hi all,
any of you had big probs with corrosion on your wheels, and has anybody had them replaced( warranty) if so how bad were they???

cheers robbie.

[Edited on 31-12-2001 by fluff34567]

I'm trying to get mine replaced as they're spotted all over, not very badly, but they shouldn't be spotted at all, my Clio Si alloys are unmarked, and that car was less than half what the Lex cost!

My dealer said in the summer that the wheels weren't bad enough to be accepted back by Lexus UK but he would inspect them after winter. I never wash my wheels now (excpept when the dealers wash them at every service!), so they have a good coating of brake dust and salt that should accelerate the corrosion

Ive heard of them being replaced under warranty check your stealer

stealer?????????

Dealer that takes cash off you

LOL :eyes:

[Edited on 7-1-2002 by Administrator]

Hi Guys - 1st post - I hope it works!

My dealer has replaced 6 of my alloys on my IS200 - 5 for pit-marks and 1 for kerb damage caused whilst at the dealers. Apparently, this is a common problem on the 17 inch wheels.

Also, when washing my car a few weeks back, I noticed very slight blistering paint on all 4 of the new wheels presently on the car. These wheels are only 3 months old! I will go back to the dealer in a week or two to try for another new set.

bye,

Phil

well phil im sure we would all like to hear how u get on - let us know!

was ur dealer difficult tried to fob you off when u complained about the corrosion??

cheers
robbie.

Hi Robbie,

I'll let you know how i get on when I next go to the dealers, although I won't get a weekday off work for a few weeks.

The dealers agreed within seconds to replace the first set, although I did have to return to the garage 3 times as I rejected one wheel for slight damage to the rim. I then had to return to get the steering straightened up, as it was knocked out when fitting the wheels.

Phil

The corrosion problem seems common, I also have noticed the start effects of it. Going to dealer next week will tell you of progress.

I got away from work early today, so I went along to the dealers to show them the problems with my new wheels. They were shocked that they could deteriate so much in 3 months, and have agreed to replace them under warranty.

This will take a few weeks at least, as the problem is so commonplace that Lexus UK have told dealers that they can only order one set of wheels per day, such is the demand.

My dealer has 5 orders yet to be placed (i'm 5th), and i'm am apparently not the first owner to be on their 3rd set of wheels (including originals).

I hope that this helps.

Phil

cheers for the info Phil, I think i will have to go back to my dealer and see what i can do about getting mine changed, prob with the wheels is that if you dont clean them all the time they seem to to be easily marked by the dust and it is a nightmare to clean them, even with wonder wheels it takes ages, the rough surface doesnt help either.

cheers
robbie.

My wheels 17's started to blister before the car was three months old.The car has now done 8000 miles and the wheels are completeley knackered !
I have spoken to my local dealer in Staffordshire and they said they are going to replace the after the winter.They also said they have replaced loads and that it is still an ongoing problem

You're right Chris, the problem certainly seems to be ongoing. My concern is what happens once my warranty runs out in June 2002.

I have just sent a letter of to Lexus HQ listing all of the faults on my car, asking them for their opinion, and what will happen once the warranty runs out. Does anyone know how much an extended warranty costs?

I will let you all know what the official response is once I get it.

Cheers Phil :cool:

Well, I got a phone call from the dealer today - the new wheels have arrived. The car is booked in next Tuesday for the new wheels. I have booked a courtesy car, which I hope is an IS300, so I can compare it.

One question, can tyres be damaged/weakened by changing them onto new rims too often ie. 4 times?

Phil

the tyre bead can be damaged if stretched to often,it isnt advisable to keep doing this

just noticed today that my wheels are also starting to pit...........the car was new in september:mad:

Thanks fluff34567,

After reading this post I went outside, inspected my wheels closer to reveal it was corrosion and not brake dust which I could not remove!

Went back to dealer (I bought my IS200 in Jan2001) and I've now got 5 brand new wheels... after 1.5 years of use: cool!

I'm told this problem was fixed in April'02 by extra coating and a new 'film' layer on the wheels ... the newer versions look more 'glossy' than the original wheels did when they were new.

Anyone else who has < 3 year old IS200 with the same prob should contact the dealer.

