Pros and cons of undercoating a vehicle?

[Todd's keyboard]

Thinking about having aftermarket undercoating applied to a 2009 Toyota Yaris. The primary reason would be to cut down on road noise.

The at shop quoted a price of CAN $450 for the prep and undercoating. He also said to expect about a 25% reduction in noise.

I'm tempted. Any opinions and/or experience to share?

thanks, Todd's soft keys board

[bobinmurphy]

Highly recommended if you live for drive in areas which use road chemicals (like salt) in the winter.

[JoeH]

bobinmurphy wrote:
Highly recommended if you live for drive in areas which use road chemicals (like salt) in the winter.

Except if it isn't done right the undercoating can actually make things worse by creating places where water and deicing agents get trapped. Corrosion in those areas can be greatly accelerated.

One of my brothers worked as a mechanic in a shop that did undercoating. Got lots of pressure to do it quickly, not necessarily as directed by the manufacturer. Later he worked in a salvage yard, showed me more than a few vehicles in for crushing with badly rotted sections partly held together by the undercoating.

[Harbourmaster]

If road noise is what you are trying to quell the first place to look is tires.

After that I would suggest getting a quote to have Dynamat or a similar sound absorbing material installed in the interior of your vehicle.

[Todd's keyboard]

Dynamite is the next item on the list. Hadn’t thought about tires. Good idea.

Todd’s whisperin’ squash board

[special]

did you just buy this car, or you had it for a while?

I would not spend that much money on a 16 year old car. How much longer do you plan to keep it?

If this was your car from new, or you had it for a long time and maintenance was done on time, there is no rust, mileage is low to moderate, and you plan to keep the car for the foreseeable future, then yes, maybe spend 450 CAD. Otherwise, I would put that money into a new(er) car.

[C(-)ris]

For sound proofing you want to use something like Dynamat on the inside. For rust proofing you want something oil based like Fluidfilm on the underside. You don't want a rubberized undercoating, they breed rust.

[jonny]

[Markintosh]

Pros: Line the pockets of the person selling undercoating

Cons: Promotes corrosion.

Turn up the radio louder is the answer.

[Michael]

I know nothing about this. But it sure makes sense that it would promote corrosion in hidden spots and perhaps make some maintenance more difficult.