trim piece that's located in the middle of the tail gate just above the license plate area. I took it to the dealer to show them the problem and ask about getting it fixed. They said they've had a few others in for this problem and that they think the plastic piece was not isolated correctly when it was attached to the tailgate. They said that the plastic expands and contracts during temp changes and it slowly wears off the paint and then rust starts to form. It's been about a month since the dealer contacted Mazda to see if this will be repaired as part of the perforation warranty (5yr/60k) since I only have 37000 miles on it. This has been a great car so far and the dealer has been really helpful, so I hope I'll hear something back soon. I guess if they won't cover it I'll just take it to the body shop and pay for it myself...:'( No biggie, but wanted to let everyone else know to keep an eye out for this before it gets too bad...

Finally got the rust fixed and Mazda paid the bill. According to the service manager, when the repair is made, they are also provided with a "kit" by Mazda that has some sort of foam spacer or gasket that keeps the plastic trim piece far enough away from the painted metal surface so that vibration of the plastic piece won't rub the paint off again. Hope he's right!

[helbigtw]

I would like to see a pic posted of this problem. When I bought my 08' about 1.5 weeks ago and took the 30 day tag off, I noticed that the paint was scraped up around the bolt hole areas, so when I put my new plate on, I just used the wide 3M double sided thick tape (the stuff similar to what holds command hooks to walls) behind the license plate, anywhere the metal plate would touch the gate, so that it eliminates any potential for scratching/scraping.... That thick adhesive tape makes for a nice buffer between the plate and the gate. but I didn't see any rust.

[Aron in Toronto]

On mine the rust is appearing at the joint between the plastic license plate light housing and the metal tailgate.

It looks, as CX9ZoomR mentioned, like the plastic trim is wearing through the paint and allowing corrosion to start. I’ve noticed rust starting in the same location on several other CX9s as well.

http://i51.tinypic.com/2l8g9z6.jpg

[nuru]

took a look at mine, no issues with rust. I will remove the license plate next and see if there is any rust around the mounting holes

[radar_007]

Just bough my 2009 GT and I have the rust in the same location but opposite side. Was it covered under warranty?

I found a TSB 0901509 Mar 09. Does anyone have access to look at this TSB? I can't seem to be able to view it.

[Antonio DiMarco]

Known issue. Take it to the dealer. Should be covered under rust perf warranty.

[20thaeguy]

dealer denied fixing our cx-9 with this issue. Said it's not a paint perforation issue. Only covered under the 3/36 warranty which we are out of.

[radar_007]

Went to my dealer and they know about the issue with the rust on the tailgate. I can choose the shop that I want to repair it and Mazda will cover it. Hope they repair it so it doesn't happen again once the 3 year/ 80k warranty is over. The autobody shop should warranty the repair.

[helbigtw]

I have a theory... Since my liftgate latch is electric, I NEVER slam my gate, not ever. I just lower it to the latch very softly and let the electric latch do the rest. I have been looking at my gate very closely and have not found a spec of rust or any problems anywhere. I wonder if manually slamming it closed aids in the rusting on the corners of the applique/garnish. (you should be able to slam it every time if you want, but i'm just wondering if this contributes to the rust?)

[CX9ZoomR]

I think your theory sounds very legitimate! I have the manual gate, and when I talked to the body shop guy, he said that the rust is being caused by there not being enough clearance or any barrier between the plastic piece and the painted metal. Any vibration or movement between the two parts causes them to rub together and the paint to get worn off. Then the rust begins on the exposed metal. If you live in the "rust belt" like I do, the salt that gets on there in the winter makes the rust start and progress even faster. The "kit" that they recieved to repair mine included a gasket material that is placed between the two parts after the rust is completely removed and the tailgate is repainted...

[CX9ZoomR]

dealer denied fixing our cx-9 with this issue. Said it's not a paint perforation issue. Only covered under the 3/36 warranty which we are out of.

I believe your dealer is incorrect. I think it could be argues that this is a design flaw, and the paint was definitely "perforated" by the incorrectly installed plastic piece rubbing the paint off the tailgate. Also, I believe the rust warranty on your CX-9 covers it until 50k, so it that's true, you might also let them know. If they still won't do it, find another dealer or request that they bring in a Mazda zone rep to review.

[cjc]

From the Owner's Manual...

Manually closing the liftgate
Use both hands to push the liftgate down
until the lock snaps shut. Do not slam it.
Pull up on the liftgate to make sure it is
securely latched.

[helbigtw]

nice. I hardly every use the electric close, I just gently pull it down and gently let it close, and then audibly hear the electric latch engage.