Took my car to the dealers yesterday for replacement wheels and head unit under warranty. The wheels are the 17"multispoke type in dark grey and had started corroding. As i was handing my keys over i asked a couple of questions -

Q Do you replace all 5 wheels as the spare is corroded as well?
A No, only the wheels on the car (4)

Q Do you replace the centre caps as they are corroded and chipped also?
A No

Q So you replace all the wheels then stick the old tatty centre caps back on, surely not?
A Yep, but if you want i can order you a set which you will have to pay for.

Received a phone call from them when i got back home (20 minutes later), We're sorry but the wheels we thought we had in stock are actually a different colour to yours. So if want silver ones we can do it today, if you want same colour we will need to order, will take a couple of weeks at least.
I explained i wanted same colour, as the car is black and i thought that the dark alloys complement this. So still waiting for my replacements, over 2 months now.

Just wanted hear from any other members who've had their wheels replaced on warranty if they got just 4 or all 5 replaced?

Got the feeling if i had been wearing a designer shirt and beige trousers (like the guy in front of me) I would have received a more satisfactory and friendlier service from my dealers.

PS they actually offered to throw in the centre caps for the inconvenience. Wow, Big deal!!

Hi,
Sounds like there messing you about as to the 2 month wait,bet if you ordered and paid them for replacements you would have had them within a week or maybe 3 weeks if they had to come from Japan.
My Boss had his wheels replaced under warranty on his IS200.
A year maybe 18 months later the replacement wheels are just as bad with corrosion on them,hes not curbed them or damaged them in anyway.
Lexus/Toyota just dont seem to learn the cost of them replacing nearly every set of alloys in the uk on IS200 etc must have cost a fortune.They would have been better off using better quality material when they made them.The early LS400 had problems with the alloy corrosion on the wheels,ten years later and they still have problems just on another model

chips..

yes, I had my wheels changed under warranty a year ago, all five no problem, but the bad news is that a year later they are starting to corrode again, after being well looked after and cleaned regularly to avoid salt. Car now out of warranty, have not yet approached them, but dont expect much joy, and take a poor view of this on a car of this price. Not high mileage, not much motorway use, it is unacceptable. also the replacements were not as attractive as my originals which had some frosting on the spokes, replacements were all polished the same. But of course the main problem is.... the problem is still there.... and the car is not four years old yet. Has not happened on my husband's honda.... why can't lexus sort it??

That's interesting, why should one dealer replace all 5 when my dealer is saying they only replace 4?

Can anyone confirm how many it should be? If I get a bit of amunition to throw at them I can maybe persude them to change their minds on this.

They also explained to me why there is such an issue with the corrosion on these........

Lexus uk spec wheels are exactly the same spec as Lexus Japan, the difference is that Japan does not dump thousands of tonnes of salt on their roads so they don't have the same issues with corrosion over there.

Lexus could probably save themselves heaps of money if they changed the UK spec wheels with several coats of lacker. Just a thought.............

If all 5 alloys are fooked then all 5 should be replaced under warranty if thay dont ring lexus Gb c/care

The salt on our roads combine with what's in the Lexus brake dust to corrode the alloy wheels. I would have thought it might be cheaper to sort the brake pads than the alloys As they can;t do much about the salt. Think there is the same problems on the IS250 wheels.

Lexus do not take the hit, it is their Italian wheel supplier & the 18" version(6-spoke) is corrosion-free!Secondly,your warranty covers corrosion SO all 5 wheels should be replaced along with the centre-caps!
Tel

The 18 inch styling (6-spoke) are not corrosion free, ive had 2 sets, and many others have had them changed under warranty

QUOTE
"So still waiting for my replacements, over 2 months now"

I ordered a set of wheels and paid for them in January, i received 2 in march and still waiting for the other 2, the best excuse ive had so far is that they forgot to load them on the ship in the dock !! lol

Gord,
Assuming yours like mine were Factory Fitted then from your experience I was lucky as I had mine for 30 mnths. & they were mint.
Tel.

