Wheels

[daviegsxr]

Just wondered if anyone is having the same issues I am having.

I have a mk8 GTD with Adelaides and the lacquer is starting to peel off them.

The car is only 14 months old and it’s booked into the local dealer next week for them to take a look.

Thanks. David.

[fredgroves]

Not noticed it on mine.

Got any photos to show us?

[SRGTD]

@daviegsxr; Yes, it would be good to see pictures of them.

• Is it just one or more than one of the wheels that are suffering from lacquer peel?
• Have any of the wheels ever been cosmetically refurbished?
• What type of cleaning products have been used on them? Do you wash your car yourself or entrust it to others? - e.g. one of the many hand car washing places. The hand car wash places often use quite harsh cleaning products to remove dirt quickly so they can clean more cars per day (time is money to them).
• Have the areas where the lacquer is lifting suffered any damage? e.g. stone chip damage that’s not been touched in, allowing water to get under the lacquer?

[JoeGTI]

Have you had the car from brand new? If not, its possible that wheel was refurbished before you took ownership. Lacquer peel would suggest to me evidence of a previous poor repair.

[SRGTD]

Have you had the car from brand new? If not, its possible that wheel was refurbished before you took ownership. Lacquer peel would suggest to me evidence of a previous poor repair.

Agree.

It’s not unknown for brand new cars to sustain damage in transit between the factory and the dealers - wheels are susceptible to damage when loading, strapping down and unloading new cars from the transporter lorry delivering them to the dealership. It’s possible that this may have happened to the OP’s car and VW or the dealer got the damaged wheel(s) refurbished rather than replaced them.

If the OP hasn’t owned the car from new, then there’s also the possibility the wheels could be replacement non-genuine replicas. If so, then the quality of finish may not be as durable as OEM and may be more susceptible to the lacquer flaking or peeling from the wheel’s face.

Hopefully the OP will post up some pictures and / or provide an update once the dealer has inspected them.

[daviegsxr]

Folks, my persistence with my local dealer had eventually paid off and VW have authorised for the dealer to fit 4x new alloy wheels to my car under warranty! 😊

[SRGTD]

Folks, my persistence with my local dealer had eventually paid off and VW have authorised for the dealer to fit 4x new alloy wheels to my car under warranty! 😊

Good outcome.

Be sure to check the new wheels over carefully after the dealer has fitted the tyres. I had 2 alloys replaced under warranty a few years ago and the VW dealer damaged them when refitting the tyres - not just once; it took them 4 attempts (so eight wheels in total) before I had a pair of unmarked new alloys back on my car.

[davo245]

Folks, my persistence with my local dealer had eventually paid off and VW have authorised for the dealer to fit 4x new alloy wheels to my car under warranty! 😊

Have you owned the car from new?

[monkeyhanger]

Folks, my persistence with my local dealer had eventually paid off and VW have authorised for the dealer to fit 4x new alloy wheels to my car under warranty! 😊

Have you owned the car from new?

I owned my 7R from new, and even so, I found out once my Wife had scraped a Pretoria wheel  3 years into ownership, it had been refurbished before we even got it. The refurb guy (a friend of a friend) pointed out in the cross section of the scrape that there were 5 coats of paint instead of the expected 3 (undercoat, silver, lacquer, silver, lacquer). The original coast hadn't been stripped off, just painted over.

Lots can happen between the factory and the dealership.