Those who noticed pockets of corrosion on the trunk lid appeared in early 2017. Basically, distinct traces of paint swelling were found on the outer panel of the body element. And often the trouble overtook fresh cars, which were operated for only three or four months. In the initial period, it seemed that the problem affected only the owners of cars of certain colors (white and silver), but rather quickly the rest of the palette was "noted".

The employees of most of the dealerships behaved correctly and after inspecting the cars, they decided to repaint the suspicious part. Although there were enough cases when negligent warranty engineers managed to find mythical traces of external mechanical impact (micro-chips) and deployed the owners. According to representatives of one of the dealer services, already in February 2017, technical centers began to send information on this problem to the manufacturer. The plant instructed to repaint or change the covers, depending on the specific case, as well as send it parts for examination.

Alas, ordinary owners were in an information vacuum, and the manufacturer did not indulge in comments, limiting himself to saying that the percentage of problem cars is scanty in comparison with the volume of all cars sold by that moment. As a result, passions and disputes flared up on the forums in an attempt to independently understand the issue and understand the real scale of the trouble. According to the results of questionnaires on the sites, about 25% of the owners faced with it. A logical continuation of the story was a collective electronic petition to the manufacturer. True, she did not collect as many signatures as expected.

Hyundai, including paintwork (5 years or 150,000 km), has a generally friendly dealer policy in this matter. However, the owners were very concerned about the nature of the trouble with rust. If the trunk lid gave up so quickly, then what could happen in a year or two to the rest of the body ?! In addition, messages and photographs of corrosion centers on the inner edges of the bodywork began to appear on the forums. Swelling of the paintwork appeared in the rolling zones of the cover panels and on the ribs of the niches under the lanterns. The reviews of some owners did not add optimism, saying that rust reappeared after repainting the lid and even after replacing it.

The result of an internal study of the issue was the release in May this year of a technical bulletin prepared by the manufacturer. The document prescribes a mandatory inspection of cars produced between July 26 and December 15, 2016, which come to the service for any work. If corrosion is found in the areas described above, the dealer should repair (repaint) or replace the cover. The issue is decided on a case-by-case basis after the rust has been removed. If its traces cannot be completely removed, then the body element must be replaced. Unfortunately, there is no information in the bulletin about the reasons for the defect and changes in production.

ON COFFEE GROUND

Alas, the manufacturer did not give any comments on the request of the Za Rulem editorial office about the details of the rust problem. Therefore, it remains only to make assumptions, comparing the information received from some dealers and on the owners' forums, as well as the experience of operating the Cret in our fleet.

Judging by the fact that the service bulletin applies to machines manufactured before December 15, 2016, it is hoped that the causes of the defect have been found and changes have been made to the technological chain on the conveyor. At least there is no information yet on similar problems on 2017 cars. The manufacturer did not want to reveal the secret, and the employees of dealerships are armed with only assumptions about the causes of such a strange problem.

The real scale is also unclear. Questionnaires in two major forums showed that about 25% of owners encountered rust. However, only 850 people took part in these polls. The collective electronic petition has not collected so much - to date, only 427 signatures. For understanding, almost 22,000 Cret were sold in 2016. Some dealers also speak about the low percentage of "sick" cars detected during the period of validity of the service bulletin. That is, on paper, owners of cars manufactured before December 15, 2016, have not so many chances to see rust on the trunk lid, but still no one is immune from this.

In the process of disputes about the nature of rust, a curious fact surfaced - an uneven and in some places too thin layer thickness. There are videos on the Internet where devices show only 80 microns on the edges of the body panels, as if there is no varnish. At the same time, the participants in the video confirm on the calibrated probes that the thickness gauge is calibrated correctly.

The thickness of the paintwork has been tested on several machines. We failed to see examples with obscenely low 80 microns, but thin and too heterogeneous places were found. The experiment involved two Cretas from our fleet (manufactured in 2016) and several new cars (2017), which were still waiting for buyers. In general, all competitors with different body colors showed similar results.

