Mitsubishi Galant Fortis: Corrosion on Japanese-import Lancers — subframe, arches and underbody

Lancers of this era sold in New Zealand are overwhelmingly Japanese used imports, and cars built for the Japanese domestic market were given noticeably less corrosion protection than export-market cars because Japan does not salt its roads. Landed here — particularly in coastal areas — they rust from underneath: the front subframe, inner sills, wheel arch lips, strut towers and the floor around the seat mounts. Mitsubishi has issued front subframe corrosion recalls on Lancer-family vehicles in other markets, which indicates how load-bearing the affected area is. In New Zealand, structural rust near suspension mounting points is an outright WoF failure and repairs are labour-intensive.

• Bubbling or blistering paint along wheel arch lips and the bottoms of doors
• Flaking, scaly metal visible under the car
• Damp carpets or a musty smell inside
• Fresh underseal or thick black coating hiding the underbody

Kneel at each wheel with a phone torch and look up into the arch and along the sill, running a finger along the arch lip and the seam where sill meets floor — bubbling paint means rust already through from behind. Look at the front subframe and the strut towers under the bonnet for scaly, layered corrosion rather than light surface rust. Lift the boot carpet and the spare wheel and check the well for damp, rust or fresh sealer. Inside, press the carpets in the footwells for dampness. Be suspicious of a very recently applied thick underseal, which is often covering rather than preventing. Check the WoF expiry and ask to see the last WoF sheet and any advisory notes. If a workshop inspection is possible: have it on a hoist and the sills and subframe tapped and probed, as sound metal and filler feel completely different.

Parts involved: Body corrosion.

$800 to $6,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

• “Is this a Japanese import, and do you have the import and compliance paperwork?”
• “Has any rust repair or welding been done, and where?”
• “Has it ever failed a WoF, and what for?”

The failure described above is documented in published sources — owner forums, technical service bulletins, recall notices and workshop write-ups — held in our fault database. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them, and it is a starting point for an inspection rather than a manufacturer statement.