Whiteworm

[Ibdrew]

Shocked to discover whiteworm corrosion on various spots one of my Santiago wheels at the weekend, car is out of warranty at the end of the month so I contacted the dealer jct600 this morning to be told over the phone that wheel are generally only covered for 6months/6000 mls but to bring the car in for inspection to confirm, having read previous posts some members have had mixed success in a warranty claim,
Any experience or advice would be most welcome before I visit dealer tomorrow. My car has 20,000 miles on the clock and been very well cared for,.
Thanks

[Pinky1959]

I would take it in and if they dont offer to replace the wheel  dont let them refurb it .and get on to VW head office and create a stink .
I got 3 of my Tiguan wheels replaced after about 2 years and the one they didnt replace now has white worm but I havent been in to see about it , I dont think they would replace it now though .I have a really good relationship with my dealer so that helped I think too .
Good luck .

[JamesR27]

I would kick up a fuss as I got 4 wheels replaced about 2 and half years after having the car, when I got white worm around the centre caps.

[SRGTD]

Got two of my centre caps replaced at two years old and two of the diamond cut alloys replaced at two and a half years old on my mk6 GTD, although the replacement wheels were also damaged when they arrived at the dealers, so they had to be re-ordered again. Dealer had to order a total of nine new wheels before they got two undamaged ones, although I think they damaged some of these themselves when they put the tyres on.

A little off topic, but I really don't understand why VW (and other manufacturers) persist in fitting diamond cut alloys to many of their models;

- a high proportion succumb to white worm corrosion.
- they're more expensive to refurbish than powder coated alloys and there's a limit to the number of times they can be re-cut on a diamond cutting lathe.
- they're easily damaged by careless tyre fitters.

I dislike them for the above reasons, and after the white worm episode I fitted a set of much more durable powder coated alloys to my last car and I've also done this on my current car. I've got a set of pristine diamond cut alloys in storage that will go back on when the time comes to sell my car.

[kalimon]

Completely agree about diamond cut wheels.
I love my Austin's but having had a dealer damage one recently, I dread the thought of getting another puncture
If I kerbed a couple I think I would have them all powder coated.

[Ibdrew]

Thanks for the replies, I will see how I get on tomorrow,tho I'm expecting to be knocked back.I'd previously had two alloys repaired and a tyre replaced at the same dealers recently due to kerbing, when I took delivery of the car took the wheel and tyre damage insurance which more than paid for itself., had a really close look at all the wheels at that time and can't believe how quickly the corrosion has developed.

[Guzzle]

If your wheels are damaged or if there is evidence of a repair then there is less chance of a successful warranty claim.

I had 3 of my painted alloys replaced under warranty on my Mk5 after the lacquer started to peel. But the dealer did check all the wheels for damage before they agreed to replace any of them.

So far my diamond cut wheels have stood up OK at nearly 2 years old, but i've been ultra careful not to kerb them. This is one of the reasons I prefer the standard 18 inch alloys over the optional 19's. The extra little bit of rubber makes them just that bit more forgiving in tight situations.

[Ibdrew]

Fully understand your point Santiagos look great but are a bit of a pain,
 The two wheels went to an approved vw repairer, but the wheel that has the whiteworm was not one of them. Years ago I had a Honda type r 04 plate (Great car) which at three year old  had corrrossion on all 4 alloys, Honda replaced them all no bother.

[Guzzle]

If the whiteworm wheel clearly isn't damaged then as others have said, I would be pushing for a new wheel rather than a refurb. If you don't get what you think is a fair outcome then I would be trying VW customer services or another VW dealer. Some are more helpful with warranty claims than others.

[Finglonga]

I had a wheel replaced 2½ years into my warranty. A couple more have got it but there are tiny stone chips at the source so they would not replace them when I took it in a week before my warranty expired.