amstel78

Fortunately I don't have any rust on the body panels or chassis, but while I was looking for the OBDII port today, I noticed quite a bit of surface rust on my steering column shaft and backplate, which is bolted to the firewall. Unusual, since the car is brand new.. has about 300 miles on it now. How could these small metal parts be rusting/oxidizing already? Anyone notice a similar issue with their steering column?

The surface rust isn't too bad, most of it rubs off on my fingers. Should I bother taking it to the dealer, or should I just buy something that will turn the rust into black primer and be done with it?

P.S. I should clarify, that the shaft is rusting on the inside of the car right above the pedals; not outside.

D_Eclipse9916

iTrader: (6)

dont worry about it, its mitsubishi quality, paint it yourself if your really worried.

amstel78

I'm wondering now if giving up the M3 for the EVO was the right thing to do... LOL. I just got done reading a thread about new cars having rust develop at the rear bumper beams. Great.. more work.

evovin

iTrader: (64)

i do have some rust also in my headers....bolts and nuts in particular!

evovin

iTrader: (64)

335i coupe i would go.....

amstel78

The rusty headers didn't surprise me when I bought the EVO. Car was left outside on a dealer lot in winter, open vent hood.. cast iron manifold. Doesn't take a genius to figure that one out...

F Line

Amstel,

I had problems early on with water getting in the car. The area of interest was where the boost gauge, oil temp gauge, etc wires passed through the firewall. Evidently they are installed on arrival in the US at the port of entry. My firewall wasn't sealed properly (or at all). There's another thread on this somewhere. The dealer sealed the firewall and the problem was solved.

Why does this apply to you? If you have enough moisture in the car to have rust on the steering shaft, you should check the firewall. Sounds like there is water in the car somewhere. Has it rained near you lately?

I, too, came from an M3. Man, I miss that car. Don't miss the payments though. Why did you get out?

amstel78

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check out all entry points near the firewall. Was your problem noticeable/accessible from the driver or passenger footwells? In other words, what side do the gauge cluster wires pass through the firewall? I checked things out briefly last night, and as far as I can tell, only the steering shaft, a few bolts, and a small access plate had surface rust on it. I checked out the floor pan area right underneath the carpet below those components, and it looked fine.

As for rain... we've had rain showers during the last few weeks. The car is brand new, and as far as I know, wasn't driven much as it was sitting on the back lot looking pretty crappy. There was 18 miles on the odometer when I took delivery, which was last Saturday. Hasn't rained since then.

Regarding the M3.. I actually had two cars. A 2005 M3 and a 2004 Suzuki XL-7. My wife, daughter and I live in Manhattan where parking and insurance is exorbitant. My wife is going back to school for her Masters and Doctorates so I needed to find a way to save money. By going from two vehicles to one was part of the solution; and the EVO was the best of both worlds.

Before buying the EVO, I test drove an RS4, S6, M5, E320, and STI. The RS4 is a great car, but the US spec seats are awful. It feels more like you're sitting on them than in them. The price was ridiculous as well, with the dealer insisting on charging sticker with no room to negotiate. Even a lease was more expensive than that of an M5.

The E60 M5 on the other hand is fantastic. My friend just bought one, and I drove his for about an hour to get a feel for the car. It's roomy inside, very luxurious, and I love the V10. However, the car didn't have AWD, and stock left a lot to be desired in terms of overall handling. The car exhibited a lot of body roll and understeer. Not to mention, having a 100K car in the city is beyond me unless I had money to burn.

The S6 was about on par with the M5, so no need for me to elaborate further. The E320 Merc was also nice interior wise, but felt like a boat. Finally, the STI was a good option for us, as it was inexpensive (relatively), and drove quite well. Lots of low end torque, but lacked oomph past 5500 on the tach. Interior build quality was decent, but I couldn't stand the blue alcantra, nor the long front overhang. The flat 4 engine looked like a pain in the *** to work on as well.

