I've had my 2015 through two winters with the only rust being on the odd bolt and nut. I frequent touchless car washes in the winter with the undercarriage cleaning guns. The remainder of the year, I always hose down my wheel wells and underside every time I wash the vehicle. I think it's a personal choice, considering factory the anti corrosive procedures carried out on these vehicles.
I would recommend getting an oil spray, just based on the location since I know how much road salt is used in Montreal. I'm getting mine sprayed at the dealer, it was thrown in with my purchase.
@NScherry what region are you and do they use road salt?
I always get any new vehicle I purchase undercoated, usually at Ziebart. However, my Dealer offered me something unique. It's called "The Auto Saver Electronic Rust Protection System. It is a small black box that plugs into the OBII port, and applies a small electrical charge to all of the metal on the vehicle. This charge prevents rust from forming. I know that this technology system works because The Navy uses it on their ships. It's called Degaussing. It prevents all the metal of the hull from rusting by providing a magnetic field (small electrical current) to keep the salt from attaching to the hull and causing rust. The warranty is for 5 years, unlimited mileage for any metal perforation.
I'm still considering getting it undercoated before the snow flies, because it doesn't cover surface rust on the under carriage. This part sounds odd, as the under carriage is metal. But I'm sure that rocks, etc. will ding it, causing surface rust.
I'm pretty sure that degaussing is not used to prevent rust on Navy ships , I thought it was used to prevent magnetically sensitive triggers in mines from going off.
The magnetizing of the hull creates a magnetic field around the ship, and thus a small electrical field. The electrical field would repel electrons which cause the oxidation-reduction of the metal (rust). Essentially it is an electrochemical reaction. I was on active duty in the USN for 6 years, POIC FWD Engineroom USS Farragut DLG6, which basically coordinated the entire engineering operations of the ship. Once the steam system was operating, and we were generating our own power, the first thing we did was to energize the degaussing system before we go underway.
Well, I guess I'll have to see if they are still around if my body starts to rust! LOL It does have a nice blue LED on it. I guess if it turns red, I'm screwed!
In my opinion I would NOT recommend it.
This Cherokee and most if not all vehicles are corrosion protected at the manufacturing point during the manufacture process.
Cars of today just do not rust like they did years ago. The all have nice corrosion warranties on them. Jeep seems goes the extra mile in this area.
Now my main concern is that using an undercoating or oil will block factory designed/built in drain holes and points.
If water or moisture gets in behind that "shield" it has no place to go, you will very likely compound the issue.
Use of oil, designed for this purpose, will still attract dust/dirt and hold it. Again moisture being trapped behind it will be an issue.
Also I would imagine that a good undercarriage wash could do some damage to this form of "shield" by washing it away in parts.
You do want to wash frequently during the winter.
So in my opinion I would advise a good touch less car wash during the salty winter times. A wash that includes a good undercarriage wash. You will need to run it through anyway to wash the vehicle, especially the paint. Paint can be damaged by enough salty spray etc. Also it is advisable to put several coats of a good liquid polymer wax, like Turtle Wax Ice or Meguiars on it before winter. Those are just my favorites.
Come spring you can manually touch up any rust spots from things like stones and any nuts or bolts. I use a brush on rust neutralizer where needed and top coat it if needed with some paint in a day or so.
I just consider that normal maintenance that may not even be needed for the first 4 years or so.
I also usually wash the underside in my driveway in warmer weather to keep it free of dirt etc.
I have had 3 of my 4 Jeeps spend their winter days in the Chicago area. They used salt very heavy also.
But again you can use oil or undercoating. There are some that swear by it. But again if issues develop it will be years down the road. And depending on how it was done it could void the rust warranty.
I have been using my Dealer for about 20 years, and this is the first time that they have offered this. So, I have no clue if it will work in the long run, or not. Considering everything stated so far, I have decided not to get the undercoating. I have 6 bolts and 2 rods in my lower back, so my car washing/waxing days are over. We have 3 brushless car washes in town. I have a sticker which I pay $45/mo for unlimited washes, including clearcoat and underbody. First sign of dust, etc. off to the car wash.
I'll just wait and see if I get a call from my Dealer that they want the little black box back! I will miss the pretty blue LED! LOL
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