That dreaded curse of rust on the tailgate latch has returned for the 3rd time and Bodyshop say needs tailgate replacing but in their cost cutting wisdom, Chrysler blatently refuse to replace the tailgate saying cos it not got a hole its repairable. The last visit to the bodyshop was end of october last year so its only lasted 3 months before bubbles in the paintwork around the latch have appeared. Its so annoying......

 

Do you have any photos for the record here?
I'm doing a post on water in this area due to the seal problem.

 

I think you need a different bodyshop too - only 3 months?

 

And your Coupe was the car that convinced me that RED is the best colour!
Yes this is a frustrating issue - seems to be rusting from the inside - water gets inside and sits there slowly rusting from the inside, until it starts to appear round the handle, bubbling the paint at the point when the damage is done. I don't know if what I have been doing helps, but, when you lift the tailgate you see a drain hole at each side on bottom corners. I take a can of aerosol spray oil with a tube attached, and slot the tube through these holes blasting the inside of the tailgate body with this until its literally running out, totally bathing the inside. My 2004 is not showing any signs of rust at the moment, but this may be just luck.

 

It is rusting from the inside, now you can see it starting around the bolt hols too. I kept the case open with Chrysler as i knew it would come back. Chrysler insist it is poor workmanship by the dealer bodyshop as it should be a first time fix - bit difficult when the dammed thing is rusting from the inside. If they replace the tailgate the I will be out with the waxoil as soon as I get it home. Also forgot to mention they are also sorting out corrosion on the spoiler too.
Phoning Chrysler again in the morning....

 

I have 2 patches of rust at the 2 latching points either side of the boot door which seems a common theme on a few models ive looked at?....what is the best course of action here to a: remove & patch up & b: help stop it happening?

 

Update from chrysler - they wont fix it period. They dont know why it was done in the first place as the tailgate wasnt perforated, they say 2nd repair was goodwill by dealer - lies, dealer had authority to repair. They actually had the nerve to ask if dealer thought it would perforate with the remaining warranty- which is unlikely (which turns out to be a 7yr warranty according to dealer who double checked) Spoiler wont get done either. So as long as the rust dont rot through they dont give a toss and the warranty is worthless. Warranty department dont speak to us mortals only the elite few within the business. They need to learn about customer service big time. rant over....,

 

To prevent rust from reoccurring the source of the moisture has to be eliminated. The drains in the hatch are to get water out in a last ditch attempt to stop the door from filling with water.

The problem lies in the seals and sometimes the two boots at the top of the door. The seals in the spoiler panels (NA and SRT) are not to reliable from what I have seen. I have only seen the SRT seals but the NA has to be similar.

This will become a bigger problem as time passes, but it will be too late to prevent rust in many cases.

See this post for leak details.
Clicky

 

I just noticed that the paint on my spoiler itself is bubbling along the bottom. I do not see any other signs of trouble. Is there an area on the spoiler itself that needs to be addressed?

 

FRUSTRATING I KNOW...I owned a 2004 crossfire coupe from 2006 and it also had rust around the lock handle/latch so i paid a visit to my nearest dealer and after a photo being taken and waiting for a couple of weeks they agreed to replace the rear hatch ...happy days.....I now own a 2006 srt 6 convertable and yes in the last few months rust appeared round the latch so i went over to my dealer who is now Lookers and doesn't deal with Chrysler sales but is still a agent for service and repairs after chasing the guy up who dealt with these issues he said quote " you wont get anywhere with this as since Fiat had taken them over you are wasteing your time" Nice ...i must say the guys attitude "STANK!" so three weeks later i rang back as he obviously could not be arsed to let me know and was told by him "Chrysler had been in and totally refused to do anything about it" maybe this is true, but anyway i rang Fiat/ Chrysler and had them give me a e-mail address as i can send my own photos and have a written record as to what the outcome might be ? so will just have see what happens...

I believe the problem to be with a poor amount of paint around the latch itself as it looks very thin and as i have not disassembled the latch too have a good look round it ( i wont do this until i found out what Fiat has to say) maybe a seal issue at this stage i just dont know..i dont think it is a water drainage problem as the coupe and roadster are very different but the problem is the same...one theory i do have is as the car is driven along in the wet, water is drawn around and under the latch mechanism by vacum and getting in that way.......as i said just a theory, mmmm.