karasdad

Yes, the tire dealer used a wire brush to remove the flaking chrome and smooth out the corrosion before applying the black sealant (very sticky like tar), said it would be temporary at best, tire ended up leaking faster and was forced to scrap it to the recycler. remaining wheels held up but were in marginal shape and just waiting to fail upon inspection. none of the corrosion nor flaking was evident from the wheel face, all on the bead lip on the inside part of the wheels where the winter road salts don't get washed off and seep into the rim bead. tire dealer said it was very common. bought a used set of non chrome OEM wheels on eBay, solved the problem. would advise anyone considering a used car with chrome wheels to have them checked out, esp where road salts are used heavily in winter.

karasdad

Oh, one other thing the dealer mentioned to me. Each time you remove a tire from a chrome rim with flaking and corrosion issues you increase the risk of more slow leaking as you disturb the seal integrity by the tire removal tools which chip or peel off some the chrome flakes that may have been providing a mechanical seal with the friction and force. just digging a deeper hole. I found the service manager at my local dealer reluctant to discuss how frequently they encounter this issue.

DDLexus

Nothing like admitting when you're wrong... Sorry guys.

I also took some time to research this "problem" and learned, and now believe this is a reality. Common on a variety of cars with chrome plated wheels, especially in regions with salt (beach/winter roads cleanup). The corrosion appears to be, as others have stated, on the inside lip as well as around the valve stem.

I read that some manufactures have modified how they "chrome" wheels due to this problem. Looks like plating is NOT a preferred treatment these days. Painted or "brushed" gives a very similar look without the air leak problems.