wrestrepo

Has anybody had issues with OEM rims from Acura and the chrome flaking off? I have a set on my RDX and just noticed what the pictures show.

If you notice the around the stem the chrome is "bubbling", and in some other locations has flaked off. This is happening in all four tires, some worse than others. The car has under 30K miles.

I went to the dealer, and off course, the first question is "what do you clean them with?". According to them there are products that contain sulfuric acid (I can't believe that to be true, but I stand to be corrected). The funny thing is that I don't use anything but the soap that I wash the car with....Anyways, they will look at them again with the person that can actually make ($$$) decisions.

So, have you, or do you know someone who has had this same issue with Acura rims? and if so, what was the outcome....Is this a warranty issue?







Cliffs:
OEM chrome rims flaking off
Car has under 30K miles and bumper to bumper warranty
Have you (or anybody you know) had this issue? and what was the outcome

Moog-Type-S

Looks like poor quality on the part of the chrome vendor.

bmduncan

IMHO your warranty would cover that unless they could prove you used a tire cleaner that caused the issue.

wrestrepo

you said lucky?

bmduncan

Guess it's a wash (sort of). No crappy Michelins but flaky rims. Unfortunately with the tiny % of owners with those rims you probably won't be able to get much insight from others... Start working on the dealer then escalate accordingly if you need to.

GSXpress

I've seen that happen when one uses a wheel brush improperly. I'm not saying that this is the case, just sharing experiences.

wrestrepo

I got Dunlops. They are alright, but as you imagine, being summer tires, the life span is not that great.
I know what you are talking about, I have yet to see another RDX with these rims (in person). Personally I like the style, not necessarily the chrome...my wife on the other hand likes the chrome....It's her car after all.

You are correct, but I only use my old dish-washing brush to clean the rims, and only the same water I use for the rest of the vehicle. Also, that would not explain the bubbling around the stem....I think....

DJ Iceman

Yeah, that bubbling around the stem is your saving grace. Otherwise they'd just say that it had to do with your cleaning brush or chemicals, or the brush from an automatic carwash, or whatever. But that bubbling sure makes it look like the chrome never "took" to the underlying metal when the wheels were manufactured.

Please keep us posted, as I'm extremely curious to see how Acura handles this. Of course, the right answer is to apologize and cheerfully provide you with 4 new rims free of charge. That's what I expect from a luxury carmaker, especially one that claims to want to reach up to Tier 1 status. On the other hand, the one time I needed help from Acura corporate dealing with a dishonest and incompetent service department, they told me I was on my own. That was a few years ago, so I hope they do the right thing for you!

Mike86

I've actually got the same problem. I have a 97 cl with oem chrome wheels and the chrome on two of the wheels is flaking off pretty bad. Not only are they beginning to look like shit, but the tire on one of the wheels has a slow leak because it's having a hard time sealing the bead against where the chrome flaked off. Awesome. The guy at the tire store said that once it starts to flake it really takes off during the winter because of the chemicals on the road getting under the chrome and corroding it.

Of course I'm waaaay out of warranty so there's not much I can do about it, I've just been keeping my eye out for a good deal on another set of rims.

I'll post pictures sometime.