Possible Rust Trap

My wife noticed some leaves at the rear bottom of the front fender when she was opening the door. When I began cleaning them out I discovered a ton of decayed leaves and dirt down there. If you open a front door and look below the hinge at the area at the very bottom of the front fender you will see where I mean. I found the best access was to remove the two screws at the bottom of the plastic inside fender guard and with a flat bladed screwdriver and vacuum cleaner remove the tons of debris that was stuck back there. That stuff is sure to cause rust if left. My car is a 2009 Aveo5.

On my 06 sedan I had rust come through on the spare tire well and had my friend who owns a body shop look at it and found my passenger rear frame rail was not fit tight to the body from the factory and let water get up there by some bracing and rot it out. Had to have a big strip of steel cut out of well and replaced. The frame rail was sealed with some special sealer that stays flexible and I painted the repair with a can of mixed paint put into a spray can ordered through Oreily's. Just an area to check and is above the charcoal emission canister on mine. I'll have to add some pics when I get time.

Organic material like falling leaves, seeds, etc accumulate in the body frame just behind the front wheel wells on both wheels. Take off the plastic splash shields and clean out the compost. It is good for the garden, btw. You will need to take the wheels off of course. See the pic of my '08 Aveo. If you do not remove this mess, the body will rust as it holds water against the metal.

Oh boy ,That could cause issues. ..

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Originally Posted by Cobey

Oh boy ,That could cause issues. ..

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The same applies to every car. Organic material accumulates in body recesses. It rots, retains moisture and it promotes body rusting. By the time the problem becomes visible it is usually too little, too late.