My 4 year-old Passat was factory-fitted with VW "Donnington" alloys. These are 14-spoke split-rim jobs and the rim is seriously discoloured due to, or accompanied by, blistering of the lacquer.
I also discovered today that one of the wheels, where I've had what I assumed was a slow puncture for a few months, is actually corroded on the inside such that the airtight seal failed. The corroded part is actually the same piece of metal as the external rim, moulded around the edge of the wheel.
4 years seems a bit short for the wheels to start rusting. Have I got a case here to beat up VW? The car has only done 64k and has been regularly cleaned. Other than the rims, the rest of the wheel in each case is in sound condition. (I've got some photos, but unfortunately I know of no means of publishing them to the web).
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GT,
blimey that's pretty poor. The oldest alloys I've had were 7 years old when I parted with the Xantia they were attached to. They were near enough spotless.
John
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Ditto, wife's Xantia, 6 yrs old, 90k, alloys spotless - mind you, you are comparing French with German quality!! Sure many others have much older and much more spotless!!
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Phil
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I've just got rid of my 1983 Sierra XR4i;alloys were still good and airtight.
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The beading on one of my alloys started to corrode last year but the tyre place fixed it.
Not sure if it's common or not.
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used to be a common thing,but garages that replaced tyres used to put a bitumus type paint on to seal inside of wheel(forget the name offhand),dont think they do this anymore.at least I have not seen it done for many years
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Steve
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The alloys on my BX16valve were original, 13years old and 140k miles when I sold it. No corrosion, looked ok. You should by French, not that cheap German tack!
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Pah. Lexus alloys are notoriously dire, and often start to corrode in months. Lexus UK extended the warranty on them, but if they last a year or two with no problems you're lucky. Amazing on such a vehicle, but there it is, and it's been going on for years.
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Yaris alloys seem to last 2-3 years.
The cross spoke alloys I had on a BMW were perfect when the car was 10 years old.
Ford alloys seem to last very well.. Fiesta ones are perfect after 5 years (apart from mild kerbing: and even then the lacquer is not peeling).
madf
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Toyota and Lexus know about the problems with the wheels and it is fairly easy to get them replaced under the warranty.
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A good quality set of alloys can last donkeys years if looked after. The set on my dads old Laguna easily outlasted the car and were still in mint condition when he sold it on. As said before, if your wheels are falling apart (not literally) after such a short time, they *should* be fixable under warrenty.
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Mine are two years old and like new.
2004 Megane.
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"You should by French ..."
Perhaps you should be more specific. My 99T 306 has original alloys which, while not visually perfect, are not corroding and hold pressure. Wife's 2000W Clio Initiale also has original alloys which have a 'skin' as mentioned above, which blisters and retains moisture, causing noticeable discolouration. No loss of pressure though, which used to be a problem with 205 GTi wheels in the 1990s.
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The alloys on my wife's Celica were replaced without question under warranty, after two and a half years (50,000mls) due to cosmetic bubbling of surface.
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I find keeping my alloys (Mondeo MkIII Ghia) a keep pain, so consequently they end up with an embedded layer of black dust which is pretty permanent now. Should I be worried? Or do I need to get polishing?
Splodgeface
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>>Should I be worried?
>>Or do I need to get polishing?Splodgeface
I wouldn't worry, usually just a bit of elbow grease will do it. Leaving it on the wheels for a while shouldn't do any harm to the coating. Just when you do clean them, don't use anything too abrasive (friend found that out the hard way when he somehow scrubbed most of the lacquer right off his wheels.
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Wonder wheels to get them clean , then Autoglym extra gloss protection to wipe on and a light polish . Muck, brake dust and all, seems to hose or sponge off then. (Or at least it does on wife's Xantia and daughter's Clio).
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Phil
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Concur...
My Mondeo alloys are not even 3 years old and blister on the slightest coating damage - balancing weights are a killer. The alloys even blister where they haven't been impacted by anything. Ford only warranty them for one year!
Looks like more business for the powder coating companies.
In comparison my 1997 Alfa alloys still look good - not a hint of blistering even where the coating has been broken.
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My Mondeo alloys are not even 3 years old and blister on the slightest coating damage - balancing weights are a killer.
Balance weights will damage the laquer, they should have stick on weights within the wheel.
I know that Toyota have had problems and have replaced wheels on the Celica.
With regard to the OP I know that the 18" split rims optional on some MkIII Mondeos suffer from the rim only de laquering though all other Ford wheel types seem to be OK. Perhaps the Passat split rims are from the same manufacturer.
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"I know that Toyota have had problems and have replaced wheels on the Celica."
Past Toyotas seem very variable in respect of their alloys. Those on an E reg Corolla GT Coupe were fine at least until it passed out of the family last year. SWMBO had a Mk III Supra on which they were going inside two years. The alloys on Toad, M reg, would be perfect but for a little kerb damage (mea culpa). Thinking back to others in the Toyota Enthusiasts' Club, some had lasted well over the years and others had had to be expensively refurbished. Perhaps there were different sources.
I'd really have to check, but it is in my mind that the fancier the wheel design the more liable they are to decay - plain spoke
patterns seem best. Could this be similar on other makes?
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>> Past Toyotas seem very variable in respect of their alloys. >>
The problems seem to be over the last four or five years.
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I've just refurbed the alloys on my December 1996 Golf VR6 (43k) and am about to do the same with those on my August 1996 MB E320 Coupé (54k). The former are painted, the latter lacquered. I'm not very impressed by the durability of either set, but I do suspect that some cleaning fluids don't help and, of course, once water gets under lacquer the finish can deteriorate very quickly.
But what appears to be a straightforward failure after only four years is something I would take up with main dealer and manufacturer.
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using alloy wheels from a 1985 volvo with no problems and dont bother with any fancy treatment for them
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The alloys on my wife's Celica were replaced without question under warranty, after two and a half years (50,000mls) due to cosmetic bubbling of surface.
Ditto a neighbours Celica - all replaced after two years due to bubbling of the finish coat.
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I am amazed at your alloy wheel problem.My sisters 3 series is 8 years old.The alloys are as new.
My wifes polo is 9 years old,still has `the original optional alloys on it.No problems.The 318i i had three years ago had 12 year old alloys on.noproblems.My mazda 6 is 2 years old and the alloys are as they left the factory!.
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I would have though that the best way to deal with this problem is to have the wheels sand blasted and then powder coated??
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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