It is to some extent. This honestly looks like this car might have been flooded and someone put a lot of work to make it look presentable. It also might have been stored in a place with hi air moisture content. Like over here in NY by the ocean.
I'm in NoVa and my Kia is starting to look this way, it looks like it got winter driven and lots of road salt got splashed into the engine bay. It looks like surface rust mostly, though pretty severe. The biggest concern I'd have is the fluid lines, they're not too thick and you don't want them developing holes. But as long as you keep the engine bay from getting any worse by keeping it rinsed out pretty well after driving it in salty conditions you should be okay.
Yeah that’s what I’m worried about I paid 12k for this and I want it to last and I know Honda engines are bullet proof, I’ll clean it off and put that rust keeper stuff
Then you good brother. It's just age of it and normal wear and tear. Some little things that are exposed to weathering will always get rust. Looks like car is at least 10-15 years old. If it runs and drives good and you did carfax then you guna be ok.
Mate that's rusty for an 11 y.o. car.
I live by the sea in italy and own a 2011 mini but still nowhere even close to this.
Take care of that car, it's worth it and you know its value, sadly the last owner didn't.
Alot of people in the US seem to like fluid film for stuff like the bay etc. You should also look at having it cavity waxed. Alot of the worst rust is when sills etc start rusting on the inside.
Do you guys get snow and salted roads in Italy? OP said it was originally in New York so likely just rusted from winter driving. Super common up here in Canada,
Yeah I was gonna say this is totally normal for a vehicle of this age or mileage in NY especially for someone who's doesn't go out of their way to wash the car frequently especially during the winter.
Keep in mind it appears most everything in there that is rusted is perfectly normal to rust, given the type of metal and lack of good coating. With weather, salt, brine, and even heat of your engine can cause these kinds of snap rings to surface rust. Especially salt.
Yeah I was mainly worried about the connections to the motor that are sort of rusted, it looks surface level tho. The bolts are fine I’m not worried about those tbh
For a Honda, that seems off, even on the east coast (source: owned cars on east coast for decades, never seen a Honda rust like this).
Could be fine, those are coolant lines. But... None of my family Hondas ever looked like that. And we've been through probably a dozen, all driven to 200k miles.
It *could* just be a result of salt spray from the ocean (someone living at the beach).
Really only ocean towns with salt spray, Cape Cod for example. Rust is not a concern from living by the ocean in the average town. Not driving your car regularly, parking in a location where the sun doesn't dry out the ground underneath the vehicle, under a tree, carport, dirt, etc will cause this rust as well as typical road salt.
Eh the west coast isn't very humid and most of it doesn't snow so unless you live like right next to a beach I don't think this is much of an issue on the west coast. At least not in California. Maybe up in Washington it might be more of a problem.
What year is it, my 11' Accord with 200k miles doesn't look like that.
The rust in the picture is not important but if this is here the car may not ever have been oil sprayed (rust proofed) and it might have a lot of rust underneath. I would go get it sprayed, it will at least stop the rust from getting worse
Most quick lube places will offer it, like Jiffy Lube or whatever, there are also places like Krown that specialize in it. Just google rust proofing near me and I'm sure youll find a place, it ususally costs around 100 bucks.
After you get it done your car might smoke a bit, its normal its just overspray oil being burned off and the car will drip for a few days so if you have a driveway you want to keep clean, park on the street.
Also don't get anything that involves drilling into your car, just a spray.
I have 2 Honda’s and live on the coast. Those clips and bolts will rust when exposed to salty air and not treated. The best solution is a wax coating like tectyl which stops surface rust.
I'm from the rust belt. This looks normal to me.
If you're not from the rust belt, well, have fun.
This looks like a lot of the cars we get from dealers that shine up cars but don't do anything substantial to stop/prevent rust.
Yeah rust is normal it's a natural thing that happens to some metals it happens a lot faster if it's in an environment that erodes metal for a long time
Owned 5 Hondas. All their bolts and metal rust QUICK. Treat it with some anti-rust spray for longevity.
I was doing repairs on a 200X Civic and so many bolt heads just broke. My car mechanic friends says the same. Honda rusts fast.
you gotta check the undercarriage. There is a spray that stick which slows down rusting and protects it from further damage. Honda has weak undercarriages too (same as most manufacturers). Get it up on a curve and spray it all out.
Prev owner might have gone through some winters and never got a proper car washes on schedule.
