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The correlation of lab test results with field performance for painted steel and galvanized steel automotive closure panels is now well established after many years. Although aluminum closure panels have been used on certain vehicles for many years, it has only been in more recent times that their usage has increased to a point where the issue of correlating lab and field corrosion data has become more essential. Many tests in the automotive industry were developed specifically for steel and their applicability to aluminum closures is uncertain. On the other hand, many of the standard corrosion tests used on aluminum were designed for aluminum applications other than automotive, e.g., architectural or packaging, so that the test environment and product requirements were very different. In this paper, a number of standard corrosion tests, including filiform, salt spray and cycling environment, were carried out on AA6111 and AA6016 closure sheet materials for comparison with field data.

The movement towards extended warranties in the automobile industry has focussed attention on corrosion performance of many components, particularly cast aluminum wheels. Filiform corrosion is of particular concern since it can severely affect the appearance of the wheel. The appearance and the choice of wheel design are the most attractive features to customers. In order to enhance the filiform corrosion resistance of cast aluminum wheels, cleaning, pretreatment, coating and alloy parameters are critical and need to be optimized. In this paper, the effects of alloy composition and condition on filiform corrosion are reviewed. A series of cast discs were prepared with variations in iron, zinc and copper levels around the standard A356.2 alloy composition. Apart from composition, certain specimens were subjected to different heat treatment and ageing conditions. The effects of porosity and different machining procedures were also evaluated.

Efforts towards weight reduction are leading towards increasing use of aluminum components on automobiles. Although aluminum on its own has inherently superior corrosion resistance to steel, galvanic action between the aluminum and steel or galvanized parts can lead to severe corrosion. Straightforward and effective methods of preventing galvanic corrosion from the subject of this paper. Since many aluminum components are connected to steel structures by mechanical fasteners, protective coatings on fasteners were evaluated as well. Galvanic test couples were prepared in a manner simulating typical automotive assembly conditions while incorporating features which would lead to enhanced corrosion. A variety of chemical treatments and coatings on the fasteners as well as barriers between the dissimilar metals were evaluated for corrosion prevention between the aluminum and cold rolled or galvanized steel. Comparison between neutral salt spray and cyclic corrosion tests is provided.