Hooray! Hooray! I finally closed the deal on an 06 FEH and will pick it up on Thursday. I have been somewhat of a lurker here, taking advantage of all the great info. Now that I am an owner I expect I'll have questions from time to time. I haven't made a decision on rust protection yet. The sales manager was telling me about the Corrosion Control module which sends out electrical impulses and senses where corrosion is about to start and stops it. Sounds almost too good to be true. Price is the same as undercoating at $399CAN. Is anyone familiar with this? Salt air is an issue where I live and salt is also used in abundance on the roads during the winter season. I'd be interested in hearing some opinions.

 

Definitely sounds too good to be true and very gimmicky.

I'm no corrosion expert but I would have to say that three things that certainly don't mix are salt, water and electricity. If this device is intentionally sending electric current into the body of a car then that to me would raise a red flag. If you have salt from the road and water from the ice, then this seems to be a recipe for accelerated corrosion. Stray current is probably not a good thing to introduce into your vehicles body.

Is this device proven? Recommended by anyone other than the dealer? Who makes it?

Probably be much better off taking that $399 and getting 40 carwashes with it.

JMO of course.

 

I am NOT a HAM radio operator. But I have always heard that persons with high-power rigs, like a few 100 watts, always have trouble with paint and rust.

The device in question probably uses micro volts and micro amps, but if it were that easy, every car would have them as standard equipment.

I say no.

 

Those things where all the rage some years ago, but I haven't seen the setup in a long time. I actually have one of those on my camper(a 24' class C mini-motorhome). I have had it on it for years but it never gets driven in the Winter so I can't really judge how effective it was.

Dealers where selling that setup as a replacement for Ziebart etc, but I don't think it worked all that well. Both of my parents cars had that setup for a while & they didn't rust, but they where both Saturn vehicles with plastic body panels.

~John

 

LOL!!! Now that's funny! Rust inhibitor feature on a mostly plastic vehicle!!!

 

Yea, I thought that was kinda funny myself........


Actually, in my parents case it still would have made sense because they drive their cars into the ground & if it stopped brake lines etc from rotting it would still be a plus..

~John

 

which ran into trouble with the FTC. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1996/06/rust-id.htm

 

Well, thanks for all the comments. Everyone seems to be of the same mind. I had considered trying it but am having second thoughts. I can't really find too much on the Internet. THe guy at the dealership said they, (the modules) were used on underground oil and gas tanks.

 

I'm sure one of the electrical engineers that frequent the site can speak more intelligently than I do but corrosion control on tanks is probably a completely different animal. There are systems of cathodic protection that use a sacrificial anode but once that anode is depleted, the corrosion begins on the steel. They need to be maintained to be effective. I'm wondering if the electronic systems are more a means of monitoring for corrosion versus protecting against it.

I work in the railroad industry and we have major problems with corrosion of the rails and fastener systems caused by all the salt and the stray current that runs through the rails. Rail that should last 30-40 years corrodes away in 10-15 years in some locations.

Anyway, I would go with the undercoating or nothing and just keep the car clean. As always, my opinion for what it is worth.

 

Thanks again...I think I'll go with the undercoating. I'm kicking myself for not using it as a negotiating tool...:-(