Not sure if it is under warranty but since it is new I would ask the dealership.

 

Any pictures of what your seeing?

 

We have some peeling spots showing up on our 2017 limited Plat. also. . Not happy about it since we purchased it new 15 months ago. And its not because of salt on roads, We have had no snow here in this part of Georgia in well over a year. We will be getting new ones under warranty.

 

If under warranty go to the dealership and complain like someone else said until you get some results.
If it isn't curb damage and actual physical scratching or chipping you might have a case the finish of them was flawed from the factory and might get lucky with some new wheels.

From most people's experience the chrome tech wheels are just junk in general.
It's sad they are plastic and even sadder that they are not modular and easily replaceable.
The plastic chrome top part is permanently bonded to the alloy wheel underneath w/ some crazy adhesives trying to remove just the plastic pretty much totals the whole wheel cosmetically.

 

If under warranty go to the dealership and complain like someone else said until you get some results.
If it isn't curb damage and actual physical scratching or chipping you might have a case the finish of them was flawed from the factory and might get lucky with some new wheels.

From most people's experience the chrome tech wheels are just junk in general.
It's sad they are plastic and even sadder that they are not modular and easily replaceable.
The plastic chrome top part is permanently bonded to the alloy wheel underneath w/ some crazy adhesives trying to remove just the plastic pretty much totals the whole wheel cosmetically.

All factory aluminum wheels that are chrome plated have a chrome plastic cover glued onto a regular aluminum wheel.

Chrome plating directly to aluminum always peels after just a few years. Even worse, it starts where the tire bead seats on the wheel causing leakage where the tire and the wheel meet. Aftermarket chrome plated aluminum wheels always do this when they get a few years of age on them.

 

Mine are peeling to. We have this place not to far from where I work called RimPro, and they specialize in restoring rims. Not cheap, but cheaper then many new rims. I'm probably going take my rims there this Spring.

 

Thats why I didnt get them on my Limited..Plastic.......wait till you curb rash them...cant fix it

 

I always LOL ^ when someone says...didn't get it because..."various reasons". Point is..don't recall old threads on chromtec's peeling, but lots on curb/scraping/handling damage. :dunno:

 

,,,Point is, they peel,, and are not repairable if they are damaged due to curb rash, Ive seen these wheels do it... Thats whay i insisted on trading for XLE wheels.. If you like em...Go for it.

 

Most of the extra stuff on the limited models, seems impractical, the XLE model would have passed for a limited 10 years ago and even it has a few features that don't add much to the ownership experience. I don't know if there are significant NVH( noise,vibration, harshness) differences between the trim packages, that used to be the case with most vehicles, the NVH on limited trims was way superior to base trims, it wasn't just about extra features.The chrome tech wheels are just a dubious attempt at differentiation from the lower trims.

 

Most of the extra stuff on the limited models, seems impractical, the XLE model would have passed for a limited 10 years ago

mkay. welcome to now.

 

Point is..don't recall old threads on chromtec's peeling, but lots on curb/scraping/handling damage.

You may not have seen any threads, but it's a known issue. I know 3 people with 14 and 15 HL's that it's happening to. Toyota dealers in the area know it's an issue. Mine didn't start pealing until after warranty. That's when I first contacted RimPro to see if they could fix it. They showed me 4 sets of Toyota Highlander rims in the shop at various stages of being repaired...all with the pealing problem. They've repaired several sets over the years.

 

OK. Like I said...didn't recall seeing threads on chromtecs peeling. Anyone try asking mfg why? :dunno:

 

mine vehicle is 2 months old and already 2 wheels start pealing and one is bubbling up, I will go to the dealer today and see what they have to say about this little problem

 

Little problem? They try to sell off those hubcap plastic for over $800 a pop! What ever you do to resolve, do anything to avoid accepting a replacement thats just gonna do the same thing, or simply get scratched easily. Keep in mind, these hubcaps stick out on TOP of the metal wheel, so they create a lip that can more easily catch a curb.

 

Hydro-dip those plastics, yo.

 

This past week two of my 2017 HL limited chromatic wheels were replaced under warranty due to the smoke finish peeling off. When we took it in to have the new wheels installed it was noticed that a third wheel was starting to peel so it will be replaced under warranty too. The top smoke coat seemed to have been applied over wheels that were not prepped properly before the clear/smoke coat was applied.

 

And they will continue to peel, I'm on my third set and my Highlander is still under warranty. Here's the kicker: my highlander is under warranty for another year yet and Toyota says they will not be covering their replacement any more. I didn't choose to put the Trash on my vehicle and wasn't informed of their history when I purchased the vehicle and Toyota knew of the problem and continued to put these defective wheels on the highlander for another full model year. Shame on Toyota.

