Dealer installed caliper: TOTALLY RUSTY WITHIN A MONTH!!

[DC_M35_07]

Hoping to also hear from any Nissan dealership folks on the board too...On 2/19/16, had the right rear caliper installed (dealer brand/product) by the dealer (Southern, MD). All other calipers are the original manufacturer installed (2007 Infiniti M35). Part looked fine leaving the dealer but within a week I started to see a little rust starting to appear. Now, the part is totally rust colored and looks like its been in the junkyard for years. Let me add the part works fine. Contacted the dealer yesterday and their reply today was:

those brake calipers are standard cast iron metal and a surface layer of rust will set in on them very quickly due to the type of metal that they are manufactured with. The only way to prevent this is to have them sanded, primed and painted. There is no issue with your new calipers and as long as they are working properly, the rust is just aesthetic and only on the surface. If you do run into any mechanical failures of your calipers, there is a 12 month, 12,000 mile parts warranty on them

. I am unable to post my pictures. This is the closest comparison: I should now pay to sand,prime and paint it now?
Anybody ever experienced this? I am continuing to search to see if others have had the same issues with this dealership. What the hell are these businesses selling? Why sell a part that is clearly inferior and put on a vehicle that one would expect to keep clean and detailed? THOUGHTS??

[asoomal]

It's normal.

Just paint them if you'd like to keep them clean looking.

[centralcoaster33]

I sympathize. That kind of sucks. If it were completely normal, I would imagine your other three would be the same way, and if they were, you wouldn’t be here complaining about it. Steel is not the same as Steel, it depends on the manufacturer’s process. I suspect you ended up with some made from steel with higher iron content. It’s sort of normal, most calipers will have a layer of patina on them, it’s just some are more noticeable than others, and I’d say most aren’t that noticeable. I don’t know that the part is clearly inferior. I wouldn’t spend my energy trying to dig up dirt on the dealership. What will you gain, a neighborhood boycott, a town center shaming, or four new clear coated calipers free of charge? No, you will gain frustration, which can be exhausting, possibly get yourself a rep as a bad client among mechanics, and you’ll still have an ugly caliper. They very likely did what any dealership would do, ordered parts from their factory warehouse and installed them for you, just like you wanted… sort of. You can have them cleaned and painted or powder coated, or you can buy ones that are already painted or powder coated, or you can try another caliper from a parts store hoping for a better source of steel that won’t rust so much, or you can mist your other three calipers on a regular basis to get them to rust enough to match your new one.

[asoomal]

They're all going to be cast from the same type of steel. It doesn't matter what type of mild steel is used, they will all rust the same.

A few aftermarket companies bathe them in a zinc phosphate solution, but that kind of protection doesn't last very long.

As long as all of the bolts are properly anti seized (or loctited), and the sliders are properly grease, you have nothing to worry about.

What they really should have done is used aluminum calipers, the same thing you see on BMW's and other high end vehicles, but oh well.

[Buzzman]

I'm going to call s*** on the dealer cop out explanation.
I had to replace 2 calipers on my 2006 Altima last year (seized).
I bought them at a car parts store and not the dealership (a store similar to your Pep Boys, etc).
They were probably made in China, but I didn't care, as I am planning to trade the Altima out soon anyway.
Now, I live in the great white north with crappy winters and road salt, and these calipers took a year to get rusty looking.
No way were they rusted out in a month.
I also call B.S., because Infiniti is the luxury division of Nissan, supposedly competing with the likes of Lexus, BMW, etc.
Your M35 is not a ten year old Chevy Cavalier. If the calipers on a Cavalier or Yaris rust out, who cares.
If Infiniti is serious about competing in the high end vehicle market and keeping a good track record and reputation,
then this rusting issue should not happen, nor should it be tolerated.
My $.02.
Cheers.

[Bubba1]

I also sympathize with DC. I do not trust dealers either and his experience is one of the reasons I never use car dealers for anything other than warranty work. I'm guessing the replacement part was not from the same supplier as the OEM parts used on the assembly line. And It sounds like the OEM calipers were treated with some sort of rust inhibitor that the replacement part the dealer used on your car did not have. I can't automatically point the fickle finger of fate at the dealer, as they might have sold you "authorized" Nissan parts, but I agree something does not seem right for it to rust so quickly. Most dealers are going to fight you tooth and nail on any potential claim, especially when it comes to cosmetics. Nissan/infiniti are not the only ones to do that. Unless you can confirm the rusty calipers were not genuine Nissan replacement parts, assuming the dealer told you that's what they used, you face a uphill battle getting them to cover removal of that rust and applying a rust inhibitor. It might not be worth fighting. I think your best course is to never use that dealer for repairs again and find an honest experienced independant mechanic.

[asoomal]

I'm going to call bullsh*t on the dealer cop out explanation.
I had to replace 2 calipers on my 2006 Altima last year (seized).
I bought them at a car parts store and not the dealership (a store similar to your Pep Boys, etc).
They were probably made in China, but I didn't care, as I am planning to trade the Altima out soon anyway.
Now, I live in the great white north with crappy winters and road salt, and these calipers took a year to get rusty looking.
No way were they rusted out in a month.
I also call B.S., because Infiniti is the luxury division of Nissan, supposedly competing with the likes of Lexus, BMW, etc.
Your M35 is not a ten year old Chevy Cavalier. If the calipers on a Cavalier or Yaris rust out, who cares.
If Infiniti is serious about competing in the high end vehicle market and keeping a good track record and reputation,
then this rusting issue should not happen, nor should it be tolerated.
My $.02.
Cheers.

They use the same parts as Nissan. Infiniti tries its best to compete with them but they are quite behind.

[DC_M35_07]

Thanks for the input!
Agree that it is a cosmetic issues as the part appears to work fine.
My issue is that the part should not rust that quickly and to that extent, something isn't kosher. I sent an email to the GM of the dealership questioning if this is a standard policy of selling/installing this type of product (awaiting a reply).
Not looking to get anything out of it (but I will except a replacement caliper that has been treated to minimize rusting) but want them to know it is not acceptable...ok, I'm off my soap box...will let folks know what kind of reply I get...I'm off to clean my car, shine my rims and let the world see my one rusty caliper.....lol

[PapaSmurf2k3]

What do your other calipers look like? Can you post comparison pics?

[Buzzman]

What do your other calipers look like? Can you post comparison pics?

Good point.
If the other 3 calipers are original, and they aren't rusty, then I think there is a legitimate reason for complaint.
If it were me, I wouldn't let it go.

[DC_M35_07]

**UPDATE**
Well, I sent an email to the dealer, the service manager kinda gave me the polite brush off. Basically said this is how they come, it happens and I could sand and paint them ($ out of my pocket?)...my next email (No, I did not reply to that service manager) went to the state GM manager for Nissan...basically said would you except this to be placed on your vehicle? Advised I guess I will just take my business elsewhere as the quality of the products you use are questionable....NEXT BUSINESS DAY...I get an email from the same local service manager..."contact us to let us know when you can bring the car in to have the caliper painted"...yeah, moving up the chain works. Long story short, took the car in, they had it for a couple of days, picked it up, low and behold...they painted ALL FOUR CALIPERS for me! Of course, my only concern was the one caliper. Well, I appreciate their actions, I just hope they prepped and used the correct high temp paint and it will last!! Even if it doesn't last "forever", their attempt to fix the issue takes them off my "crap" list...Oh, by the way, they were out of silver and they called me asking if I wanted black or red paint...of course, for this daily driver sedan, took black.
I appreciate everyone's reply's!!!
**And yes, I will be looking for REAR REPLACEMENT ROTORS since the ones on the car look even worse with the newly painted calipers!!! lol
ANY ROTOR BRAND RECOMMENDATIONS? I was looking at Centrics with E-coat finishing. And I think I will try installing myself...
Something like this: http://www.autoanything.com/Compare/Com ... 4294952987
Before and after pics...they painted all four black for me. Somehow they uploaded sideways, sorry about that but you can see the difference. The few spots on the black caliper is droplets of water (I just washed the car)

[DC_M35_07]

Comparison as requested: Picture of the left rear which is how the fronts look too. The replaced right rear looked the same and then the new part rusted out to what you see in the rusty caliper pic previously downloaded....

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Good deal, although it looks like the painted EVERYTHING. The pad, the retainer clips, etc.

You might have better luck with a zinc coating on the rotor as opposed to an E-coat. Zinc coating will keep the metal shiny. E-coat will probably be black. I'm not sure how well the E-coat will hold up to heat...

[darylzero]

Good deal, although it looks like the painted EVERYTHING. The pad, the retainer clips, etc.

That is what I thought as well, but if you look at the pic with the rusted caliper the pads are black as well as the retainer clips.

[frapjap]

Wow, that is super rusty. I was originally going to say that was normal. However, after seeing the photos I found myself agreeing with the folks who think that if they're going to play in the BMW/Merc sand box- that isn't acceptable.

Glad it was resolved relatively easy.

[math]

Hello. I'm brand new here. Have a similar but more crazy experience with dealership. Is it here the right place to tell you about ? "Aesthetic" damage on a new Nissan made by the dealer.

[szh]

Hello. I'm brand new here. Have a similar but more crazy experience with dealership. Is it here the right place to tell you about ? "Aesthetic" damage on a new Nissan made by the dealer.

Starting a new thread would be best ...

Z