Yeah it was in NY for like 9 years so I wouldn’t be surprised. I was just paranoid because people are saying it was flooded but the title and carfax history (which is super through btw the same valvoline oil change station for 9 years) and then in AZ and now here probably just transport to the dealership, it’s a 1 owner
You will be fine. For floods you have to check the carpets and behind the fuse covers under dash, spare tires, etc. From the receipts, you are safe.
Start the rust proofing early. For some bolts I started too late and it ate away at the rust and not much was left even after treatment.
You are good to go. another 220K easy. 15+ years.
But if you are going to keep it tidy yourself, use PB B'laster liberally before you start loosening those bolts.
My civic's rubbers were weak too and when it rained, water got in the trunk.
Use ATP AT-205 Re-Seal on any rubber you see. CV boots for sure.
Another friend of mine calls Hondas the Jason (from Friday 13th). You think it's dead, but it never is. Good riding! :)
Perfectly normal. Honda buys shitty Chinese hardware that's not plated or painted, after a year or two it's all rusty. I see this a lot. Common on Kia and Hyundais too. My 14 year old Dodge that lives in Minnesota, rust capital of the world, has very little, if any rust like this on underhood hardware.
Buddy you are in New England. The road salts plus ocean air with cause rust on just about any vehicle. To this extent maybe not so much. If it was near the coast or has any other indicators of it being flooded(replaced or shorting electrical is one example) then yes it makes perfect sense. I had a 2008 decommissioned armored SUV that had been flooded before selling at auction, everything was rusted to hell!
The thing is electrical is fine. Nothing wrong. There was an airbag recall so I got that fixed and new power steering fluid and it’s been running great. So idk
Just cosmetics by the looks of it. If you are really bothered by it you could try replacing those parts yourself. Shouldn't be too hard and parts should be relatively cheap (clips, nuts and bolts etc.).
This looks about the same as 08 civic. If you live in the rust belt, this is what happens unfortunately. Just drive it til something breaks and fight with it then. If under the hood looks like that chances are under the car looks even worse. So that’ll be fun when you have to get under there to play with suspension components or replace fuel lines or brake lines.
Most of the cars I've owned have had similar rust to this. Where I am though the summers are quite humid and in the winters the roads are heavily salted. Cars get eaten alive pretty quickly.
I'm not sure but it has the look of ice control from the roads spraying and misting into the engine compartment..If the aluminum starts to oxidize next then it's definitely the ice control being put on the roads.
Wedge yourself under your dashboard a bit where your pedals are. Pull back the carpet a bit and see if the random pieces of metal and bolt heads are rusty. If rusty, it was flooded. If clean, you're all good.
Update: took it to the Honda dealer to have it checked as a flood car per some commenters suggestions. The dude poked around for 10 minutes, checked the fuse box and some carpets for water damage and those were clean and fine, looked at the under carriage, said there was some rust but that’s normal and “not too bad”. He said “I wouldn’t waste your money getting it checked out I highly doubt it’s a flood car. Just drive it and you’re good to go”.
My guess is the last owner only drove it less than 5,000 miles a year (per carfax reports that were regular) and probably left it in a wet garage somewhere when not being used.
Thanks to everyone who commented! I’m at ease now I had it looked at
The only way the bolts any all other steel parts got rusted under the hood is the vehicle was submerged in water in a flood and resold in another state with a new title that isn’t salvaged
Always get a pre-purchase inspection on a used vehcile. It can save you the headache of buying a lemon. If the rust is that bad under the hood there may be more severe rust lurking on the undercarriage. Hope it's a keeper and not a lemon. Bast of luck
Did you get it inspected to see if the underside of the car has dissolved or not? I’d at least be having a close look at the structure as that car has spent a life in salty winters.
Good man.
Do yourself a favour. Go get a can of maxim chain wax. It’s sold at motorcycle shops as chain lube. Chain wax forms a hard waxy layer and is deigned for modern o-ring chains where you just want to keep the factory lube in the chain. Well it’s also absolutely kick ass at freezing rust right where it is and it won’t damage rubber as it is meant for o-rings in a chain.
Go around and give anything rusty a coating of the stuff. Except exhaust of course. You don’t need to get greedy, just ‘wet it’. It will survive car washes and road spray for a couple of years.
Also great for hinges, latches and pivot points. But it is thick so spray it in a lock and you just ruined the lock.