 

I made them take mine off and just put 18" wheels on it.. I dont mind the 18 ' but was NOT gonna have plastic wheels on my car..

 

The 18 inch whèel tire combo is more practical anyway.

 

,,,Point is, they peel,, and are not repairable if they are damaged due to curb rash

They may still be repairable. Look at the link below from Rimpro. They do a lot of repairs.


http://www.rimpro.com/products.html

 

Link isn’t working

 

I’ve been perfectly happy with mine and have had no problems. I didn’t have any problems with my previous Chrome Tecs or my current dark ones. The only person on the road, other than another HL owner, that knows you you’re driving on plastic wheels is you! But then again, I’m not the type to spend $40-50K on a vehicle and then complain about something I knew full well about before purchasing! Go figure.

Thanks RollingRock for the heads up on a warranty claim, if ever needed.

 

That all fine and good...what about the buyers that didn't know about these cheap imitation alloy wheels that bought the vehicle thinking they were getting a quality product and end up with the Trash they are putting on their alleged top of the line vehicle. Shame on Toyota!

 

Mine aren't peeling but my only gripe is they chip/scratch really easy. I only drove in late winter/early spring last year with them on the vehicle(I run winter wheels). Mine have a ton of stone chips from very little winter driving/early spring driving with stones still on the roads. And it seems I pick up a new scratch every time I wash them and yes I am very careful washing and very particular about my cars. I knew they were plastic when buying and still think its ridiculous Toyota uses plastic wheels on a top spec model but then again most other brands do too if you see shiny factory wheels, they are probably plastic nowadays..

 

The trim levels on modern vehicles are good starting at the base trim, so when it gets to the top trim, manufacturers start equipping the vehicle with some dubious items. Once a upon a time base was very basic and limited had some meaning.

Sent from my SM-T113 using Tapatalk

 

If I replace the plastic covered wheels with after market alloy wheels, is the warranty affected and are there adjustments needed to adapt to the Toyota drive train?

 

Warranty shouldn't be affected. You can move the TPM sensors from old wheel to new wheels, and any big tire store should have scanner tools to adjust settings for wheel size so that speed sensing is not affected.

 

But why should you have to pay for that...Toyota should be paying for it, they put the JUNK on you vehicle.

 

I have a 2018 and it is a known problem...All of my wheels have peeled and although Toyota will replace them while under warranty, it will be an ongoing problem...So what happens after warranty. For what the Highlander Limited cost we should not expect these cheap low quality plastic wheels. I am not happy!!!

 

The right thing is to stop putting them on vehicles.

I have had the same issues where all my rims have been replaced and now the second set are starting to peeling and they are saying that they are not covering the rim again. The replacement rim has about 15,000 km on it and never been winter driven. The Highlander is a 2018 and we are on out second batch of rims and we run different rims and tires in the winter so the summers never see salt. Toyota has came back and said it is not their problem but clearly reading through all these forms there is an issue . Toyota can back their old trucks with new frames etc ,but they can’t back a rim that I can’t get 15 k out of with out Peeling and it came on one of their limited edition vehicles..

 

They need to just stop offering chrome wheels...or give an option for a standard alloy wheel instead.

 

I have a 2018 Highlander Limited and have 60,000 kilometers on it and I am on the 3rd set of wheels. So the original set and Toyota has replaced them twice so far. I have a 4 year Platinum warranty which will expire December, 2021. Toyota says they are not going to honor the warranty on the wheels any more, not even to the end of my warranty. There is clearly a major problem with these wheels...every Highlander that I see with these wheels, the wheels are peeling and it seem Toyota has no intention of doing anything about it. Since 2009 I have spent 220,000.00 Canadian dollars on Toyota vehicles. I can assure you that I will never spend another cent on Toyota vehicles. They used to be a good car company, in my view those days are gone and I will pass this on to anyone that will listen. If I can dissuade one person form buying a Toyota vehicle my job is done but I won't stop there. Shame on you Toyota!

 

Here are pictures

 

This is pictures of the wheels that Toyota puts on their top of the line Highlander. Acceptable? You be the Judge!

 

I honestly think someone in marketing that made a deal with Toyota and was it Chevy or Ford? who used these plastic covers for wheels, made some arrangement to get these on the car. I think its ridiculous, and I would have had to buy the car and then pay another 1500 or more to get new wheels...Or wait for a set of the "used" XL 18" alloy OEM. which I think are a better ride and look great.
I see them come up on Craigslist time to time, and they often go for under $800, often with OK tires to boot ;-)

Hey, its something they tried to pass onto the public... as often marketing companies know if they can spin a story of something being better while they make a chunk of savings, more than half the public will buy it. Luckily our fact checkers here on TN are not bought lol

 

I believe the roof rails are also `Chrome-Tech'.