Wheel/rim corrosion thread

[deathstar2010HL]

Hello,
I don't know if anyone has come across this corrosion issue or not? I noticed this on our 2010 LTD Highlander rims last week, all four wheels are damaged.

There is no abrasion elsewhere or evidence of curb rash, plus my family owns a metal finishing business, so we know this is corrosion.

Anyway, the vehicle is still under warranty and we dropped it off this morning! Great news...Toyota is getting us 4 new rims and re-balancing and installing under warranty. Despite the corrosion the rims looked great but still, they are 18 months old, so a new set is great.

[NumberFive]

Yikes. That's pretty bad. Do you think it was from last year's road salt?

They salt pretty heavily here in Chicago, I'll have to watch for that after next winter.

[deathstar2010HL]

Yes, its pretty bad for having only seen one winter and we wash our cars religiously.

No doubt that the salt in NY had something to do with it but there had to have been some clear coat issues for all four of them to be this bad. Like all corrosion, this would have started at the metal level and worked its way to the surface.

Toyota didnt blink at replacing them so I imagine they know that this isnt a common problem.

[AXMACD]

Originally Posted by deathstar2010HL

Hello,
I don't know if anyone has come across this corrosion issue or not? I noticed this on our 2010 LTD Highlander rims last week, all four wheels are damaged.

There is no abrasion elsewhere or evidence of curb rash, plus my family owns a metal finishing business, so we know this is corrosion.

Anyway, the vehicle is still under warranty and we dropped it off this morning! Great news...Toyota is getting us 4 new rims and re-balancing and installing under warranty. Despite the corrosion the rims looked great but still, they are 18 months old, so a new set is great.

Mine have about the same amount of corrosion. Used my alloys for half a winter then switched to steelies. The steelies are beginning to rust a bit around the edges. I have a used Tacoma and the wheels are flaking pretty bad.. might try and get some replacements from Toyota.

[05Moose]

Yeah, very common with the Tacoma (especially the TRD Sport rims, but a few have also experienced it with the TRD OR rims). Guess it makes sense that they'd have problems across the models. Half the time they give you new wheels, half the time they send them out to have them refinished.

[98CamryLE]

I've noticed that lots of Toyotas around here have that problem. It isn't something new either. The rims on my 1998 Camry looked horrible after just a year or two. They were downright embarrassing when I sold it when it was 8 years old. My 2007 Camry has similar problems to your Highlander. I had one wheel replaced under warranty at like 30K miles. I have 60K now and all four are showing this issue.

However, this is nothing compared with some of the Siennas that I have seen. I see lots of 2004-2006ish Sienna rims that the finish is literally hanging off of the wheel. (Mainly XLE model rims) The peeling starts in one or two spots between the spokes and peels off in quarter-sized portions. It's awful.

I've seen Solaras, Avalons, and tons of Camrys with this issue, but I think this is the first time I"ve heard of it with a Highlander though. (I don't have any friends that own one)

I'm happy that Toyota replaces them, but it would be nice if they would last longer without peeling.

[sirwm]

I was washing the highlander, and as I did
the wheels, I observe that the edges around the
centers are blemished in some way -
scuffed ?

Has anyone else seen this, or have this issue ?

[sweeneyp]

Take a look here:
Wheel/rim corrosion thread
Noticed your location is up north, same thing happened to the other guy and hes up north too. Probably salt related

[TrailDust]

Threads merged to keep the content together. Thanks for the link to that past thread, sweeney!

[matt0420]

good to hear they replaced them...just washed my truck yesterday. The wheels still look great. Lets hope winter doesn't destroy them

[becks]

Anyone bring their HL in to a dealer after the warranty ?

[sirwm]

Originally Posted by sirwm

I was washing the highlander, and as I did
the wheels, I observe that the edges around the
centers are blemished in some way -
scuffed ?

Has anyone else seen this, or have this issue ?

I took my HH to the dealer last week.
The guy said that he would have to talk with the area representative
about the issue.

Today, I got 4 new 19" wheels installed on the vehicle.

The dealer honored the warranty. ( My 3yr/36k still has a year or so to go... )

[nov0798]

Toyota told me to F'n bad on my wheels doing the same thing. Im outside my 3/36, but have extended warranty. Apparently that does not cover rust/corrosion. I guess Im screwed on my wheels.

[Dman1]

On somewhat of a related note, I just got my HL back yesterday with a newly painted rear hatch..repainted under warranty due to a rust bubble. It looks good, but I will take a better look at it once the snow melts. They also detailed my car, inside and out. It looks immaculate...too bad I had to pick it up in the middle of a snowstorm.

[Solorange]

I have a 2009 Highlander Sport and unfortunatly I live in Ohio where salt is always present in the winters. Ive noticed on all 4 of my rims that they are starting to corrode around the center caps. For those of you who live in areas that salt roads for winter I was just curious if any of you have the same issue?

I asked the dealership to replace the wheels under warrenty and they refused because the vehicle is driven in salty roads for the winter. This really pisses me off because Ive never had aluminum wheels corrode due to salty roads on other vehicles I've owned except for my 1999 Solara which those wheels are pitting. Could just be a Toyota thing.