We've been driving our 09 Fit Sport for about 3 weeks now. A couple of days ago, I started to notice a brown rust around the disc brakes on both the front wheels. I'm bringing it to my mechanic next week to have the Ambient Lights put on (do I need the radio anti-theft code?) so I'll ask him then. Has anyone else have this issue?

The only think I can think of is I washed the car last week and some of the car wash fluid might have gotten in there when I washed the wheels. Here's how it looks like:

 

The surface rust is normal... no need to worry..

 

anytime water sits on the rotors they get a rust look. It is normal.

 

Yeah, completely normal and fine. Cars today have more exposure through the rim spokes so you see rust on the discs. It goes away once you use your brakes again.

 

Happens on every car out there.

 

Unless you have ceramic brakes
For the 99.9999% of the rest of us, brake discs and drums are made of iron.
If you are super, super anal, you might be able to find brake discs that have been cadmium or zinc washed. Then the edges and such will not rust, but the surfaces will still rust. The surface rust is wiped off with normal braking though.

 

Yes, the battery needs to be disconnected to do the ambient lighting install. Therefore you will need the radio code for when the battery is reconnected.

 

I installed my ambient lighting (OEM) kit without disconnecting the battery. You just have to be careful when unplugging the connector from the back of the mirror switch (and plugging the harness into it. Since these are shrouded connectors, it's (at least IMO) a fairly safe operation.

 

the rust you see in the pics, like everyone else said, is totally normal.

 

Rust is normal, I have an 09 as well and every car does that.

As for the ambient light install I am doing it right now. I was not planning on disconnecting the battery either. The connections are just plug and play (almost like usb) so it would be pretty hard to f that up.

 

Thanks for clearing up the issue regarding the rust. Sounds like the ambient light can be done at home. I'll start a new thread with that topic.

 

I actually just finished the ambient light install in the time it took from my first post in this thread till now. I am kind of disappointed in the fact you have to have your lights on ( or the parking lights) in order to switch on or off the ambient lights.

 

For the rust... is it possible to paint it black?

 

Possibly when new before the rust has started, it might help. Otherwise, it's not practical to clean. Plus, you'll never get inside the rotor vanes, and it will still rust in there in run/dribble out and collect on the edges. Probably only worth bothering for show car or concourse. As mentioned, you could try to find ones that have been zinc/cadmium plated/dipped.

 

Not that we'll ever actually see a Fit at any of the famous concours events, but on a concours (pronounced con-coor) level restoration, if it didn't leave the factory like that, it shouldn't be on the car. By posting this I am in no way trying to be corrective or condescending. It's just that I have all of this meaningless trivia in my head that needs to be let out once in a while.

Now back on the subject...

If the rusty edges of your brake rotors bothers you to the point of wanting to spend a few bucks, the best solution is to use a rust encapsulation type of product like POR-15 or similar. It goes on right over the rust and converts it to a tough black surface that can then be painted with a compatible high-temp paint. Eastwood has a product that comes in an spray can to make the job easier. Just be sure you mask the braking surface of the rotors beforehand.

 

No correction taken as you are 100% technically correct, and I shouldn't be exaggerating I meant more worth worrying about.