I just got my set of 5 new alloys yesterday under warranty for the same reason - much better finish and quality laquer this time........ really chuffed! :tumble:

I've had my IS200 for just a little under 3 years, and still under warranty. Lexus (to their credit) have replaced so much that the warranty has been worth its having. Last to be replaced was my SatNav, but that is a whole other story.......

Anyway, is it a general problem that the IS200 wheels suffer from corrosion (SE 17" wheels). They look particularly bad with lines appearing under the lacquer on the wheel surface. I was considering having them re-finished, but wanted to know if anyone had wheels replaced under warranty because of this. The corrosion isn't because of impact.

[color=Blue]Go into your local dealer and ask for them to be replace under warranty !

They will order you a full set of 5 refurbished wheels which have a much better finish and are painted on both sides (that where the problem is with the originals)

Chris[/color]

Thanks! Sounds like the voice of experience there!

Andrew.

[color=Blue]I'm a Parts Advisor for Lexus Staffordshire[/color]

Ah, that explains it then :-)

Andrew.

Mine are a bit corroded at the back of the wheel (not the brake disk, its rusty coz it justed rained). Do you think these would qualify for replacement?

I wouldnt have thought so but you can always try - its surface corrosion because the surface is unprotected.

I'm on the waiting list at Lexus Glasgow for replacement wheels after mine corroded really badly. Wait is about 4 weeks they said - should be due in soon.

Ive had a total of 6 new wheels replaced on my 12 month SE. The dealer has been very good and didnt raise an eyebrow when I mentioned the problem I had. I have the new finish on the latest set of wheels and so far they do seem much better.

When you have had any wheels repaired, has the corrosion always been on the front. Mine is at the back of the wheel only, and I don't know if I will qualify?

Mine are showing signs of corrosion. I've taken the car to Octogon Bracknell and they said they'd contact Lexus GB and get back to me.

Still waiting for an answer but I'm not confident they'll change them under warrenty.

I've just called Lexus Glasgow to enquire about my replacement which was first requested on 10th July. They've told me there is still a waiting list for replacement. This is not very good, I've already waited 4 weeks and the back two wheels in particular are now so bad.

Come on Lexus - live up to your JD Power rating and get more of these wheels into the UK - so many IS200's with bad wheels will not do much for your reputation.

I had mine replaced under warranty a couple of months ago, and the dealer didn't question it, I also didn't have to wait long for the wheels to arrive. They now refurbish the wheels rather than fitting brand new one's (which I had) but this actually gives a better finish as its painted on both sides. This might be the reason for the delay.

What is the standard IS200 warranty? I thought it was one year? Have loads of people gone for a 3 yr extension or am i hugely mistaken?

standard warranty is 3 years:D

Hmm 3 years! Nice.

Ok, next Q - has anyone had wheels refurbished / replaced that also have curb damage aswell as corrosion?

I might be pushing my luck a bit here - the wheels have corrosion on the back, but the previous owner obviousley didnt know the difference between curb stones and T- Junctions!!!

i scratched one of my back wheels a few months after getting the car, but lexus still replaced it when the rest of the wheel corroded (and there was only a little corrosion on that particular wheel)

Thanks Rob, I'll ask the dealer (without mentioning the damage - see if I can get a verbal contract ). Trouble is I only seem to have small amounts of corrosion on each wheel but severe damage!

And they say "One lady owner from new" gives a car more value!!!!

Sorry any girlies out there!!!

1 of mine had been kerbed, I had no arguement from Lexus. My wheels were not too bad when I mentioned them to my Dealer and initially they wanted to wait until next year to replace so they would be a lot worse. The Dealer said the Warrenty Compant were not happy??!! I made a fuss!! and quoted the first few lines of the Warrenty Document and the "Lexus experience mission Statement " to Lexus Customer Services who then asked the Dealer to replace which they did. When teh replacements were supplied I was unhappy with the finish of 1 wheel which in fairness Lexus then replaced again.

A colleague of mine had all 5 wheels replaced on his 2.5 year old, 50K+ IS under warranty - no problem.
All his wheels had some kerb damage too (I don't what state the spare was in, but it got changed)

His new ones have the new "all over" finish and look good.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Andy.thomas[/i]


And they say "One lady owner from new" gives a car more value!!!!

Sorry any girlies out there!!! [/quote]

Hmmm, I would be offended had my wheels not been kerbed too (obviously when my husband had been driving - ahem!).

