Alloy Wheel Bubbling/corrosion On E12! Anyone Else Had This?

[geoffb]

I've just noticed some awful bubbling in the surface of at least three of my alloys.

:crybaby:

The car is only 18 months old, is not abused (far from it in fact) and is garaged every day. I have used a proprietary alloy wheel cleaner very occasionally (Wonder Wheels and the Supagard equivalent) but that's it and have always washed off the residue with water afterwards. I noticed one bit of bubbling a while back but it now seems to be accelerating!

Anyone else had this? It looks like a possible trip back to the dealers to me, hopefully covered by the warranty ...

I have a couple of photos which show the problem but I can't obviously see how to post an image!

[Joebloggs]

my wheels are about 5 years old now and they're fine

[nrgizerbunny]

not had any problems with this, i only ever steam clean my wheels though. not sure it will be convered under warranty because the wonder wheel cleaner will have invariably some acid in it i suspect.

[Twincam.GTi]

So this is happening from 'Mr Toyota' and their alloys ...AGAIN! :ffs:

Just about every 80's 'sporty' Toyota (MR2, Corolla GT/GTi, Celica, Supra) suffered this problem when they were newish (e.g. under 2/3 year old).

So alas this problem isn't new it was happening 20 approx years ago

;)

[geoffb]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I'd welcome more responses - particularly from anyone else who has had the problem recently(ish) with their Corolla (or similar), whether they went back to Mr T under warranty and, if so, what the response was.

Must admit I'm pretty hacked off about this. Even if I have used Supagard, it was provided by the dealer in the first place :ffs: And I can't think that a proprietary alloy wheel cleaner is going to be in business long if it blisters wheels

I've had quite a few Toyotas over the years but this is looking more and more like my last ...

[DaveSR]

You need to check out the yaris section mate as loads of people have had the same problem - one or two have had a hard time with Mr T with getting them swapped but the majority were pretty good and swapped them no problems ....

Just pop into your local Mr T and they should sort it out for you hassle free

[G6-R]

Picture from your wheels maybe here to let us see :!Removed!:

[billyfridge]

I don't need to tell you that the bubbling/corrosion will lead to air leaks in your tyres, do i?

[geoffb]

Thanks for the responses so far guys - much appreciated

I've managed to crack posting an image of my alloy wheel problem so here it is:

This should give a better idea of the problem :ffs:

Looks like a visit to Mr T to me with a request for replacements under warranty. Three wheels appear to be currently affected but I would have thought a full set should be provided, assuming the same style is still available of course. What do you think?

... and yes, you can see me holding the camera - well, you didn't expect David Bailey did you ;)

[billyfridge]

Yes, definitely try to change them under warranty, if they are covered by the warranty now, and the best of luck

[moonstone mart]

If the car is less than 3 yrs old and hasnt done more than 60k miles the wheels SHOULD be changed under warranty with no problems!

We replace LOTS of sets of alloy wheels every week from Yaris to Landcruisers!

I dont think it will be the wheel cleaner you are using, its just a Toyota thing unfortunately (but it keeps me in a job - haha)

Thanks

Martin

[geoffb]

Thanks for the additional responses guys; in particular from moonstone mart That makes me feel much more confident about tackling this as a warranty replacement with Mr T. The car is ony 18 months old and has done less than 12k miles, it's garaged and well kept (sad though it sounds I even clean the engine compartment from time to time). So Mr T can hardly claim abuse as a reason for the alloy wheel problem!

I'll keep everyone posted on this - I'll probably see Mr T later this week

[moonstone mart]

They can only claim abuse if the wheels are damaged in other ways than the blistering. We usually replace all blistered wheels unless the blistering is caused by kerb damage etc.

You will most probably have to have the wheels checked first, then they will order them in and make you an appointment for the replacement another day.

Mart

[geoffb]

Cheers moonstone mart - very helpful

There is no kerb damage at all and the issue is only blistering so hopefully they should be replaced without a problem.

Couple of thoughts - if the problem is on three wheels would you expect the dealer to replace the set? And, will I have to have a different design - I know alloy wheel design changes as models are given facelifts etc? The car is a 55 reg T-Spirit.

[Red Yaris 54]

Cheers moonstone mart - very helpful

There is no kerb damage at all and the issue is only blistering so hopefully they should be replaced without a problem.

Couple of thoughts - if the problem is on three wheels would you expect the dealer to replace the set? And, will I have to have a different design - I know alloy wheel design changes as models are given facelifts etc? The car is a 55 reg T-Spirit.

I doubt if you will get a set of the latest standard wheels, only a like for like replacement......................unless of course Toyota have no further stocks of the original wheels.

[geoffb]

I'd be very happy with a like for like replacement I'm not concerned to get something better which I don't expect anyway - I just want the problem fixed :D

[geoffb]

An update on the alloys problem.

I popped in to Mr T this morning and the upshot is that the dealer offered to change out two of the alloys under warranty arguing that the third has next to nothing wrong with it but that if it goes like the other two it will be no problem to get it changed under warranty also.