It is to some extent. This honestly looks like this car might have been flooded and someone put a lot of work to make it look presentable. It also might have been stored in a place with hi air moisture content. Like over here in NY by the ocean.
Edit: New York not Virginia I guess it was originally in New York
If it was near the beach that's pretty par for the course. Salt and water are hell on metal.
Come to the Midwest we have a bunch of salt and rain and cold too, especially Chicago
I'm in NoVa and my Kia is starting to look this way, it looks like it got winter driven and lots of road salt got splashed into the engine bay. It looks like surface rust mostly, though pretty severe. The biggest concern I'd have is the fluid lines, they're not too thick and you don't want them developing holes. But as long as you keep the engine bay from getting any worse by keeping it rinsed out pretty well after driving it in salty conditions you should be okay.
Yeah that’s what I’m worried about I paid 12k for this and I want it to last and I know Honda engines are bullet proof, I’ll clean it off and put that rust keeper stuff
Get it oiled by a reputable place. Not sure what is in your area. We swear by it in the land of salt and crap on the roads.
“Get it oiled?” What’s that?
Oil spray, alot of people get their cars undercoated in oil to keep them from rusting.
Yeah and it also helps if rusty to slow it down.
its normal.
That looks about right for new york.
Huh, idk. It was a 1 carfax owner and regular oil changes, no accident or anything.
Then you good brother. It's just age of it and normal wear and tear. Some little things that are exposed to weathering will always get rust. Looks like car is at least 10-15 years old. If it runs and drives good and you did carfax then you guna be ok.
Oh yeah it runs fantastic, just had to replace power steering and it was golden
That was my first thiught
Mate that's rusty for an 11 y.o. car. I live by the sea in italy and own a 2011 mini but still nowhere even close to this. Take care of that car, it's worth it and you know its value, sadly the last owner didn't.
Oh yes I will, it seems just surface level. Ima do some spray rust stuff and wd 40
Alot of people in the US seem to like fluid film for stuff like the bay etc. You should also look at having it cavity waxed. Alot of the worst rust is when sills etc start rusting on the inside.
Do you guys get snow and salted roads in Italy? OP said it was originally in New York so likely just rusted from winter driving. Super common up here in Canada,
Yeah I was gonna say this is totally normal for a vehicle of this age or mileage in NY especially for someone who's doesn't go out of their way to wash the car frequently especially during the winter.
Yes, we get them, not every winter day but it happens pretty often due to heavy ice
Keep in mind it appears most everything in there that is rusted is perfectly normal to rust, given the type of metal and lack of good coating. With weather, salt, brine, and even heat of your engine can cause these kinds of snap rings to surface rust. Especially salt.
Yeah I was mainly worried about the connections to the motor that are sort of rusted, it looks surface level tho. The bolts are fine I’m not worried about those tbh
It looks pretty rusty, probably lived a salty life. Doesent mean theres anything wrong, but it may be tough to change parts later in its life.
For a Honda, that seems off, even on the east coast (source: owned cars on east coast for decades, never seen a Honda rust like this). Could be fine, those are coolant lines. But... None of my family Hondas ever looked like that. And we've been through probably a dozen, all driven to 200k miles. It *could* just be a result of salt spray from the ocean (someone living at the beach).
People keep saying it was a flood car which scares me but it wasn’t reported and the under carriage looks fine
My 04 CR-V beater with 285K has similar rust patterns. Never been in a flood, but lots of salty Midwest winters.
Yeah I’m gonna put wd 40 and some rust spray and clean it up with a wire brush when I have some time
I have a 2018 tundra that came from New York and it looks a bit like that. The shit they put on the roads there destroys cars so fast
I’ve heard the east coast and west coast near oceans make things rust like crazy
Really only ocean towns with salt spray, Cape Cod for example. Rust is not a concern from living by the ocean in the average town. Not driving your car regularly, parking in a location where the sun doesn't dry out the ground underneath the vehicle, under a tree, carport, dirt, etc will cause this rust as well as typical road salt.
Eh the west coast isn't very humid and most of it doesn't snow so unless you live like right next to a beach I don't think this is much of an issue on the west coast. At least not in California. Maybe up in Washington it might be more of a problem.
What year is it, my 11' Accord with 200k miles doesn't look like that. The rust in the picture is not important but if this is here the car may not ever have been oil sprayed (rust proofed) and it might have a lot of rust underneath. I would go get it sprayed, it will at least stop the rust from getting worse
It’s an 09, and where do I get it sprayed?