Indeed, the coating layer on the edges of the body panels is thin (100-110 microns), but these are not criminal values. For the most part, the difference in thickness across the vehicle ranges from 120 to 150 microns, which is normal for a new car with factory paint. However, there are examples of very significant discrepancies on one body element. The brightest of these are the front door ribs. Under the mirrors, the calibrated device shows about 160 microns, and above the handle - 120 microns. Strange numbers, considering that it is robotized in all modern factories. Alas, these facts were left without comment from the manufacturer.

Many auto giants have distinguished themselves with "rusty" problems. Some had known weak points on the trunk lid - niches under the plastic linings. After a couple of years of operation, rust appeared in these places. The second generation and the first Mazda CX-9 were ill with this. Toyota stood out more clearly with rusting hoods on fresh cars. In the first case, when the owner complained during the warranty period and there were no traces of external influences, the part was repainted, and in the second, the manufacturer, known for its policy of recall campaigns, organized a whole service action to fix the defect on the sold machines.

Given the many years of experience of similar ones, it is unlikely that the problems with the trunk lid on Cretach indicate misses throughout the body. However, Koreans could have shown more concern for owners and raised the veil of secrecy. Sooner or later, all auto giants make mistakes, especially when it comes to cars of the first years of production. No one has any suspicions or questions when a manufacturer admits some mistakes and announces adjustments to the production cycle, not forgetting about the warranty obligations to the owners of potentially "sick" machines. But the information vacuum only cultivates fears and generates negativity.

Photo: Stas Panin and club-creta.ru

Why the new Hyundai Creta is rusting - the "Behind the wheel" investigation Why the new Hyundai Creta is rusting - the "Behind the wheel" investigation

Hyundai Creta body galvanized

The table indicates whether the body of the Hyundai Creta car, produced from 2015 to 2019, is galvanized,
and the quality of processing.

	Treatment	A type	Method	Body condition
2015	Partial	Cold galvanized		Galvanizing result: Poor The machine is already 4 years old. Taking into account the age and quality of zinc treatment of this machine (under normal operating conditions), the first corrosion will begin in 2 years.
2016	Partial	Cold galvanized	zinc coating	Galvanizing result: Poor The machine is already 3 years old. Taking into account the age and quality of zinc treatment of this machine (under normal operating conditions), the first corrosion will begin in 3 years.
2017	Partial	Cold galvanized	zinc coating	Galvanizing result: Poor The machine is already 2 years old. Considering the age and quality of zinc processing of this machine (under normal operating conditions), the first corrosion will begin in 4 years.
2018	Partial	Cold galvanized	zinc coating	Galvanizing result: Poor The machine is already 1 year old. Considering the age and quality of zinc treatment of this machine (under normal operating conditions), the first corrosion will begin in 5 years.
2019	Partial	Cold galvanized	zinc coating	Galvanizing result: Poor The machine was released this year. Given the age and quality of the zinc treatment of this machine (under normal operating conditions), the first corrosion will begin in 6 years.

If the galvanized body is damaged, corrosion destroys zinc and not steel.
Treatment types
Over the years, the process itself has changed. A younger car - will always be galvanized better! Galvanized types
The presence of zinc particles in the soil covering the body does not affect its protection and is used by the manufacturer for the word "galvanized" in advertising materials. ... Tests Test results of vehicles rolled off the assembly line with the same damage (cross) on the lower part of the front right door. The tests were carried out in the laboratory. Conditions in a hot salt spray chamber for 40 days correspond to 5 years of normal operation. Hot Dipped Galvanized Vehicle (layer thickness 12-15 microns)
Galvanized vehicle (layer thickness 5-10 microns)

Cold Galvanized Vehicle (layer thickness 10 microns)
Car with zinc metal
Vehicle without galvanization
It is important to know - Over the years, manufacturers have improved the technology of galvanizing their cars. A younger car will always be better galvanized! - Coating thickness from 2 to 10 microns (micrometers) provides excellent protection against the occurrence and spread of corrosive attacks. - The rate of destruction of the active zinc layer, in the place of damage to the body, is from 1 to 6 microns per year... Zinc is more actively destroyed at elevated temperatures. - If the manufacturer has the term "galvanized" not added "full" this means that only the elements subject to impacts have been processed. - Pay more attention to the presence of the manufacturer's warranty on the body, rather than loud phrases about galvanizing from advertising. Additionally

