I'm kind of curious on what Toyota did different here. Other than the normal amount of underbody rust, my 2008 has no rust, and has spent it's entire life in the salt belt of the Midwest. You take pretty much any other car, like a Chevy Impala, Ford Focus, etc of this year and as many miles, and it's almost certain to have rust, at least around here. Heck, you even take another Toyota from 2008 like the Corolla, or the doomed Tacoma with the rusty frames and you will most likely have rust. So what did they do different? Thicker sheet metal? More primer or e-coat than other models, etc?
Did you own it since 2008? It's not my car, but my daughter drives Gen2 not sure what year, but it is rusted through around the rear fender wheel well. A hole big enough to stick a finger through it. Yeah, it has been driven on our brutal New England salted roads all those years.
Nothing special about the Prius in this regard. Maybe you washed and waxed yours a little more? That alone can turn 15 years into 20 on lots of cars.
no rust on mine, and i don't wash or wax. but it is 4 years newer. maybe some got better paint jobs than others, there are certainly enough rust complaints.
How many miles? Are you original owner? Do you park in a garage or outside? Just washing the car regularly and parking in a garage and having low mileage makes a massive difference in how much rust damage you can get over the course of 14 years.
