spotxc

iTrader: (5)

So the other day I brought in my 06 gs300 in for an oil change at JM. When I picked up the car there was this whitesh substance on the lips of my wheels. At first, I just thought it was some soap left on from the carwash, but when I went home and tried to clean it, it didn't come out. By that time it was around 8pm and the dealership was closed. I called and left a message. The next morning, I went back to JM Lexus and explained the situation to the service manager. He went outside with me to see the wheels, and said some polish should do it. So he tried the polish and it didnt work. He then proceeded to blame the wheel manufacturer and said it was a wheel defect and the wheel was running as he kept repeating that their wash uses no harmful chemicals or anything and its all organic. He told me to take it up with the wheel manufacturer. He just kept making excuses that didn't even make sense. After feeling like I wasn't going anywhere with him, I asked for the dealership manager. The dealership manager then tells me let me take it to our best detailer to see what he can do. He took my number and said he would call me in 30 min to get the car. I call him in 45 min. no answer. 1hour no answer. I start walking around the dealership to find my car and i finally find it. As I am approaching the car, some guy comes up to me (find out he was the detailer) and tells me he doesnt know what it is thats on my lips, he cant get it out, and that the manager went on lunch and he'll call me later. So I leave, expecting a call sometime soon. No call. I call him back and he basically tells me that they will not fix it and that their chemicals wouldnt do that. Now Im pissed, they just turned their backs on me when they screwed up my wheels. Later that day, I brought it to a professional detailer and he said it looked like they sprayed an acidy substance on the wheels and didnt wash it off and it dripped and melted onto the lips. He was able to get some off by polish, but not everything.

What the heck!!? I did not expect this from a company like Lexus, especially from a dealership so highly rated like JM. What should I do?

Here are some pics

Leeladisky

I would get samples of EVERYTHING that dealer used on your car... go talk to the detailers directly. I would bet they sprayed some wheel cleaner on your car that reacted... it may not react to OEM wheel finishes, but did with yours. Either way, it is their responsibility. Good luck and keep us posted!

beez43

iTrader: (6)

they probably used some sort of wheel cleaner or acid on them rather than just soap and water.. it happened to mines as well and the car wash wouldnt take responsibility for it.. the lips have a clear coat on it that hues and gets hazy because of the acid thats used to clean them.. I hope you can get down to the bottom of this by finding out what they use and hopefully they can then take responsibility for it. sorry about what happened man... pics not working btw

DOVE

I had the exact same thing happen on my Subaru Legacy Spec B, they sprayed some substance on the wheels (stock 18" wheels) when they were hot and it etched into the finish... After enough arguing with the dealership manager they finally replaced my wheels with a brand new set.

Good luck!

broke_VIP

If it was not soap and water, OR one of the few non-ph balanced wheel cleaners out there...it is acidic. The actual chemical in the acidic cleaner reacts with water to create sulphuric acid. LOL, if you get where this is going.

Acid + anodized lips = fail.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

JM Lexus scraped 3 of my wheels and wouldn't do jack about it. Good thing they don't look really bad or I would have tore into them.
Since they are not willing to rectify, I have a standing order to never wash my car and be careful when they put it up on a rack.
Last couple times they were careful but 3 of my wheels and 2 of my wife's wheels have curb rash because of JMLexus.
Yes, they SUCK!

Stormforge

which is why i never, ever, let the dealer wash my car from day 1. coz they'll either scratch your paint or worse.

dunnojack

it looks like soap got baked into the wheels.

do all chrome wheels do this?

or just Work wheels? cuz if that's the case, Work sucks!

hey, aren't these wheels the same as Ice350's? the same ones where the finish started discoloring or decaying or some crap?

maybe you guys should saran wrap your wheels whenever you take it to the dealer from now on

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

I previously worked at the same dealership that I now bring my car to, and can personally say that I do NOT let them wash my car. With my car being freshly repainted I do not want them using recycled water in their machine to rub against my car and create swirls, etc.

At the end of the day, it's a business and they usually wash 50-100 cars per work day. They have to use machines or minimum wage workers to finish everything and get it done efficiently- most people dont have aftermarket $3K wheels, lips, side skirts, or other mods, so for 99% of customers this is effective. Since I am super sensitive about my car I ALWAYS tell them not to wash my car, to be super careful with the front lip, and to be extra careful when parking it. I hate to sound crazy but you just cannot trust them to take care of your car the same way you would.

As far as your situation, I think you should definitely ask the dealership to replace your wheels. Even though you didn't tell them to NOT wash the car, they shouldn't be using chemicals that are harsh enough to damage parts of your vehicle.

I'm really sorry

hobojoe

^^^ Mine do the same thing if i wash them at my parent house but, if i take it to the car wash where i have it detailed etc....It never happens im more inclined to say its the way the water is softened etc....and mine are Works there Volks

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

Maybe you have something. Work wheels have anodized lips. The Maya's I had also were anodized. They don't seem resilient at all. Prone to damage. Maybe it's time to move on.

Chancellor

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to see this man. Hurts to look at. Damn dealer.

1STLXS

iTrader: (4)

[QUOTE=dunnojack;4681354]
maybe you guys should saran wrap your wheels whenever you take it to the dealer from now on


LOL, DJ you crack me up sometimes.

Sorry to hear about the wheels. I wouldn't let them off the hook just yet. I would even threaten to call the local news to have them do a story on it. Sounds extreme but businesses should be held accountable.

I agree with Storm and MP since I got my new wheels I will not let anyone wash my car but me. I also request that they be very careful with the wheels. What this does is make them aware of your concerns and hopefully they put more attention to what they are doing. At the very least you can then say I told you when there is evident damage. I even asked the tire shop that mounted my wheel how they were going to do it and what do they use to protect the lip.

Good luck, keep us posted


RG

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

Good luck and keep us posted.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

oh god that's messed up. dealership can't run away, and they are at fault coz' i know exactly what happened.

work wheels lips are anadized, and they are very delegate surfaces. you can NOT use any abrasive cleaners on them otherwise the detergent WILL eat into the anodize causing it to get fuzzy, as shown in the pictures. that's anodized lip being damaged. there is NO way to buff or polish them out, absolutely NO WAY

you can re-polish the lips to get it shiny, but it's different from anodize and because there will be no protection, brake dust and other stuff can start eat into the lip down the road.

chrome will not have this issue because of the way it is done. but it's not without its problem. anodized lips are actually very strong and resistant except against detergent, you just need to know how to clean them (it's misinformation to say that anodized lips are weak)

most jdm wheels have anodized lips, they don't suck, it's just a different process. as long as you use the right soap and such to clean the car, there will be NO issue. i have had so many sets of wheels and i always clean my cars myself and i never have issues with my wheels. in fact, if you can see how the detergent damage the lip, i wouldn't want those freaking detergent to touch my car anyway (that's why dealership car wash sucks)

moreover, actually a few socal dealerships already have this similar problem before damaging customers' wheels and they had to pay to replace them, so now they have a policy saying that if customers have aftermarket wheels, they will not provide car wash. one dealership i know actually went through the trouble to understand the problem and now they have changed to a new soap that does not damage wheels

tell your dealership to shut the hell up and pay up. it really sux when i know so much more than them and they are just full of freaking lies trying to blame it on wheel manufacturers and you.