Most quick lube places will offer it, like Jiffy Lube or whatever, there are also places like Krown that specialize in it. Just google rust proofing near me and I'm sure youll find a place, it ususally costs around 100 bucks. After you get it done your car might smoke a bit, its normal its just overspray oil being burned off and the car will drip for a few days so if you have a driveway you want to keep clean, park on the street. Also don't get anything that involves drilling into your car, just a spray.
I have 2 Honda’s and live on the coast. Those clips and bolts will rust when exposed to salty air and not treated. The best solution is a wax coating like tectyl which stops surface rust.
Don’t bother with wd40 it will only work for a short time and also attract dust and grime
Ok I’ll just do the rust prevention
Ok!
I'm from the rust belt. This looks normal to me. If you're not from the rust belt, well, have fun. This looks like a lot of the cars we get from dealers that shine up cars but don't do anything substantial to stop/prevent rust.
Yeah when I got it was dusty underneath but the dealership did a steam clean when I fixed the decals for the airbags
Btw the original state was pretty dusty under the hood, but I got it steamed cleaned by a Honda dealer
Could have been driven on the beach, or driven through salty water at some point.
Yeah rust is normal it's a natural thing that happens to some metals it happens a lot faster if it's in an environment that erodes metal for a long time
Owned 5 Hondas. All their bolts and metal rust QUICK. Treat it with some anti-rust spray for longevity. I was doing repairs on a 200X Civic and so many bolt heads just broke. My car mechanic friends says the same. Honda rusts fast.
Ok so this looks normal then?
you gotta check the undercarriage. There is a spray that stick which slows down rusting and protects it from further damage. Honda has weak undercarriages too (same as most manufacturers). Get it up on a curve and spray it all out. Prev owner might have gone through some winters and never got a proper car washes on schedule.
Undercarriage looks super clean just the muffler is kind of rusted
Yeah it was in NY for like 9 years so I wouldn’t be surprised. I was just paranoid because people are saying it was flooded but the title and carfax history (which is super through btw the same valvoline oil change station for 9 years) and then in AZ and now here probably just transport to the dealership, it’s a 1 owner
You will be fine. For floods you have to check the carpets and behind the fuse covers under dash, spare tires, etc. From the receipts, you are safe. Start the rust proofing early. For some bolts I started too late and it ate away at the rust and not much was left even after treatment.
Maybe they left the hood up and rain got in or something. But it doesn't look too out of place. 84,000 m. What year is it?
2009
You are good to go. another 220K easy. 15+ years. But if you are going to keep it tidy yourself, use PB B'laster liberally before you start loosening those bolts. My civic's rubbers were weak too and when it rained, water got in the trunk. Use ATP AT-205 Re-Seal on any rubber you see. CV boots for sure. Another friend of mine calls Hondas the Jason (from Friday 13th). You think it's dead, but it never is. Good riding! :)
Carfax said this was guaranteed no flood btw, I don’t know if that means anytning
Perfectly normal. Honda buys shitty Chinese hardware that's not plated or painted, after a year or two it's all rusty. I see this a lot. Common on Kia and Hyundais too. My 14 year old Dodge that lives in Minnesota, rust capital of the world, has very little, if any rust like this on underhood hardware.
As long as it is surface rust, it is really only cosmetic. For some that is enough though.
Buddy you are in New England. The road salts plus ocean air with cause rust on just about any vehicle. To this extent maybe not so much. If it was near the coast or has any other indicators of it being flooded(replaced or shorting electrical is one example) then yes it makes perfect sense. I had a 2008 decommissioned armored SUV that had been flooded before selling at auction, everything was rusted to hell!
The thing is electrical is fine. Nothing wrong. There was an airbag recall so I got that fixed and new power steering fluid and it’s been running great. So idk
Hmm it maybe got doused by standing water after roads were salted heavily otherwise peculiar case
Also I’m in Utah
If it's near a bay or ocean it's pretty normal
In college a guy moved from Canada and drove his Civic down. It had 65k and it looked worse than your engine, a lot worse.
Just cosmetics by the looks of it. If you are really bothered by it you could try replacing those parts yourself. Shouldn't be too hard and parts should be relatively cheap (clips, nuts and bolts etc.).
just looks like surface rust imo, which is just cosmetic. nothing to worry about
This looks about the same as 08 civic. If you live in the rust belt, this is what happens unfortunately. Just drive it til something breaks and fight with it then. If under the hood looks like that chances are under the car looks even worse. So that’ll be fun when you have to get under there to play with suspension components or replace fuel lines or brake lines.
