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I took my car to my preferred Lexus dealership to get tires mounted/balanced and get an alignment. I didn't notice until yesterday when the sunlight was hitting my wheels and they were in a position where I could see, but the techs seemed to be a bit lazy and scraped the old wheel weights off - and looks like they scraped the inner part of the wheels as well (see pics below).
Now I know that sometimes those wheel weights are hell to remove and typically they do "scratch" the area where they need the weights to stick so they stay on properly for balancing purposes. But the scratches look a bit obvious when the wheels are very clean. My wheels are curbed and certainly aren't in perfect condition. I figure over time, some of those new scratches the tech put on the inner portion will get covered by brake dust and be less noticeable.
I already emailed my service advisor about it so we'll see what they say. He's on vacation until next week so I may need to follow up. Anything like this happen to you guys? Any feedback or experiences appreciated!
Looks like you have a lot of chips/curb rash, probably a good time to get those wheels refinished anyways. Are you sure this wheel wasn't previously repainted?
Agh... I would certianly keep pursuing the dealership asking them to make it right so that it doesn't happen to anyone else.
While this may be acceptable to regular people I know stuff like this kills us inside lol.
The other day my close friend casually scraped my velgen gunmetal wheels trying to parallel park and ever since then I can't even look at the car :/
Sorry to hear that - if these were velgen wheels i'd be more upset! Hoping the dealership responds positively...
Originally Posted by peasodos
Looks like you have a lot of chips/curb rash, probably a good time to get those wheels refinished anyways. Are you sure this wheel wasn't previously repainted?
True - I had all 4 wheels refinished when i bought the car in 2015. Since then, city living/parking has taken its toll. Those scrapes near the wheel weights on the inner area were definitely not there when I dropped off the car. And it similar on all four wheels wherever they put new wheel weights during balancing.
Originally Posted by IS350mumba
botched
Yep. I think they could've been more careful or used a better tool to remove the old wheel weights.
Could it be that they just cleaned off a heavy build up of brake dust? What if you took the wheel off and cleaned it with soapy water and maybe a light duty scuff pad? Does the freshly scratched area, look shinier than the freshly cleaned area? I probably wouldn't worry about it like BMGS stated. It's just going to get covered up by layers and layers of brake dust.
Any tool used will scratch or leave the residue from the tape. If they used something plastic, it would take them longer to soak and remove the adhesive left over than actually mounting and re-balancing, which is why dealers don't do it.
If you're super ****- you would have to remove the weights yourself right before you take it in.
I took my car to my preferred Lexus dealership to get tires mounted/balanced and get an alignment. I didn't notice until yesterday when the sunlight was hitting my wheels and they were in a position where I could see, but the techs seemed to be a bit lazy and scraped the old wheel weights off - and looks like they scraped the inner part of the wheels as well (see pics below).
Now I know that sometimes those wheel weights are hell to remove and typically they do "scratch" the area where they need the weights to stick so they stay on properly for balancing purposes. But the scratches look a bit obvious when the wheels are very clean. My wheels are curbed and certainly aren't in perfect condition. I figure over time, some of those new scratches the tech put on the inner portion will get covered by brake dust and be less noticeable.
I already emailed my service advisor about it so we'll see what they say. He's on vacation until next week so I may need to follow up. Anything like this happen to you guys? Any feedback or experiences appreciated!
Closer shot:
I know how you feel. Every time I had my tires changed, the dealership technicians would scratch my rims. Each time I complained, they had it repaired using a contractor that visits them twice a week. It helps to make sure your wheels are clean before you take it in and take pictures as evidence of the condition when delivered to the dealership. I would get the wheels refinished overall to address the curb rash. It is not too expensive. Good luck.
The dealership will soon put the hammer down if you complain about this too often. They are not going to keep refinishing the wheel for every mount and balance they do. Sticky wheel weight can cause damage to any wheel. I wouldn't worry about it since it doesn't cause any structural damage to the wheel.
03-18-21, 10:14 AM
Dealership scratches wheel installing wheel weights
