{"id":5785,"date":"2025-06-01T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/?p=5785"},"modified":"2025-06-03T12:04:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T12:04:21","slug":"alfa-romeo-owner-sees-rust-forming-early-but-dealer-says-its-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/06\/01\/alfa-romeo-owner-sees-rust-forming-early-but-dealer-says-its-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"Alfa Romeo Owner Sees Rust Forming Early But Dealer Says It\u2019s Normal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image lazyload\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Alfa-Romeo-Tonale-Back-1024x576-1.jpg\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-5 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<ul>\n<li>An Alfa Romeo Tonale owner reports tailgate rust and paint bubbling after one year.<\/li>\n<li>Dealership allegedly denies defect, claiming that such paint issues are \u201c100% normal.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Customer\u2019s Reddit post sparked debate over SUV\u2019s long-term durability and paint quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Some cars earn a reputation the hard way, and Alfa Romeo\u2019s isn\u2019t exactly built on sterling reliability. Now, a Tonale owner in Vancouver, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/tag\/canada\/\">Canada<\/a> is raising concerns over some rust forming on their SUV, and the dealership\u2019s response isn\u2019t exactly reassuring. Whether this is an isolated case or the start of something more widespread isn\u2019t clear yet, but the dealer\u2019s refusal to take responsibility doesn\u2019t inspire confidence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-placement\">\n<div id=\"82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\tvar adpushup = window.adpushup  = window.adpushup || {que:[]};<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tadpushup.que.push(function() {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tif (adpushup.config.platform !== &#8220;DESKTOP&#8221;){<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t} else {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Canadian owner of this white Alfa Romeo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/tag\/alfa-romeo-tonale\/\">Tonale<\/a> says there are issues with the tailgate drains of the compact SUV, and that this has caused rust to start forming after just one year of ownership. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/2024\/07\/toyota-wont-cover-gr-corolla-fire-damage-claims-tires-rated-below-85-mph\/\">Toyota Denies Warranty For GR Corolla Fire, Claims Tires Rated Below 85 MPH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe dealer will claim that this is how the car is built, but a brand new 1 year old car will rust on you and you\u2019re just left to either duke it out with the dealer, or fix it out of pocket,\u201d the owner wrote on Reddit. \u201cStellantis will NOT repair this under warranty as their rust warranty only applies if the rust has rusted through the paint.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"taboola-mid-article\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"taboola-mid-article-thumbnails-organic\"><\/div>\n<p>A photo shared to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/AlfaRomeo\/comments\/1ktyig6\/avoid_the_tonale_like_the_plague\/\">Reddit<\/a> shows that an area of the tailgate near the reversing camera, tailgate light, and opening switch has small areas of rust and pieces of paint that have started to flake and fall off. Look closely, and you may also notice some bubbling in the paint.<\/p>\n<p>Several other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/tag\/alfa-romeo\/\">Alfa Romeo<\/a> Tonale owners in the thread suspect it could be a production defect on this particular example, as no others have reported finding similar areas of rust and chipping paint on the tailgate. Now, production defects aren\u2019t unusual in new cars. Just ask Tesla. But, dealerships should be happy to rectify any defects free of charge. That hasn\u2019t been the case here.<\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Alfa_Romeo-Tonale-2023-HD-da71fd2f1b830f5cdc2d5ce33e4e542d764aace52.jpg\" data-type=\"inarticle-image-block\"> <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<p>                    <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazy \" src=\"\" alt=\" Alfa Romeo Owner Sees Rust Forming Early But Dealer Says It\u2019s Normal\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1320\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Alfa_Romeo-Tonale-2023-HD-da71fd2f1b830f5cdc2d5ce33e4e542d764aace52-1024x704.jpg\" data-type=\"inarticle-image\" \/><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>        <\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>The poster claims Stellantis declined to offer any repair, citing a technicality in the rust warranty, which only applies once rust has actually eaten through the paint. They also shared a screenshot of an email from the Assistant General Manager of Alfa Romeo Vancouver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been warned that due to the way the drain is built, that this will just keep reoccurring and there is not much that can be done,\u201d writes the owner of the Alfa Romeo. \u201cThe drains are capped by two plastic stoppers, so the water in the trough on the tailgate would have to be a quarter inch or more before it\u2019ll drain out.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-placement\">\n<div id=\"9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"> <\/div>\n<div id=\"bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"> <\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\tvar adpushup = window.adpushup  = window.adpushup || {que:[]};<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tadpushup.que.push(function() {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tif (adpushup.config.platform !== &#8220;DESKTOP&#8221;){<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t} else {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/2024\/10\/alfa-romeos-2025-tonale-debuts-in-paris-with-subtle-interior-refresh\/\">Alfa Romeo\u2019s 2025 Tonale Debuts In Paris With Subtle Interior Refresh<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In response to the flaking paint of this Tonale, the manager says, \u201cThat\u2019s actually 100% normal and not bubbling paint. It is the same for all the Tonales.\u201d He then requested a dealer staffer to send the customer a photo of another Tonale for comparison.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Normal Isn\u2019t Always Acceptable<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The gaslighting here is clear. The photo of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/2024\/10\/alfa-romeo-cuts-2025-tonale-range-to-single-model-jacks-up-price-by-almost-5000\/\">the Tonale\u2019s<\/a> tailgate shows part of the paint has started to bubble, and this is often an indication that there\u2019s rust underneath or moisture was trapped underneath when the Alfa was originally painted. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-placement\">\n<div id=\"e46c436a-adeb-4b5e-a2c7-56bc36561c10\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"> <\/div>\n<div id=\"b25ecba7-3bbb-4ea7-a3a8-dbea91695c07\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"> <\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\tvar adpushup = window.adpushup  = window.adpushup || {que:[]};<br \/>\n         \t\tadpushup.que.push(function() {<br \/>\n             \t\tif (adpushup.config.platform !== &#8220;DESKTOP&#8221;){<br \/>\n    \t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;b25ecba7-3bbb-4ea7-a3a8-dbea91695c07&#8221;);<br \/>\n             \t\t} else {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;e46c436a-adeb-4b5e-a2c7-56bc36561c10&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The issue could be fixed by simply replacing the tailgate, but it seems the owner will have to keep fighting the dealer to get a repair done.<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote class=\"reddit-embed-bq\" style=\"height:500px\" data-embed-height=\"659\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/AlfaRomeo\/comments\/1ktyig6\/avoid_the_tonale_like_the_plague\/\">Avoid the Tonale like the plague<\/a><br \/> by<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/variglog\/\">u\/variglog<\/a> in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/AlfaRomeo\/\">AlfaRomeo<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Alfa Romeo Tonale owner reports tailgate rust and paint bubbling after one year. Dealership allegedly denies defect, claiming that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5785"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5788,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5785\/revisions\/5788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}