Yes, the salt is the cause, Japan so much warmer dont need salt in the winter, but do remember Mr. Frosty, that my replacement wheels are only a year on my car and they are corroding more than the originals actually. I am not a motorway driver etc. and keep the wheels clean, so it just shows you the extent of the problem with the salt. But as I say, even replacement wheels do not solve the problem at the end of the day...... it all happens again...

I think you must have been mine was washed every week and had only done 7000mls when 1st set went, by the way none are factory fitted, the styling kits are fitted in the uk, and the wheels are Made in England

Gord,
First saw the 6-spokes availability in Hong Kong in 2002 & they were chrome:I ordered my IS300 with 18"wheels in lieu of the 17" & chose the matt finish.The U.K.Styling Kit was launched shortly afterwards--I suppose my wheels could have been fitted @ the Bristol Importers & I would guess these wheels were multi-sourced by Lexus:hence mine were mint 2.5years down the line.
Tel

i just had my wheels reconditioned it cost me £30 a wheel and they look fantastic apparently if there recon they last alot longer

Mine have done 25K from new (28 months) and they have just started to go in places. Mainly the spoke inner leading edges on the front and a couple of 5p size bubbles appearing on the rear nearside only !

I will only require 4 as the spare has never been used.

Four replaced just within warranty, fifth one appeared to be replaced with an already-slightly-bubbled one, was told that this must've been the best of the bunch and that only four were covered.

One of the four is f***ed already.

Guess what..... still waiting !!!

Wat types of product are peeps using to clean ure wheels? Stuff like AutoGlym...do these have any profound effect on reducing corrosion or is that just some bullsheet marketing ploy?

Guess what?..........me too!!!

Latest delivery date late june or july, however after following up my claim for the 5th wheel replacement with LGB my local dealer has relented and has placed another order for 1 more. After venting my anger at them they wrote to me saying that my local dealer were adament the spare was in 'pristine condition' after inspection. I disputed this with them and after a second inspection by stevie wonder they agreed it was corroded.

If you are prepared to stand your ground with these dealers when they try it on, you get what you are entitled to in the end. They have tried (without success) to duck out of all 3 warranty issues i've had with my Lex. My experience is, if your not in the beige trousers and sandal section of community, you don't mean jack sh*t to the dealers if youre not spending lots of cash there.

Lexus Hull named and shamed

Giving them another coat of laquer at your local alloy refurb will cost about £50 (all 5), money well spent as they'll las 3 times longer b4 corroding.

Well i have been emailing TTE and they tell me that the 10" ones are not available in the UK and to order direct with them, 3 weeks and 776 euros.

So i have !! see what happens..

Haven't had a rufund from Lex yet though, may end up with a spare set !!

I've just taken mine into Lexus with some heavy corrosion on one of the front alloys - after only 18 months & 12k from new! Lexus have just agreed to replace all 5, even though the spare has never been used. I assumed maybe they were going to replace all because they changed manufacturer, slightly different pattern, etc. but perhaps not after reading these posts

Slightly better customer service experience though...

Well amazingly enough, got the wheels from Lexus today !!

The ones i ordered from TTE themselves, were not actually ordered, gave them my credit card details etc, checked up the progress 2 days ago and they have not even taken my order ! useless...

Does anyone know if the 18's fitted to the IS220d and IS250 Sport are prone to this corrosion - worried about this. Hat looking after stuff only for it to fall apart because of poor manufacture. Subaru had the same issue - my wheels on the Impreza are starting to pit - one after less than 6 months on the car

Brian.

Just read this thread, looks like the new IS alloys are not much better than the old. When will Lexus learn this problem is their achilles heal?

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...c=34527&hl=

Odd

on my door step, 2 more 10" rears, not showing on my c/c statement! must have taken the money i would think..

oh well... got 2 spare 10" sport alloys for GS300 mk1 now !