Rust in Engine Bay

[DangItsDen]

My 3 week old ORP appears to have rust on several components in the engine bay.... Not going to pretend that I know what parts these are but they're up near the wind shield. This seems less than ideal... Any ideas? What would you do?

 

[JR1]

What would I do? Close the hood and enjoy your new 4Runner. This is nothing to worry about.

 

[DangItsDen]

What would I do? Close the hood and enjoy your new 4Runner. This is nothing to worry about.

And that’s why I posted here lol. Sanity check. My 5th gen that I’ve had for 10 years that’s been on beaches, salty mountain roads has zero visible rust in the engine bay so this threw me off.

 

[Memory Lane]

I doubt it is anything to worry about but I would bring it to the dealer so it’s officially documented.

 

[Area 52]

That looks like components exposed to salt water/air. It could have rusted enroute to the U.S. or sitting near the ocean.

I would get underneath, inspect the rest of the vehicle, and discuss with your dealer if more corrosion is found.

 

[mars001]

That looks like components exposed to salt water/air. It could have rusted enroute to the U.S. or sitting near the ocean.

I would get underneath, inspect the rest of the vehicle, and discuss with your dealer if more corrosion is found.

I concur. Once rust starts, it will only grow.

 

[anorphirith]

not a big deal but i would still spray rust protectant.

 

[AZGOLD]

That 4runner was in the bow of the ship with the hood open on the ride over

 

[Hacksaw]

Among other things when doing your pre-delivery inspection of your chosen vehicle, be sure to open the hood and inspect the engine compartment. This would have been good to get documented before you took possession. It may never amount to anything but it's still good to document whether it came that way.

I don't know if many dealers will do this, but it would also be good, before taking delivery, to put your car on a lift and inspect the undercarriage for anything odd (or curiously loose or not connected). The dealer is supposed to do this, but things get missed (or not done at all).

There are a couple content creators on YT that do very detailed reviews of the undercarriage and engine compartment, like sarah n tuned and car care nut, but I don't think either of them have done a 2025 4runner yet, unfortunately. Please post any links to such reviews, if you know of them.

 

[Mudbath]

Interesting. Those looks like uncoated machined ends of a big casting. Not much of a threat, but certainly unsightly in a brand-new car, and indictive of cost-cutting.

Price goes up, way up. Quality goes down. Customer takes it in the shorts.

I see some rust under a bracket in the upper left of the photo, obviously they sprayed the protective coating on after assembly, another corner cutting (cheaper) method.

Weak

 

[mars001]

Rust always weakens the metal. I can't tell what are the parts in the pic where rust formed and will sure grow?

 

[Area 52]

I shot this on my 4Runner a few minutes ago:

 

[DangItsDen]

I shot this on my 4Runner a few minutes ago:

Curious what the unfinished edges look like on yours(below the bolt head on the left). Just shiny silver? You're in a more arid climate, but that shouldn't be that big of a factor.

 

[Area 52]

It's silver, no rust.

That bright orange on yours is similar to rust we would incur on weapons stored aboard ship, but placed in CONEX boxes on the flight deck. If left unmaintained for two weeks, the barrels would be orange with rust. It's unlikely it happened after you took delivery, and more likely it was sitting somewhere near a corrosive environment such as dockside or on the ship coming over. Toyota probably takes some protective measures during the ride over, but that's just a guess. They use roll on / roll off ships, so most should be stored internally.

 

[brumey]

Personally, if I caught it at a pre-purchase inspection, (yes, that is correct, I hope to inspect and video everything prior to writing the check), I would complain. As others alluded to, it's a sign of cost cutting, poor quality or both. I too would be unhappy. However, what is a dealer or Toyotas going to do? Allocate a new truck? Reduce the MSRP? I doubt it.

I'd clean the rust off and paint with some high temp quality paint.

I wonder what else is rusty underneath. I have two other vehicles, one 20 years old and one 11 years old. No rust showing anywhere in the engine bay.

Keep us al informed what action your dealer or Toyota take. Sorry you have to deal with this crap on what should be a happy new car time.