Corrosion? This bad?? In a 4 month old car???

2612 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by zooks527, Jul 21, 2004

zooks527

Discussion Starter · Jul 20, 2004

So, under the hood yesterday, checking for a path to run something through the firewall, and I popped open the battery cover to look around. Everything seemed good at first glance:

But then I looked down the passenger's side of the battery:

Holy S&*()!! :shock:

Looks like the battery is leaking somewhere. A closer look:

So, looks like time to take a ride over to the dealer. Can't wait for someone to tell me this is normal.

The real questions are:
1 ) What other problems should I be looking for / have them look for?
2 ) What parts should I insist be replaced? The battery at least. Tray? Clamps? Other??

Thanks in advance,
George

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triptronic

· #2 · Jul 20, 2004

:shock:

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PZ

· #3 · Jul 20, 2004

Unusual in that the terminal will normally look like that. Several possible causes.
The battery may have been overfilled.
The battery may be cracked.
The charging system may have overcharged the battery.

There is probably very little actual corrosion of the parts. Use baking soda and water to clean it.

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crew217

· #4 · Jul 20, 2004

is your battery vent tube connected?

Dave

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zooks527

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 20, 2004

crew217 - Regarding the vent tube connection, you can see it on the right side of the first picture above. It is connected at the battery, and drops out of sight below the hoses next to the battery. Where should it go?

PZ - Yeah, I have seen terminals get to this stage (after a year or two), but the locking clamp looks worse than my old Bronco (and that had 165K on it). I thought about overfilling and the like, but there doesn't appear to be any residue along the (visible) upper portions of the battery. It would appear that the solution is leaking from somewhere out-of-sight. Just WHERE is a question.

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crew217

· #6 · Jul 20, 2004

it goes somewhere underneath the car IIRC. anyways, it looks like they should be giving you a new battery . . . it def looks like its leaking.

Dave

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NH VW Junky

· #7 · Jul 20, 2004

Damm, I would get a good look in there when the battery is out. That is where a drain is. Hopefully, the leak didn't get far enough to eat some of the car body and its protective coatings. You could clean, dry and undercoat anything that was "stripped". But, it will be hard to do all this at the dealer.

Anyone have a suggestion?

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atomicalex

· #8 · Jul 20, 2004

My 82 Rabbit doesn't look that bad. Time for a new battery and battery tray. The tray is what's corroded. Total lack of PDI!!!!!!

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zooks527

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 20, 2004

atomicalex said:
Total lack of PDI!!!!!!

OK, I'll bite.

PDI?

Actually, I'll take a shot. Pre-Delivery Inspection?

I will cop to not looking here. Damn, and I thought I hit everything.

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NH VW Junky

· #10 · Jul 20, 2004

Yup - dealer does a "PDI" before customer gets car. Its required by the Manufacturer.

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grhdylan

· #11 · Jul 20, 2004

You will have to hope that it's just the battery tray that's coroded and not the paintwork & bodywork underneath ! The battery tray is an easy fix, but having the bodywork fixed is a diffrent matter. I appreciate that it's under warranty, but it's hassle you could do without !

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zooks527

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 21, 2004

grhdylan said:
You will have to hope that it's just the battery tray that's coroded and not the paintwork & bodywork underneath ! The battery tray is an easy fix, but having the bodywork fixed is a diffrent matter. I appreciate that it's under warranty, but it's hassle you could do without !

Tell me about it! The only visible corrosion at the moment is in the tray, but I don't know what's underneath. The bolt is thoroughly covered, so it's anyone's guess if it's gone down the shaft.

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