How to drive my 2007 Yaris forever

[heistp]

I've had a 2007 Yaris since I got it new, and it now has just under 100,000 km on it. I love the car and would like to keep it as long as I can, but after my recent mandatory technical check (every two years here in Czech), it's still approved for the road, but the items listed on the report suggest that time and rust/corrosion are my main enemy. I had nothing listed two years ago and maybe the tech was just nicer last time, but this time it's:


mild surface corrosion of brake lines
minor corrosion of the frame (doesn't affect strength of vehicle)
minor leaks in exhaust system seals
minor corrosion of body work


Recognizing that it can't last forever :smile: can anyone suggest any preventative steps I can take so it doesn't rust out before its time?

It is driven in winter, and has been in a slightly heated garage for the last few years. I don't regularly wash the undercarriage, for example. If some minor corrosion has started, is washing it still a good idea? Can I protect it somehow? Otherwise, I take it once a year or as needed for routine maintenance, but it hasn't needed any major work so far.

Thanks for any ideas...

[myfirstyota]

Here in Canada, oil spraying your car is popular for rust prevention. If you spray it now, it would be like hitting the pause button. You'll still have the rust you have now, but shouldn't get much worse.

[ex-x-fire]

Get a gallon of Fluid Film & an airless paint sprayer, have at it. Get inside the rockers too.

[zoidberg444]

Get a gallon of Fluid Film & an airless paint sprayer, have at it. Get inside the rockers too.Sadly we don't have that product here in Europe. It's a shame. I have seen how good it is!

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[heistp]

Sadly we don't have that product here in Europe. It's a shame. I have seen how good it is!

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Any tip on what is available here in Europe? I can go see what's available at the local parts store and report back, but would be glad to know what to avoid. I do have concerns about oil spraying, environmentally, at least.

[heistp]

Hold on, I think I found the stuff here, does this look right?

https://www.stop-koroze.cz/fluid-film/fluid-film-liquid-as-r-aerosol-400-ml/

[komichal]

My 2007 Yaris rusts as well, obviously Czech Republic is rust-positive :(
I will see what my "STK" indicates in July, I may quickly become interested in exactly the same topic.
However... does it make sense for car with 250,000 km ?

[heistp]

My 2007 Yaris rusts as well, obviously Czech Republic is rust-positive :(
I will see what my "STK" indicates in July, I may quickly become interested in exactly the same topic.
However... does it make sense for car with 250,000 km ?

Dobrý den. :smile: I think with STK it depends who the technician is. The guy two years ago was friendly and the report was "clean", žadné problémy. I don't think that much changed so fast. The tech this year was listing everything he could. It was lucky I just restored one headlight that was yellowing (by sanding and clear-coating it), because he tested the headlight intensity and I would have failed for sure.

If this spray works, in my opinion it still makes sense for a car with high kilometers, if it doesn't have anything else major wrong. Even if you have to spend 2000 Kc on it, the cost of replacing a frame or suspension part will be much higher, and at that point you'll think about a new car. Each year you don't have to buy a new car is worth a lot for the wallet and environment.

[firebird1999us]

I've got 360k miles on mine... which translates to about 579,000km. Just oil changes, belt changes, general maintenance, one starter, 2 alternators, and like 4 batterys:iono:

Actually just bought a 2019 Corolla to take over in the event of catastrophe because this is uncharterd territory for me with a car... I'll continue driving the Yaris until something major happens, garage it, and eventually get it fixed.

[stykerdk]

you can look at these videos of how a professional rust profing is made here in denmark.
Its pretty normal to get i done here, because we are in the salt and moisture belt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBkdqwwPRVk&t=221s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8amOp9S00&t=2s

My old carina E/corona from 97 was almost rust free when it went to africa in 2017, but it had also got plenty of rust profing in its lifetime.

[heistp]

Wow, I can see how the professional equipment makes it much faster, and probably better. So I'll see if I can find anyone who does it here in Czech, otherwise I'm not clear on what to hit with it and what not.

[IllusionX]

How heated is your garage? Anything over 7°C is bad IMO. I came to accept it my car won't last much longer. My 07 Yaris bought in 06 is 13 years old this year. Hopefully I can get it to 15-16 years, but I don't have much faith in it. It is starting to require quite a bit of repairs.

This summer I am going to repaint the 2 front fenders. It has started last rusting last year, now it's just horrible around the arch.

Windshield is starting to get unglued from 2 of the 4 corners. You can see moisture inside.
Exhaust is leaking around both joints where there are the gasket donuts.

Chassis rust has hit under chassis in 2012 when I parked in a 15°C garage 2 years prior.

Clutch is getting tired. I got a fidenza flywheel, but not sure if it's worth the effort to spend time and actually replace the clutch.





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[B.B._07]

Hold on, I think I found the stuff here, does this look right?

https://www.stop-koroze.cz/fluid-film/fluid-film-liquid-as-r-aerosol-400-ml/

Yes that is Fluid Film. You don't have to use Fluid Film it's just the best known brand. Other companies make similar oily anti rust sprays. Some people even use bar and chain oil, boiled linseed oil, or used motor oil (but those can get really messy). Back in the day farmers would coat their machinery in diesel fuel as a cheap alternative.

Parking in a heated garage during the winter is harmful because the road salt that coats your car (especially the underside) will cause corrosion quicker at a warm temperature. At very cold temperatures the effects of road salt are minimized which is why cars from more extreme winter climates survive with less rust than those from mild winter climates.