I accepted this and the job's being done next Wednesday but I will now be keeping a close eye on the other two alloys during the remaining 18 months of the warranty period

The guy at the dealers did admit that alloy wheel corrosion is a pretty common problem. Makes you wonder why Toyota hasn't sorted it really.

[moonstone mart]

thumbsup.gif

[Chris81]

I think it's really bad that Toyota know only too well about the problem and they're happy to issue replacements (costing us and them time and money) when we'd all rather have a set that didn't rust in the first place. My Yaris t-sport alloys are also starting to corrode hence my interest in this thread. The thing is, even though Toyota are going to replace your wheels, what's to say that the new ones won't suffer exactly the same fate?! From reading posts on this site, some users (Yaris, Celica, MR2) have had a couple of new sets under warranty and they all corrode after a year or two. The advice seems to be to time it right so you get a new set just before your warranty runs out. But as yours have gone after 18 months, surely in 18 months time you'll be in the same position with the new ones, just in time to get them sorted before the warranty expires (along with the other 2 as well!)

On a different note, does anybody know of a way to protect any new alloys supplied by Toyota? Would another coat of lacquer help?

[Bos]

I don't think that alloy wheel corrosion only aplies to Toyota, a lot of manufacturers seem to have the same problem

I never use any of the wheel cleaners that contain acid, most of them do !!!! , I only use an aluminium wheel polish, much better as it leaves a coating on the wheel. My car is just over 18 months old with no corrosion that I can see.

[geoffb]

I'm with Chris81 on this. I used to have an unswerving faith in Toyota quality and have bought a number of them over the years (2 Celicas, Carina, 2 Yaris Versos and now a Corolla). But with this alloys problem and an issue I had with needing replacement seat covers for the Corolla (I got very shabby treatment on this from the dealer) I think it very likely I will be giving up on Toyota and will look elsewhere when the time comes to replace the Corolla. It's a real shame because I really like the car generally.

My local dealer has a great sales side, I couldn't have had a better sales experience, but I really dislike the service side. You always have to wait to be seen (no bell to push) and they seem just generally sneaky and shifty in style (sorry, couldn't think of a better word).

A case in point was when I went to complain about the alloys. The service guy in the showroom listened to what I had to say, asked for my registration number and then said "OK, just a minute" and disappeared. What I didn't know was that he had gone out the back entrance to find my car for a look without me (he didn't know that the wife was sitting in the car!).

That frankly p*****s me off :ffs: It's sneaky and I expect them to say "Show me the problem sir". The result was ok but getting there wasn't. Not the kind of experience that encourages you to return. What the dealership has is a sales force and an anti sales force (i.e. service dept) and it needs to sort that out.

Sorry guys, rant over ;)

[Chris81]

That does sound very sneaky if he didn't make it clear he was going to look at your car. As for the great sales team and crap service team (or after sales, as they now like to be called), I wouldn't say this is unique to Toyota. I've experience of other manufacturers dealers being just the same. It beggars belief how unknowledgeable and unqualified some staff are on the service counter - but maybe this is more typical of customer service in britain rather than anything specific to garages. However, remember that your warranty is with Toyota, not your supplying dealer, so if there are any other dealers not too far a drive away, it might be worth seeing if they're any better.

[moonstone mart]

I dont see a problem with him asking for the reg and going to have a look at the car really. :S

If he couldnt see any problem he would have come back in to fetch you i think. This way he can go out, see how many and what style they are. Come back inside and agree with you (whilst you finish your coffee) and sen you on your way.

Next raise the jobcard, give parts a copy and get them ordered.

Letting you know when the parts are in and arrange for you to take your car back/get it picked up :)

I dont think a coat of laquer would help on the alloys as they seem to corrode underneath the paint anyway!

The reason they dont sort it out could be something to do with it costing more for them rectify the prob than just fitting a new set? :)

Mart

[geoffb]

I'm sure you are right about another coat of laquer making no difference for just the reason you state. That certainly makes sense. You could probably be right about swings and roundabouts on costings. But if I knew that Toyota was happy to knowingly p**s off some customers with their wheels on that basis then I would not be especially enthusiastic about dealing with them again. Mind you, I suspect Mr T is probably no different to any other quantity car manufacturer in that regard.

I'm afraid I still think it was inappropriate to go find my car without me. Leaving me thinking he was doing something else before asking me to show him the problem. He just didn't want the hassle of a possibly irate customer standing there (not that I gave an initial impression that I was angry I might add). I might have wanted to point something specific out. I just don't think that is the way to deal initially with a customer concern.

I should say though, that once we had agreed a way forward it was dealt with ok. It's just the initial customer contact that I don't think worked for me I'm afraid.

Can I just make the point though that its great to have someone on the forum who works at Toyota. It provides an extra and sometimes different persepective on things and can only be helpful - whether one agrees with it or not

Didn't get offered coffee by the way :( Can I claim a cup under warranty

[moonstone mart]

No Coffee! our customer waiting area/hub is all about customer experience or something :S

Coffee/tea machine,biscuits/ huge tv, playstation, kids dvd + beanbags, lots of magazines/papers and loads of soft chairs to sit on.

Also aswell as the service reception staf there is a person on 'host' duties to see that all is ok and serve coffee. ;)

Mart