Has anyone else got markings that look like corrosion or pitting on the rack? I’ve tried a few ways to try and remove / clean and they don’t want to come off. They are slightly raised from the surface. Could it be a reaction with moisture that comes to the surface? I am still under warranty and at the moment the dealer thinks it would polish off with a buffer. I haven’t tried a buffer yet but other polished haven’t don’t anything. Thank you!

 

For context I don't see any marks like that on my LR rack here in dry land Colorado. I'm far from an expert - just throwing out a shot in the dark here.

In glancing at your profile I see you're in California. I imagine you've already considered if it's salt water related? I"m thinking it looks consistent with salt water marks and/or mild surface corrosion I'd see on some sail boat and land vehicle parts when living in Vancouver, BC. We had to pay special attention to coatings on public waterfront projects with metal design elements (including the obvious safety railings). Those types of marks happened not just from contact with salt water but slightly inland too as some of that was in the air.

Sorry, likely not much help

 

The very early (like 2020 and halfway thru 2021) expedition racks had corrosion issues in the finish, and it looked exactly like what you show in the photo. When did you purchase your rack? If it's one of the first ones, I think most dealers will have seen this before. I believe the old part # with the corrosion issue was VPLER0181, which has since been superseded to VPLER0203. Those are 110 part #'s btw.

 

@nashvegas Yep, it was one of the earlier racks purchased and installed upon purchase 3 years ago. I do live a few hundred yards from the ocean so it can be a tougher environment than some. What you gave me should help with the dealer. As purchased and installed within 30 days of delivery I read that it is covered by the standard warranty. We'll see how it goes. Thank you.

 

@nashvegas My invoice shows the later model so either old stock still sold with prior p/n or they didn't solve completely.