[Hamster]

I have a silly question. I live in one of those mild winter climates. We can have freezing rain or five inches of snow one day, and then a few days later it warms up to 40 degrees. Oftentimes, on those mild days following a deep freeze, it rains. I avoid driving when the roads are salted as much as possible. I take the city bus to work and I live within walking distance of a grocery store, so I have the luxury of choosing not to drive if I don't want to. However, there have been a couple of times this year when I did have to drive on a freshly-salted highway. When that happened, I would take a long highway drive during the next big rainstorm, with the idea that the heavy rain would wash all the salt off the undercarriage. Would this actually work? Is driving in the rain a good way to clean off the undercarriage and prevent rust, or does it not actually do anything?

[tmontague]

Yes that is Fluid Film. You don't have to use Fluid Film it's just the best known brand. Other companies make similar oily anti rust sprays. Some people even use bar and chain oil, boiled linseed oil, or used motor oil (but those can get really messy). Back in the day farmers would coat their machinery in diesel fuel as a cheap alternative.

Parking in a heated garage during the winter is harmful because the road salt that coats your car (especially the underside) will cause corrosion quicker at a warm temperature. At very cold temperatures the effects of road salt are minimized which is why cars from more extreme winter climates survive with less rust than those from mild winter climates.

I very much agree with this. It's one of the main reasons I get my car Krown'd every spring and leave my car unwashed all winter while it sits in a driveway.

Heated garages are great but should be left for the summer cars or ones that ar not driven in salt.

I have a silly question. I live in one of those mild winter climates. We can have freezing rain or five inches of snow one day, and then a few days later it warms up to 40 degrees. Oftentimes, on those mild days following a deep freeze, it rains. I avoid driving when the roads are salted as much as possible. I take the city bus to work and I live within walking distance of a grocery store, so I have the luxury of choosing not to drive if I don't want to. However, there have been a couple of times this year when I did have to drive on a freshly-salted highway. When that happened, I would take a long highway drive during the next big rainstorm, with the idea that the heavy rain would wash all the salt off the undercarriage. Would this actually work? Is driving in the rain a good way to clean off the undercarriage and prevent rust, or does it not actually do anything?

Depends on if the salt is completely washed off the road by the time you get on it. Typucally takes a really good pouring or a few days of rain for that to happen.

I don't think what you're doing is bad, but your best bet is to have the car oil sprayed every spring once the salt is off the road and the temps rise. At least if you want the car to last as long as possible. Nothing else will do nearly as much to protect it except not driving it at all during the winter.

[Hamster]

When I do my drives through the rain, I'm pretty sure that all the salt is washed off the road. Lately, we've been having very intense rainstorms a few days after a serious snow. Rain so intense, that I can only see the taillights of the car in front of me, and I have to concentrate extra hard to see the white lines.

I will look into oil spraying my car. I'm sure there's plenty of YouTube videos that show how to do it. So far, the body of my car is in perfect shape, just some very, very minor surface rust on some parts of the undercarriage. I really like this car, and I want it to stay in great shape for a long, long time.

[zoidberg444]

There are a few patches of rust on my car i think i will have to treat with the grinder and some of that rust treatment paint this year or next year otherwise those spots might get a little ropey.

Normally a few times through out the winter i get under my car with the jetwash and thoroughly blast the salt off as best i can. Especially if we're going to go a week or two without any salt on the roads. I also do a thorough cleaning during my spring service after winter is over.

I've never oil sprayed my car. I have seen that Krown rust proof process they have in Canada/US. Maybe i should try doing something similar myself next winter. I think the Krown stuff is a mixture of WD40 and castor oil.

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[heistp]

How heated is your garage? Anything over 7°C is bad IMO. I came to accept it my car won't last much longer. My 07 Yaris bought in 06 is 13 years old this year. Hopefully I can get it to 15-16 years, but I don't have much faith in it. It is starting to require quite a bit of repairs.

Now that you mention it, I only started putting it in the garage in the last four years when we moved into the house, and it really seems like the rusting has accelerated.

It can be 10C in the garage, and unfortunately can also be humid sometimes if the cars come in wet, even if we try to clean them (two car garage).I thought the garage would be better for it, but the rusting underneath has accelerated and my steel wheels for winter went from rustless to covered in it in two years. Previously the car had been parked outside.

I have the option of parking it outside under a carport, and I think I'm going to start doing just that, in addition to having it oil sprayed. The climate is cold here. This is really helpful, thank you.

[tmontague]

Now that you mention it, I only started putting it in the garage in the last four years when we moved into the house, and it really seems like the rusting has accelerated.

It can be 10C in the garage, and unfortunately can also be humid sometimes if the cars come in wet, even if we try to clean them (two car garage).I thought the garage would be better for it, but the rusting underneath has accelerated and my steel wheels for winter went from rustless to covered in it in two years. Previously the car had been parked outside.

I have the option of parking it outside under a carport, and I think I'm going to start doing just that, in addition to having it oil sprayed. The climate is cold here. This is really helpful, thank you.

Carports are ideal in winter because they are still exposed to the cold which slows the rust process but yet saves you from having to brush off your car after a snow fall. Most rust damage from the winter comes in the spring once the warmer temps come and rust increases

[Jeanseb29]

There is a lot of cool tips and DIY to help preserve your car on a Youtube channel called "Sweet project cars". I was checking one of their video lately explaining how to spray the underside of the car with a mix of water and sodium bicarbonate to help neutralize road salt after winter season. Have you guys tried or heard about that before? --JS

[stykerdk]

Heistp watch here you can buy both a spray gun and products for rost protection on ebay.
https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=UNTERBODENSCHUTZ+SPR%C3%9CHPISTOLE+&_sacat=0
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=Undercoating+gun&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=3
Dinitrol is one of the players in the rustproofing market i europe, they have a nice informative UK website.
https://www.dinitroldirect.com/