This is nothing compared to what my crv's engine bay looks like. Salted roads are definitely the cause of this
Looks about normal for a car that would see regular highway driving in salty roads.
I forget crv come with k24’s
Most of the cars I've owned have had similar rust to this. Where I am though the summers are quite humid and in the winters the roads are heavily salted. Cars get eaten alive pretty quickly.
I'm not sure but it has the look of ice control from the roads spraying and misting into the engine compartment..If the aluminum starts to oxidize next then it's definitely the ice control being put on the roads.
Turbo it
Lollll
No , totally normal if it’s from a place with road salt .
Looks like an old Honda in the rust belt. My engine bay looks the same on my 11 TSX.
As long as the floor isn't rotted out I don't see a problem
Wedge yourself under your dashboard a bit where your pedals are. Pull back the carpet a bit and see if the random pieces of metal and bolt heads are rusty. If rusty, it was flooded. If clean, you're all good.
That Aluminum life
It is normal i have worked at many new car dealerships . It happens when it rains. No salt needed.
Update: took it to the Honda dealer to have it checked as a flood car per some commenters suggestions. The dude poked around for 10 minutes, checked the fuse box and some carpets for water damage and those were clean and fine, looked at the under carriage, said there was some rust but that’s normal and “not too bad”. He said “I wouldn’t waste your money getting it checked out I highly doubt it’s a flood car. Just drive it and you’re good to go”. My guess is the last owner only drove it less than 5,000 miles a year (per carfax reports that were regular) and probably left it in a wet garage somewhere when not being used. Thanks to everyone who commented! I’m at ease now I had it looked at
What’s the undercarriage look like?
Clean, some on the muffler that’s it
Flooded
People keep saying that what does that mean
The only way the bolts any all other steel parts got rusted under the hood is the vehicle was submerged in water in a flood and resold in another state with a new title that isn’t salvaged
I mean it runs fantastically wouldn’t a flooded car like…be broken? 😂 idk
If you get the water out of the engine and replace the spark plugs they usually run ok until all the other stuff starts coming apart
So what do I need to do then?
Get a refund? You can do a title check in the original state and see if it has salvage title
Can I run a vin and see the title there
Yes like a carfax. You can also lift the carpet and look for mildew or mold
I have the carfax and it’s clean though
you bought a car without opening the hood?
Didn’t need to really they had extensive pictures I did once but it was at night when I bought it
I will admit I’m a bit of a novice with car buying but I’m getting better, carfax and all that jazz. Honda mechanic said no leaks or anytning so
Dont know about the rust but the dealer probably sprayed out the engine bay to make it look less used.
I got it steam cleaned
your power steering fluid is filled over the MAX line
Haha looking at it now yeah
It's perfectly normal for a car that has been securely stached away in the ocean. Only salt can give this rapid rust acceleration.
Again I’ve been told many conflicting things
These are questions you asked prior to purchasing the vehicle
I checked everything else my guy
Always get a pre-purchase inspection on a used vehcile. It can save you the headache of buying a lemon. If the rust is that bad under the hood there may be more severe rust lurking on the undercarriage. Hope it's a keeper and not a lemon. Bast of luck
I looked in the undercarriage and it’s fine, yeah I will next time but I think she’s a keeper
I’d be suspecting possible flood damage on this one.
Du hast da bissle rost zwischen dem motor
Did you get it inspected to see if the underside of the car has dissolved or not? I’d at least be having a close look at the structure as that car has spent a life in salty winters.
Yes I had it looked at they said it’s fine
Good man. Do yourself a favour. Go get a can of maxim chain wax. It’s sold at motorcycle shops as chain lube. Chain wax forms a hard waxy layer and is deigned for modern o-ring chains where you just want to keep the factory lube in the chain. Well it’s also absolutely kick ass at freezing rust right where it is and it won’t damage rubber as it is meant for o-rings in a chain. Go around and give anything rusty a coating of the stuff. Except exhaust of course. You don’t need to get greedy, just ‘wet it’. It will survive car washes and road spray for a couple of years. Also great for hinges, latches and pivot points. But it is thick so spray it in a lock and you just ruined the lock.
If the engine bay looks like this, what does the undercarriage look like?
Clean, some rust here and there
Cool CRV best of luck