At the risk of reigniting a Fuse Covergate/AC Draingate discussion, we wanted to show the fuse cover we got off a 2013 Model S that came in from the Northeast this past week.
Unfortunately all too common for a 10 year old car from the Northeast, where salt is regularly applied to winter roads.
However, despite the corrosion having worked its way right through the fuse cover - see second pic - everything was clean and dry inside (though we suspect that it wouldn’t have been for much longer…)
Yeah, it is pretty tough to rinse and clean that part of the car. Even after winter is over I imagine there is dry crystallized salt sitting there, and spring rains just wet it down and it essentially rusts all year long. Most cars in climates like this only last 10 years anyway, as the whole underside looks the same. Even Toyotas, one of the most reliable vehicles, have frame rusting issues.
Sometimes I wonder if it would be less expensive to society overall to require and supply at discounted rates every vehicle with studded winter tires instead of using salts on roads.
Environmentalists would certainly agree. Not to mention that I have to pay a $200 deductible to replace my $1200 windshield every 2 years because of the 1" large "sand" pieces they throw on the roads, after they salt or drip the magnesium chloride over them. Rant over! 😁
