The frame would have to be rusted through or suspension parts broken off. Large holes in the body will fail too. Keep the car rinsed off in the winter. A lot of the car washes going in have a monthly pass. Pays for itself this time of year.

What about when the weather is below freezing? I’ve heard that washing when it’s below freezing isn’t good either…

> There is light rust on the underbody… will that make it fail?

What do you think?

On a scale of 0% to 100%, using all your intelligence and common sense, what do you think is the probability that light rust on the underbody makes a vehicle fail inspection in PA?

Rust holes into the passenger cabin, on the frame, and compromising suspension components will be a fail

Surface rust won't be an issue.

The wash I go to is heated and it dries you off at the end, so I don't think freezing temps would matter. I always keep my truck clean this time of year. The salt does a number on these old boxed Toyota frames.

I don’t know, I just moved here? There are no holes

> I don’t know

I asked about your opinion, "using all your intelligence and common sense".

I mean, i don’t know… I have rust. No holes. What does PA typically fail for?

My folks had a stunning 66 t-bird that during its last oil change, the mechanic noticed severe frame rust and said it was going to fail inspection. A neighbor kid bought it for what we would junk it, and in 2 weeks, it cracked in half. My dad offered to pay the kid back his money, but the kid said no - it was worth ever penny!

they fail for holes, even a little rust hole on the rear quarter panel above the rear well (looking at u honda)

the good news, i just throw a piece of tape over it and have never failed an inspection... after the first one i almost failed for not having a piece of tape on it

C’mon man, you’re being really aggressive about this. It’s not out of the question that someone with little knowledge of cars, especially coming from a state that possibly doesn’t even have yearly inspections, would be worried about rust and PA’s arcane inspection requirements.

This is a Reddit forum, it’s not like this guy slapped a sandwich out of you hand and forced you to answer this question or something.

Get a second opinion if you doubt it

Jesus fucking Christ. You are really this desperate to try and get a rise out of someone aren't you. Truly pathetic. Stop being a douche.

Yes, I had to patch weld my truck frame to get it to pass inspection because of rust. The truck body was in perfect shape but the frame was rusting away.

Yes

Apprentice Mechanic here. Sometimes if the rust is a direct threat to the safety of a vehicle then yes, if it is only topical (no holes) then no.

Did they fail it? If so, what for? I've lived in PA all my life and have dealt with plenty of rusted out vehicles that fail inspection. Usually it's only when the frame or something critical like that is compromised.

Also, having several family members in the auto body and auto service industries, this isn't exactly something to overlook. It sucks, but in the event that an avoidable failure causes an accident, you'd certainly be liable. Again it sucks, but it's kinda part of being a responsible vehicle operator. If your kid was on a school bus that had a rusted out frame that caused an accident I'm sure you'd feel differently.

I recently moved & will be getting it inspected. My van isn’t rusty by no means but I’ve heard how strict PA can be so I am mentally preparing for that

As I said, it's only going to fail if it's unsafe for the road... that I know of. I don't think body rust is a problem unless you're talking about pieces potentially falling off as you drive. People like to shit on the inspection in general, but I think that mostly comes from shops that embellish problems and try to coerce people into fixing things that they might not need to. I think that's usually few and far between and you always have an option to get a second opinion.

Trying not to be too preachy here, but in my opinion if you're driving a 2 ton hunk of metal down the road at 65 mph next to me during my morning commute, I'd hope that you'd have enough respect to feel some responsibility that your shit box isn't going to drop a piece of your bumper on the turnpike (looking at you Ohio). This of course isn't directly aimed at you but it hopefully explains why these regulations are necessary to hopefully let as many of us get home safely every day.

If the rust has seriously damaged the frame or unibody affecting the structural integrity it will fail. If the rust has caused holes that could allow exhaust gas to enter the passenger compartment it will fail. That said, rust on the front fenders ect., should not be reason to fail.

I think some shops told me if the rust hole was the size of your fist it would fail. I can’t remember off the top of my head. But hell I’ve seen trucks with the frame broke in half still on the road.

Get a can of fluid film for like 9 bucks once a year won’t have to ever worry about rust

I’ll do that this summer. Will this protect from rust that’s already there?

Depends how much rust. My first car eventually failed inspections because of rust. I asked to see and the mechanic took me under the loft and showed me the back of all my footwell carpets.

If you intend to keep the van for a while look into getting it oil sprayed.

Had my old car get patched for rusted out parts of the frame once, second time a few years later it was so bad they couldn't patch and I got a new car. Just the way it goes with all the salt on the roads in winter and time being what it is.

I'm not sure how much rust is too much rust, but yeah.... They will fail you if you do have too much rust.

