The current-generation 2021 Ford F-150 is a fairly new truck, going on sale toward the second half of 2020. Despite this, owners across the U.S. have begun to notice that their F-150’s have a surprising amount of surface rust. Part of the shock comes from how quickly it developed on these new trucks.

According to a new video posted by The Fast Lane Truck on YouTube, even a truck that is just a few weeks old already sees a fair amount of surface rust. For context, TFLT brought in a 17-year-old F-150 to compare. However, the American carmaker directly issued a statement claiming that this surface rust will not affect these components’ durability.

How rusty is this brand-new 2021 Ford F-150?

Before we dive into this 2021 Ford F-150 story, it is worth pointing out that these are by no means severe rust issues. As you’d expect, a brand-new truck won’t simply fall apart after a few weeks. However, F-150 owners have become concerned as a result of a healthy amount of surface rust. While there are plenty of videos depicting various rusty components, TFLT focuses on one.

On TFLT’s 2021 Ford F-150, the truck’s rear axle has some surface rust on it. Part of TFLT’s concern comes from the fact that this truck is only a few weeks old. Additionally, most of the truck remains fairly rust-free. TFLT only found more surface rust on components such as the hangers for the truck’s exhaust system. The Ford’s frame was also intact. As a result, this might not be a major long-term issue.

Regardless, TFLT has a few trucks in its fleet, so they pulled out a 17-year-old example that has covered more than 200,000 miles to see how it is holding up.

How does a 17-year-old truck stack up?

As you’d expect, the older truck had significantly more rust than the brand-new 2021 Ford F-150. However, part of what makes this comparison unusual is the fact that the older truck’s axles remain rust-free. Additionally, even the truck with 200,000 miles mostly has surface rust as well.

For the sake of being thorough, TFLT decided to compare the 2021 Ford F-150 with a relatively new 2020 Ford F-150 Raptor. Surprisingly, the Raptor had significantly less surface rust than the brand-new truck. As a result, a difference in material choice could be the culprit in this situation.

While this is definitely alarming for customers that have to spend north of $50,000 on a new truck, the carmaker claims this is no cause for concern.

Should this worry potential buyers?

Upon discovering the surface rust issue with its 2021 Ford F-150, TFLT decided to contact the manufacturer for comment. In response, Ford provided the following statement:

“While some F-150 underbody steel components may show signs of surface rust, this will have no impact on part performance or life”

Ford via The Fast Lane Truck

In response, TFLT argues that performance issues aside, having a brand-new truck with surface rust underneath is concerning from an aesthetics perspective as well. Thankfully, it seems this issue is nothing more than a visual annoyance to an otherwise excellent truck.