Could this be the reason the garage isn't too keen on replacing them

I just took my car down to my local dealer, for them to look at two things. Firstly my wheels, i took them off the other day and they were badly corroded! The woman there took one look at the car (hardly even a look) and said "I can order you some new ones but i don't advise. If i send these back with damage Lexus UK will just charge you direct for the replacements. It's up to you but i would get them refurbished"

My argument was that no way was the rim damage remotely significant compared to the corrosion, she said "you're choice".

Just wondered if this was the case, do Lexus UK - really not give their dealership the power to decide whether work is classed as warranty or not?!?!? Are they that untrusting?! Or is it the paperwork is too much hassle, and the dealership makes little or no money from it?

Secondly, one of the plastic trims on the underbody (like stone kick plates) of my car broke today under what i would say was wind resistence pressure. (driving at 80/5 mph and it snapped). They refused to replace this under warranty as the 17 yr old looking mechanic was adament he had to remove part of a dead animal.

I asked him to show me where abouts on the front of the car this animal left the rest of itself (being the lowest point) to which he shrugged and walked off for the argument to be settled with a receptionist! I decided a £25 part wasn't worth the hassle, so paid up.

Someone may remember me saying how happy I was with my local dealer b4, but OOOOOoooooh NOOOOOOO! :flaming:

Anyway, is it just me being the annoying arrogant customer we all hate, is it Lexus UK being tight on warranty work - or my dealer after more of my money?????

That is not an excuse!

As a Londoner who parks his car on the street, you can imagine the state of my 2.5 year old alloys!

They were however replaced under warranty due to corrosion. It might be that the dealership does not want to go through the hassle, as far as money is concerned, they would be paid by Lexus GB for the labour charged to get the wheels changed, it might not be immediate though.

I would ask to speak to the service manager and see what he has to say.

If no joy, then contact Lexus GB customer services.

My near side wheels were very scratched/kerbed, especially the front one. When I asked about having them replaced the dealer didn't question it, or comment on the state of the wheels.

Which dealer is it??
You might want to post a review in our "Review your dealers section"

A work colleague with a V plate, 50k+ IS200 just had all his wheels (inc spare) replaced under warranty for corrosion and his originals were well scratched/kerbed.

I've done nearly 60K when I had mine replaced.

Funny how you can be really happy with a dealer and then a incident like this happens. I've been singing the praises of my dealer, then I had the 60K service last week and I wasn't happy at all with the service I recieved (other than them lending me a IS300!).

[color=Blue]Your old wheels go back to Lexus GB anyway for refurbishment so being scratched shouldn't be a problem.Obviously if there are big chunks missing out of them then that is a different ball game

Wheres the problem ?[/color]

Thanks all for the info, I wasn't going to post the dealers name but ahh well, since it was asked - Southampton. I won't right a review as I have never had a problem in the past, however my last was a company car, so everything was done really well, i never really got involved with the "hassle" side.

They kinda caught me on a bad day, stuck in traffic hours, bad meeting, then bits of me car falling off. Having two warranty claims in 5 mins rejected was the final straw!


Has anyone used Lexus Guildford at all? My next nearest one so i may give them a go.

Thanks again

A

[quote][i]Originally posted by Andy.thomas[/i]
Thanks all for the info, I wasn't going to post the dealers name but ahh well, since it was asked - Southampton. I won't right a review as I have never had a problem in the past, however my last was a company car, so everything was done really well, i never really got involved with the "hassle" side.

They kinda caught me on a bad day, stuck in traffic hours, bad meeting, then bits of me car falling off. Having two warranty claims in 5 mins rejected was the final straw!
[/quote]


...it never rains but it pours! Stick with it though and let us know how you get on.

Southampton have been ok for me, but they have just changed ownership (now part of Snows) so maybe this is a sign of things to come

[quote]Has anyone used Lexus Guildford at all?[/quote]

my car came from there but their couldn't give a $@#% attitude led me to Southampton.

[quote][i]Originally posted by rob200[/i]
Southampton have been ok for me, but they have just changed ownership (now part of Snows) so maybe this is a sign of things to come [/quote]

Rob have you had any warranty work done with Southampton yet? As I said before, they have always been good to me in the past :sniff:

As for Snows hmmmm, I heard this in that news letter they send round, great no we're affiliated with Hampshire's biggest BMW dealer! :flaming: