Seam under front passenger floor has rusted through. Frame holding up the dash that also houses the yaw sensor for the vehicle has completely rusted away inside the vehicle.
Almost all Uplander, Montana, Terraza and Relay U-body vans are affected. I have not seen one that has not rusted through the floor that was ever exposed to salted roads.
Investigated by checking 7 (seven) other vans from 08-09 model years that were located at a local vehicle recycling parts yard, all of these vans were affected by the same rust.
It is very possible that all Uplander and associated vans exposed to salt road conditions in winter have this rust. It is usually characterized by a white powder/salt coming out of the small vents in the plastic console near the floor, next to the driver's feet. If you see this powder residue, it is safe to say this indicated extreme rusting of the floor and dash support frame. I have relatives that are very old and do not barely drive their Uplander in winter, and their van also shows signs of this rust. Recently I viewed a nice low kilometer 2008 Uplander for sale at an auction house that only had 100,000kms, the van looked perfect in every way, but the floor was showing signs of rusting through already and the white powder was coming out of the vents by the driver's feet. I HAVE NOT SEEN ONE VAN THAT IS NOT AFFECTED YET.
This issue greatly compromises the integrity of the floor in a collision, which is already an issue with the vans, as a floor strength upgrade was required to upgrade the safety standards from the old Venture model. I would expect the safety of the occupants to be compromised greatly.
I am not sure if this is safe to drive even if repaired it is not safe to sell this van to someone else, I am forced to have a rust repair done and contemplate my options.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
click to see larger images
Seam under front passenger floor has rusted through. Frame holding up the dash that also houses the yaw sensor for the vehicle has completely rusted away inside the vehicle.
Almost all Uplander, Montana, Terraza and Relay U-body vans are affected. I have not seen one that has not rusted through the floor that was ever exposed to salted roads.
Investigated by checking 7 (seven) other vans from 08-09 model years that were located at a local vehicle recycling parts yard, all of these vans were affected by the same rust.
It is very possible that all Uplander and associated vans exposed to salt road conditions in winter have this rust. It is usually characterized by a white powder/salt coming out of the small vents in the plastic console near the floor, next to the driver's feet. If you see this powder residue, it is safe to say this indicated extreme rusting of the floor and dash support frame. I have relatives that are very old and do not barely drive their Uplander in winter, and their van also shows signs of this rust. Recently I viewed a nice low kilometer 2008 Uplander for sale at an auction house that only had 100,000kms, the van looked perfect in every way, but the floor was showing signs of rusting through already and the white powder was coming out of the vents by the driver's feet. I HAVE NOT SEEN ONE VAN THAT IS NOT AFFECTED YET.
This issue greatly compromises the integrity of the floor in a collision, which is already an issue with the vans, as a floor strength upgrade was required to upgrade the safety standards from the old Venture model. I would expect the safety of the occupants to be compromised greatly.
I am not sure if this is safe to drive even if repaired it is not safe to sell this van to someone else, I am forced to have a rust repair done and contemplate my options.
- Bill A., Ottawa, ON, Canada