R98 Webspoke Corrosion - New Rims finally fitted

[Jon Chalk]

The two-piece R98 Web-spoke alloys on my Cooper have developed corrosion on the outer rim section only. The main body of the alloys are fine - no damage/marks/carbon dust staining at all.

Car & wheels get washed with the same stuff every week (dilute Halfords or Autoglym depending on what I had in the garage).

Local BMW dealership have had a look & they can't clean it up either & have referred back to BMW stechnical who are due to looka t on 27/3. Just wondered if anyone else had similar problems (will post a pic at the weekend, if interest)

[AidenL]

Yep, R90s which are a similiar style do suffer from corrosion problems - you should be able to push for an exchange under warranty on the affected rim

[Tonyt3]

Tell them you use just hot soapy water when cleaning your rims - dont let them tell you that you damaged them by using ''solvents' such as Autoglym etc etc

[Jon Chalk]

Finally clean enough to add some pictures - outer rim should be bright & shiny (almost like chrome), but instead is very dull, with white/grey surface defects

Don't want to say too much more until outcome of warranty claim.

[RedUn]

your dealer has most likely caused your wheels to do this by jet washing (using caustic in the jet wash) your car when is in for servicing/warranty work etc

when your get your new wheel/wheels make sure next time you take it in to make sure they don't clean it for you, your wheels will last a lot longer this way

[Jon Chalk]

That makes sense - it was the local dealer's demo until 6,700 miles, so they probably jet-washed it far more than any of us would!

[PmP]

My dealer is for keeping my JCW R105 with chipped laquer until 20 april when the bmw representative comes over and sees it and make a judgement. What I cant understand is, the dealer can make a warranty judgement on the likes of a clutch or gearbox, but not an alloy wheel??? Why not?

Corrosion of alloys in uk is a problem as our roads are covered in vast amounts of salt in the winter. And moisture heat from brakes and salt are big factors in causing corrosion.

If you want to prevent it you really need to either have a second set of alloys for the winter or wash the salt and road grime off your rims every couple of days if not every evening when you come home.

[RedUn]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cooperama

That makes sense - it was the local dealer's demo until 6,700 miles, so they probably jet-washed it far more than any of us would!

sounds about right then!

good luck in getting it sorted

[RedUn]

Quote: Originally Posted by PmP

My dealer is for keeping my JCW R105 with chipped laquer until 20 april when the bmw representative comes over and sees it and make a judgement. What I cant understand is, the dealer can make a warranty claim on the likes of a clutch or gearbox, but not an alloy wheel??? Why not?

i'm guessing that you might be one of the first with a warranty claim on that wheel, so they may need to asess it properly, once it becomes a known problem (if that ever happens) they will be quite happy to let the dealers decided whether it's warranty or not

[Jon Chalk]

Don't know if it was dealer BS or not, but the dealer service manager told me he had ordered a new set in case claim approved on the day BMW tech guy comes in.

Optimistic point of view - looks good for a new set

Realistic/pessimistic point of view - keep customer quiet & let BMW tech guy give him bad news!

[theone]

My R90's are worse, bought them 2nd hand so i really have no come back but there getting refinished next month.

Its going to cost me £65 a wheel, to have them dismantelled, individually refinished, and the finish they put on the wheels is far better than the original finish.

The only other option i would suggest is to punt them on ebay, and then buy another set with a new set of tyres, again off ebay for £750. sure somone would give you around £400 for yours? bit of hastle but could be worth it if you cant get a replacement under warentee.

[Jon Chalk]

Yeah might keep them with a set of rough tyres for trackdays & get a new set like you suggested....sigh....rather have them all shiny though.

[Jon Chalk]

Good news / bad news
Good news - BMW have agreed to replace all 4 wheels under warranty
Bad news - there are only 2 in stock at the moment, the other 2 are on back order & no date is available for supply yet. I'm waiting until all 4 are ready to fit.

Does this imply demand for replacements has been higher & production not able to keep up?

Never mind - shiny new alloys on the way

[Mike Edwards]

These wheels have a polished finish on the rim - no lacquer. If you don't give them a rub with a suitable metal polish from time to time they will lose their shine.

Bad that they didn't mention this, but the pictures show wheels that aren't defective - just haven't been given the required care.

If they were lacquered and this were going white/flaking, that would be a fault.

Make sure you give the rims of the new wheels a wipe with Autosol or similar when you wash the car and you shouldn't have a problem.

[Jon Chalk]

Thanks Mike - now I know I'll try it on the old ones & make sure new ones are done properly. I think the dealer tried this on these when I first reported a problem & couldn't get it "shiny", but then it was their demo car for first 6700 miles, so the initial damage / poor care may have happened then??

Do you think it would be worth getting the new ones lacquered by a specialist - I've not come across un-lacquered alloys before?