We decided to conduct our own investigation, which you can familiarize yourself with in today's article - why Hyundai Creta rusts. Every more or less experienced car owner knows that steel, due to the peculiarities of its chemical composition, begins to rust. Considering the current pace of car production and the speed with which motorists change cars, no one is surprised by the abundant foci of corrosion that occur even during the warranty period. But when this happens in the first few months of operation, it is at least puzzling. In the following paragraphs, we will try to find the root of the problem - Creta rusts, using the example of the trunk of the most popular crossover on the Russian market.

At the beginning of 2017, complaints from the owners of the Korean crossover began to appear systematically, whose Hyundai Creta rusts. Interestingly, the main centers of corrosion appeared on the trunk lid, namely on its outer part. When the Creta rusts, paint swells in problem areas - this is the first alarm bell. It is worth noting that among the "defective" Greta there were many new cars in operation for 2-3 months. It was also not possible to establish any regularity with the colors of the problematic bodies. At first, the white and silver colors aroused suspicion, but later the whole palette was negatively distinguished.

Owner reviews

Based on the reviews of the real owners of the SUV, the most vulnerable point in terms of corrosion is the rib under the glass of the car trunk. Rust marks are clearly visible on light body colors.

Employees of the official dealerships of the Korean company calmly accepted the complaints of dissatisfied customers, offering to paint over the problem area for free. But there were cases when the company's specialists accused the owners of the car that Creta was rusting, arguing that it was unregulated mechanical interference. In February 2017, employees of the Hyundai technical center informed engineers that the Hyundai Creta was rusting. The plant gave the command to paint over or replace problematic elements, and then send them for examination.

The ordinary owners of Greta did not realize the real scale of the problem, because the manufacturer did not report exact numbers until recently. Motorists are of the opinion that the percentage of Hyundai Creta rusting is scanty compared to the total number of cars sold. Enterprising car forum administrators have started to create threads addressing this problem. This caused a lot of controversy and discussion. The poll results shocked - Creta rusts in 25% of owners. It is not strange that a petition was sent to the manufacturer's address, which, unfortunately, did not collect many signatures.

Other places where corrosion appears are the spoiler and the surface near the secondary brake light. Rust often occurs in the vicinity of the lantern. Less often - at the place of contact between metal and plastic.

Fortunately, the Korean company offers a long-term paintwork warranty of 5 years. And in general, manufacturers are very loyal to customers in this regard. But it's not even a matter of loyalty and the prompt assistance of specialists - motorists are interested in the reason for the appearance of rust. It's scary to imagine what can happen to the body in a year or two if the trunk lid has given up after a few months. The situation was further aggravated when car owners began to post photos of the Creta rusting on the forums. The centers of corrosion on the inside of the body looked especially scary. The images with swollen paintwork did not add optimism - mainly in the area of \u200b\u200bthe taillights and the panel cover. The real panic was caused by reports of some motorists that rust reappears even after repainting.

Again, the most common place where Hyundai Kreta rusts is the ribs under the lanterns.

In May 2017, it became clear that Korean manufacturers were not idle - they conducted an internal investigation and issued a car maintenance bulletin. According to the document, all Hyundai Greta cars produced from July to December 2016 are subject to free inspection at branded services. If even the smallest traces of corrosion are found, the auto repairman must replace the element. If removing the rust on the body panels has any effect, a repainting option is also possible - it all depends on each individual case. No matter how hard we tried, we were unable to find information in the bulletin regarding the causes of rust - it remains a mystery.

All that remains is to collect the available information bit by bit and compare it with your own guesses.

The optimism is enhanced by the fact that the bulletin applies to cars manufactured before December 2016. This may mean that the developers were able to find the root of the problem. Judging by the owners' feedback, crossovers assembled in 2017 don't rust like that. The developers did not want to open the curtain of secrecy - this is a little unfair to customers.

