5 ms·

Where does this myth come from? I grew up in Utah where the roads are basically made of salt for 6 months a year. There are old cars everywhere. I had two that

Where does this myth come from? I grew up in Utah where the roads are basically made of salt for 6 months a year. There are old cars everywhere. I had two that lasted to 200k miles, and it wasn't rust that pushed them over the edge. Just wash your car and it'll be fine. I'm not saying there's no affect at all, but suggesting the car will be unusable in 5 years (less than 100k on average) is an exaggeration bordering on dishonesty.

blackguardx 5y ago
The 5 year thing is an exaggeration, but it definitely isn't a myth. The midwest and new england area gets a lot more snow than the western US outside small mountain towns. Also, the western US tends to use more environmentally friendly road salts that also don't cause as much corrosion as rock salt (NaCl). In the east, roads are heavily salted with rock salt and it is (or was common when I lived there) for cars to to be heavily rusted out 10 years in. People still drive those cars, but parts break more frequently. When I moved to California in 2007, a local mechanic freaked out about all the rust on my 2001 car and advised me to sell it immediately. I kept that car and eventually sold it on to someone from the east coast who didn't see any issues.
- brewtide 5y ago
  Maine here. Not only do they sand and salt a ton, but I believe it is Calcium-Chloride that they spray down before storms are about to hit. Liquid, onto the roads. You should see cars following 10 ft behind them on the highway when this is being done... eeek. You can literally hear it eating at your car if in a quiet place. "Not too rusty" around here is... Well, you're familiar.
rossjudson 5y ago
Decades ago my Canadian family had a Volvo that made it for nearly 20 years, and was a total rust bucket at the end of that time ;) Somewhere near the end of that, a brand new Acura was bought. That made it through the next 20 years (on the same roads), and had next to no corrosion. The manufacturers really did get a lot better!
- sixstringtheory 5y ago
  I wonder if your experience also resulted from changes in use of road salt? I found this work done around the early 2000s: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/pollutants/road-salts/code-practice-environmental-management.html https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services...
sixstringtheory 5y ago
Look into the “salt belt”, and the references there regarding anti-lock brake and air bag sensor recalls only from these states: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Belt https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Belt Note that the airbag recall included Utah, while the antilock brake probe did not. Also note that as mentioned, “other states such as … Utah are also considered part of the Salt Belt but use less corrosive substances.” Did you exclusively drive on salted roads in Utah? There’s also the whole part of the state that is desert. I don’t think it compares to humid coastal states that also receive heavy snowfall and happen to include several huge metropolitan areas, with all the car commuting that entails.
- Kon-Peki 5y ago
  My experience is that a large number of gas stations east of the Mississippi have an $8ish car wash that includes an underbody spray when you drive into the wash bay. Just get a few of those every winter, drive slowly when entering the wash bay, and never worry about corrosion.
  - jjtheblunt 5y ago
    west of the mississippi too. (we are now in Arizona, but are from Chicagoland)

blackguardx 5y ago

The 5 year thing is an exaggeration, but it definitely isn't a myth. The midwest and new england area gets a lot more snow than the western US outside small mountain towns. Also, the western US tends to use more environmentally friendly road salts that also don't cause as much corrosion as rock salt (NaCl). In the east, roads are heavily salted with rock salt and it is (or was common when I lived there) for cars to to be heavily rusted out 10 years in. People still drive those cars, but parts break more frequently. When I moved to California in 2007, a local mechanic freaked out about all the rust on my 2001 car and advised me to sell it immediately. I kept that car and eventually sold it on to someone from the east coast who didn't see any issues.

brewtide 5y ago
Maine here. Not only do they sand and salt a ton, but I believe it is Calcium-Chloride that they spray down before storms are about to hit. Liquid, onto the roads. You should see cars following 10 ft behind them on the highway when this is being done... eeek. You can literally hear it eating at your car if in a quiet place. "Not too rusty" around here is... Well, you're familiar.

rossjudson 5y ago

Decades ago my Canadian family had a Volvo that made it for nearly 20 years, and was a total rust bucket at the end of that time ;) Somewhere near the end of that, a brand new Acura was bought. That made it through the next 20 years (on the same roads), and had next to no corrosion. The manufacturers really did get a lot better!

sixstringtheory 5y ago
I wonder if your experience also resulted from changes in use of road salt? I found this work done around the early 2000s: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/pollutants/road-salts/code-practice-environmental-management.html https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services...

sixstringtheory 5y ago

Look into the “salt belt”, and the references there regarding anti-lock brake and air bag sensor recalls only from these states: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Belt https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Belt Note that the airbag recall included Utah, while the antilock brake probe did not. Also note that as mentioned, “other states such as … Utah are also considered part of the Salt Belt but use less corrosive substances.” Did you exclusively drive on salted roads in Utah? There’s also the whole part of the state that is desert. I don’t think it compares to humid coastal states that also receive heavy snowfall and happen to include several huge metropolitan areas, with all the car commuting that entails.

Kon-Peki 5y ago
My experience is that a large number of gas stations east of the Mississippi have an $8ish car wash that includes an underbody spray when you drive into the wash bay. Just get a few of those every winter, drive slowly when entering the wash bay, and never worry about corrosion.
- jjtheblunt 5y ago
  west of the mississippi too. (we are now in Arizona, but are from Chicagoland)