Do you need underbody rust protection on new Prime?

I am revisiting this thread on underbody rust protection. I just had our 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid underbody coated with a lanolin-based rust protection product called WoolWax. Here is the FAQ site for this product. FAQs

I had my previous cars treated with FluidFilm, but this is the first time I used WoolWax. I bought our used 2014 Pathfinder this spring. Having been driven in NE since new, this 5 years old SUV was starting to show substantial surface rust on underside of the car, and I did not want to let it see another winter without doing something to lessen the effect of the road salt. I had intended to take it to the shop where I had FluidFilm applied to my old HCH and Gen3, but found out that the shop no longer provides this service. After doing some search, I found a different shop that does FluidFilm. But when I called them, they told me they now use WoolWax instead of FluidFilm because of its superior rust protection ability. A quick glance after the work, the undercoating of our Pathfinder looked great. I will be sure to report how it holds over our winter. In the meantime, I still have not done anything to my 2017 PRIME. It is going to see the third winter in NE without added protection against tons of road salt.

Here is an excerpt from the rustproofing shop's informational page:

Fluid-Film® and Woolwax® are very similar products, with a few differences.
* Both made from woolgrease (lanolin) which is an excellent corrosion inhibitor & Lubricant.
* Both solvent free, safe, non-hazardous, environmentally friendly.
* Woolwax® has a proprietary process to remove the woolgrease smell which some people do not care for.
* Woolwax® is formulated to be more viscous (thicker) than Fluid Film®, thereby being more resistant to road-wash.
* Fluid Film® and Woolwax® both are great products. Woolwax® is geared more towards the industrial user or professional undercoaters that may want a slightly thicker product to be more resistant to wash-off in states with heavier road slush, and with very little noticeable smell.

 

Here is the photo of our 2014 Path, Before and After the application of WoolWax undercoating. I had the temp spare tire dropped before taking the car.

I hope the muffler and exhaust pipe will hold. I wonder if there is any rust proof product that works on high-temperature parts?

 

Yesterday, when I was changing to winter tires on my PRIME, I used FliudFilm and WoolWax aerosol cans to spray them on suspension and accessible parts in and around the tire well. I did one side with the FluidFilm and other side with WoolWax. What I found out is that WoolWax being thicker than FluidFilm, it has tendency to clog the spray nozzle. I finished a entire can of FluidFilm to empty, but two cans out of thee WoolWax stopped spraying with plenty of contents remaining. The temperature was around 45F. If using aerosol cans, FluidFilm is much easier to use. They cost about the same at ~$10/can.

 

Yeah, I tried cleaning the tip of the can but did not use any solvent. I might give a try if I need to use the remaining contents. I am now finished with tire changes, so I probably don't need them again until next spring.

I did read on-line that both FluidFilm and WoolWax tend to clog the nozzle of any sprayer. WoolWax being thicker than FluidFilum, it is more prone to this problem. For aerosol cans, heating up the can in hot water supposed to help. For large application, I saw WoolWax video using PrestoPot to melt the wax before feeding into the sprayer.

 

Can someone tell me what exactly this rusty parts is called, and what it does? It is behind the rear brake rotor. I don't know why this part is rusted so much worse than other parts. Is it the material or the finish?

 

Thanks. I also fond it on the diagram below. I think your link is for the FRONT suspension. My pic was rear suspension member. Interestingly both side of rear "Knuckles" are heavily rusted though mostly surface rust at this point after two NE winters, but the front "Knuckles" are not that bad. Wonder why. I sprayed it to cover as much area as I could with FluidFilm/WoolWax for now. I will see how they look next spring. The parts alone cost $516 (MSRP), I don't want them to go bad.

Rear Suspension for 2017 Toyota Prius Prime | Toyota Parts

 

That's good to hear, but I still want to be cautious. Our 2005 Sienna which was decommissioned two years ago after only 100K miles on it. It had numerous rust related problems one after another started when it got 10 years old. I spent well over $3K on the van to repair them within 2 years, all rust related. You can see the underbelly photo of our Sienna at it's last inspection time here. How so we clean under our cars? | Page 2 | PriusChat

Totally corroded rear differential found at this inspection was the final nail in the coffin. Staggering $5,000 repair was just too much for a 12 years old minivan.

 

Yap, that is going to be a problem. I don't particularly enjoy crawling under a car. For an easy job I am willing, but hand waxing all the intricate underside parts of a car, NO WAY. I don't think even a power spray gun is something I am willing to try DIY unless the car can be raised up high enough which is impossible on my driveway.

 

Black top with a lot of cracks and frost heaves and on a slight slope.

 

Yeah, I almost thought about it. But I don't have a compressor. Moreover, I just have no way to raise the car high enough to work under the car. I am in no way crawling under the car and laying on my back to spray this nasty grease to let them fall back on my face. For now, I will just do around suspension and where I can reach from the side of the car without layin down on the driveway. For that, a spray can is enough. Thank you for the suggestion though.