We present to you a real feedback from one of the owners of the crossover: “Hyundai Creta rusts as follows: on the surface of the trunk lid, there are several blisters of paintwork. The car was assembled in August 2016, and to be honest, I was surprised by these pimples. Fortunately, a close inspection of the body surface revealed no other rust spots. It is interesting that Crete's wife, released at about the same time, but only in blue - I could not find anything like it on her. Well, how can you guess here? "

The real extent of the problem is still unclear. According to the survey results, only a quarter of car owners faced the problem of corrosion. But no more than 1,000 people took part in these issues, which certainly does not add objectivity.

The collective petition sent to the manufacturer collected only 427 signatures. To understand the comic situation, just look at the figure of sold crossovers in 2016 - 22,000. Dealers used these statistics and claim that the percentage of "infected" cars is scanty. That is, in theory, the chance of acquiring a rust-prone 2016 Cretu is no more than 25%.

We clarified the situation of measuring the thickness of the paintwork a little: it turned out that this indicator is less in problem areas. After this information "bomb", all specialists agreed that the main problem lies in the unevenness of the paintwork layer. Almost immediately, videos appeared on the Internet, in which the instrument for measuring the thickness of the paintwork shows only 80 microns - this is very little. Of course, everything can be attributed to an incorrect setting of the device, but the presence of a problem confirms many other facts. This is most likely the main reason that Creta rusts.

We decided to conduct an experiment by independently measuring the thickness of the paintwork of the problematic cars of the Korean company. Of course, we did not manage to detect extreme indicators of 80 microns, but the unevenness of the layer did take place. For the purity of the experiment, we chose cars of different colors from 2016 and 2017. Oddly enough, but all the "participants" showed approximately the same results.

The average thickness of the Kreta paint coating is 110 microns. A bit subtle, but this value cannot be called critical. In general, the thickness of the paintwork on the surface of various body elements ranges from 120-150 microns.

This is the norm for a factory-painted vehicle. But there are examples showing great contrast in terms of thickness.

On one of the cars, the paint thickness under the mirrors is 160 microns, and above the door handle - 120 microns. It is not known how this happened, because the painting process is fully automated. The developers also left no comment at this point.

Almost every automotive concern faced similar problems. In most cases, the most problematic area was the trunk lid, namely the niches under the plastic covers. Literally after a year or two of operation, rust began to spread to the entire body. This is true for the first Ford Focus and Mazda CX9. Toyota stood out, offering new cars with rusting hoods. In the situation with Ford and Mazda, the problem area was simply repainted. A Toyota dealer known for his loyal attitude towards consumers has created a large-scale service campaign offering free replacement of problem elements.

Conclusion

If you carefully analyze all such cases, we can conclude that Creta rusts in one specific place - other body elements are not subject to such a "sore". The biggest disappointment was hiding the causes of the problem and carefully keeping facts hidden - this is not fair to customers. Everyone is wrong. Ford and Mercedes have had similar mistakes. But unlike Hyundai, these dealers immediately admitted their mistakes.

Hyundai Creta owners began to complain about the quality of the metal and paintwork. Most often, on cars not older than 4 months, the fifth door begins to rust.

Dealers traditionally, as best they can, try to avoid warranty repairs, but this is not often possible.

According to the Wordstat service: the problem appeared in December 2016 and is growing steadily in terms of the number of requests to Yandex.

Here is a compilation of messages from Crete owners who noticed this issue:

Guys, a problem appeared, two dots formed on the fifth door, at first I thought I tried to wipe them off the dirt and nothing, as a result, rust. I'll post a photo, wow, the car is 4 months old.

I don't believe that this could have been allowed ...

I'll wait for spring, and then we'll see. If nothing else pops out with a sticker, I'll close it. Manufactured September 2016, acquired 23 September 2016.

I have the same. Two red spots appeared on the trunk lid (next to the brake light) for 4 months. Under the guarantee, everything was done without question. At first I was upset, like a new car… apparently I'm not the only one.

Expectedly, the main concentration of the owners of Crete, victims of rust, at the forum of the same name. Participants have already created a petition. There are not many subscribers yet. It's too early to talk about a mass problem, but the trend is noticeable.

Many photos posted on the forum show not the highest quality work of Hyundai masters with metal body parts.