So that left me with test driving the EVO MR which I eventually settled on. I don't need to describe the qualities of this car, as I'm sure everyone here already knows what it's capable off. Compared against the M3 though, the reason for the large price disparity between the two becomes clear. The inside of the M3 wins hands down, although the front seats (despite being full Nappa leather, and having 8 way power adjustments including lumbar) do not hold me as well as the EVO Recaro's. Quality of material and workmanship is top-notch. Even corrosion protection is applied to the entire vehicle. Basically, if it's made of metal, it gets coated. The M3 also being N/A has a very flat and linear power curve. This makes it easier to drive in stop and go traffic. 0-60, and a competent EVO driver that knows how to launch would beat the M3, but 60-145 and the M3 wins hands down. The EVO could double as a great track vehicle right out of the box, whereas the M3 needed some work. As you can see from my sig, most of my mods where in the handling and braking department. The EVO's peddle placement is great, making heel-toe work a breeze. It was the opposite for the M3 for two reasons; brakes are incredibly grabby so it isn't easy to modulate unless your slowing to corner from 100+ mph, and second the throttle pedal was bottom-hinged, and quite far from the brake pedal.

Anyway, I'm happy with my decision... not so happy with the problems I read about here and the general lack of quality control exhibited in Mitsubishi vehicles. A car as new as mine should not have rust problems, especially on the INSIDE of the vehicle. I'll probably keep the EVO for a few years, until my wife finishes school again.. then I'll probably dump it in favor of the new E92 M3 or E60 M5 and buy a Land Rover for those long family drives.

amstel78

So is it just me with a rusty steering column shaft? Still wondering how the hell it started to corrode... the carpet doesn't look like it ever got wet.

Jakeg97

iTrader: (56)

damn , you gave up an m3 for an evo

thatguy

iTrader: (5)

To be honest its not common and it sounds like a possible leak in the firewall.

I would check the firewall and look for any lose plugs or gaps, also it wouldn't hurt to take the car to a dealer.

If your track your car a lot pepare yourself for the brownbos, and welcome to the dark side.

Rod Munch

iTrader: (5)

I'll check out my Evo IX and post my findings below. In general, though, as a long-time consumer of Japanese cars I am resigned to a bit of rust on iron parts, and believe that despite such oxidation these cars are quite durable. I had one German car some years ago (a Benz) and it may have had a better interior, but overall the Japanese cars have been infinitely more reliable and long-lasting.

Funny you should mention your dislike for the STi blue seats. I hate them too, but no one else seems to understand my hostility to them. Did you consider the StealthTi, i.e., the one this year with no wing, leather, sunroof, etc.?

I bought the Evo IX with the SSL. The leather interior and sunroof did a lot to spruce up the interior.

SR20DE-T

iTrader: (10)

The steering column shaft is made of just plain old steel. It is not coated or anything my mustang had it. It is not a quality issue it is what it is. Steel will start to rust with out water contact it is the moisture in the air.

sonicnofadz

iTrader: (4)

My 2003 VIII is doing the same exact thing. I was installing gauges when I noticed it while lying upside down doing some wiring. I really, really, really despise rust, to the point that I have repainted many different parts of the car (with factory matching paint, and undercoating), and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw rust in the interior. Further investigation revealed that there is a large opening in the firewall surrounding the steering column. There is like some kind of paper/insulation like opening, but has a huge gap where moisture had seeped in over time. I suspect that many Evo's have this problem, and I am VERY curious if Mitsu has made any revisions to this on newer models? Judging by this thread I guess not...but then again maybe our Evo's are just factory flukes...

amstel78

LOL... yeah, I gave my reasons why in the newb section. Cliffnotes just in case you don't feel like looking it up; I needed money to send my wife back to school for her masters/doctorates degree.

Thanks for the welcome. I checked out the firewall area in both driver and passenger side footwells. Apart from the surface rust on the steering shaft and some bolts surrounding it, there are no signs of water entry or water damage. As for the dealer, I don't trust them. I bought my car from Koeppel Mitsu in Long Island City. They were also nice to me, and I got a decent deal, but I still don't trust them.. if you get my drift. LOL..

I considered looking for an STI limited, and even sat in a showroom model, but for some reason never pulled the trigger. That was actually several months ago. By the time I was serious on actually buying, the limiteds were pretty much gone. As for the rust, I think I over-reacted a bit simply because it's a brand new car. I stopped by Pep Boys tonight on the way home from the office, and bought some sand paper, and a spray which turns rust into black primer on contact. Problem solved.

Agreed. Just found it odd that it would happen on a new car so quickly, and it happened to be an internal component, and not something normally subjected to the weather.

I wouldn't be surprised if you and I aren't isolated cases. But, as I said above - took some sandpaper and rust spray and voila.. problem solved.

Anyway, sorry for the long multi-quote post. Just wanted to respond to everyone at once. Thanks again for all of your comments.