I had to get rid of my jeep because the floor was too rusted. They told me they might be able to patch it up enough they might be able to pass it that year, but that'd be the end of it.... They were surprised I wasn't already driving Fred Flinstone style with my feet going through the floor....

> People like to shit on the inspection in general, but I think that mostly comes from shops that embellish problems and try to coerce people into fixing things that they might not need to

It depends on where you are in PA. In some counties the techs are hard asses and nitpick fail you over the stupidest shit not because they want to, but because they're being put under heavy handed pressure by the state police & other gov officials to fail a certain amount of cars per year. They will come into the shop and look at your books periodically and if they think you pass too many cars (even if its because there was nothing wrong with those cars) they'll accuse you of being a lick & stick place and threaten to take away your license to inspect cars.

If the tech is failing you for stupid shit but isn't giving you a quote to fix it, especially if they don't even want you to hire them to fix it, they're not the problem.

I've lived in a few different counties in PA and its like a night & day difference on how hard it is to pass because of this. Also, the counties that are hard asses about inspections also tend to be the counties where state police are the most aggressive at ticketing for expired inspection stickers.

> That said, rust on the front fenders ect., should not be reason to fail.

In my county the state police will pull the fresh inspection sticker clear off your windshield and threaten to take away the tech who put it there's license to inspect cars if they see "rough edges" due to rust holes along your tire wells (on the fender lip). They will similarly do the same if you have broken or missing cosmetic body parts (like the plastic that covers bumpers but serves no actual purpose besides looks & aerodynamics) leaving gaps or sharp edges, which they call "catch points" because in some absurd situations someone might, in theory but not in reality, get their clothes snagged on it and be pulled into the car if you hit a pedestrian.

PA really has two, no make that 3 different tiers on how hard or easy it is to pass vehicle inspections depending on where you live. If you're in an urban environment the safety tends to be lax but the emissions part is harder. If you're in a rural, especially if its poor county where emissions isn't even done the safety will be tough as nails. Some places are between the two extremes.

Ya, the fix only works for so long. There really should be more vehicles sold with frames made of stainless steel or something more resistant to rust.

Structural integrity issues underneath, or larger than a dime holes in the body are typically failed at inspection.

PA inspections are such a scam. I’m sure there are honest mechanics out there. But I have yet to find an honest mexhanic

Only when the rust compromises the integrity of the piece. Frames, holes in fenders, etc. Even then, the frame one is really the only worry.

This state will do anything to screw you over so.. might as well assume it will fail.

Lol you want to pay like $100K for a hatchback. That’s wayyyyyyyyy too expensive

My username relevant, yes :(

If it's just light rust I doubt it will fail. They also have other annoying stuff they can fail you for...example: a car doesn't have to have fog lights at all whatsoever, but if your car DOES have them, they all have to work, even if you never use them...even though cars aren't even required to have them.

Fyi, if you take care of your vehicle it won't rust to pieces.

Basically, it depends who you go to. My MIL took her car to a random shop instead of the one I usually go to. They failed her for bad wipers and such. The one I go to slapped the sticker on, with a warning to switch the wipers.

Yes. I have borderline PTSD from dealing with failed PA inspections over bullshit.

It's this, people are insanely lazy about taking care of their things. Cars are expensive, take care of them.

Pennsylvania isn't that strict, I've driven some real shitheaps in my life and never had them failed for rust.

Not necessarily into the passenger cabin, basically anything that someone could brush up against and get cut on is going to fail it according to my mechanic when I had a couple of quarter size holes in the bed sides of my truck. I threw some cheap fender flares on it to pass but was told metal duct tape would have also been sufficient.

My truck is an 06 with 240k miles and you wouldn't be able to tell. I spend a day each month cleaning it and doing any needed maintenance. Plus I take it to the wash once a week. Still way cheaper than a car payment or serious repairs.

I once saw someone clean snow off their car with a metal snow shovel, put a giant scratch into the fender, and just leave it that way until it rotted. Car wasn't even a year old.

Yeah we certainly have a problem with corrupt cops in this state

I used the duct tape on an old station wagon we once owned, and it passed. Unfortunately, the frame rusted through a year or so later, so it had to be junked.

What county or counties?

Northumberland and Allegheny. IME they're looking for shit like perforation rust on frame rails or important suspension bits like strut towers.

You can see for yourself by looking at the PENNDOT regulations HERE.

Sub chapter E lists the covered components and the inspection procedure for light cars and trucks. There are some runs provisions in the body pan and frame inspections, as well as exhaust.

I have found a few over the years, and a few on the opposite side as well. I would say if it isn't a dealership, you have a pretty even chance of finding a good one.

The biggest problem is you can tell if they are a good shop if they are booked solid. Have to find that balance of small enough shop to be legit, but not too small to where they lack expertise.