Rusty wheel hubs.

[Rog]

I was reading 'Car magazine' the other day and someone wrote in to them saying that they noticed that their Gti hubs were rusty.  They took the car back to their VW dealer whom said that nothing could be done about it.  I got my Gti last May and I have to say that a couple of months ago I too noticed that my hubs are turning rusty.  I presume that all wheel hubs rust and that it's just the Monza alloys with their large ' open telephone dial's' that make it so noticeable.
Anyone else noticed it on their Gti?

[VWmaindealer]

I've noticed this on all our GTIs. Nothing you can do unfortunately.  I think all hubs do it but as you say, with the 18s, you can see it more.  Not sure if you can paint them???

[illyun]

Thats disgraceful... within a year!?    I have just ordered my GTI with 18" Alloys and I should expect them to rust within the year while my Mk2 16v from 1991 doesn't have a spot of rust on its BBS factory fitted alloys?!  Surely VW should have realised this - does this come under warranty? I will be part-ex'ing mine when the Anniversary model comes out next year but that will also have the same issue.  Is there any preparation of the wheel that can inhibit the rust before I start driving it?

[illyun]

Hang on... did you say hubs as oppsoed to alloys? Phew... I thought you were talking about the alloys.  Can you treat the hub with WD40 or something?

[scotty4]

had mine since sept, no rust yet

[aahgolf]

All four of my wheel hubs have rusty marks. This was apparent from a couple of months after taking delivery. The dealer said they were going to contact VW about it and would let me know, but I heard nothing. I think it's due to an interaction between the steel hub and the alloy wheel, but I'm not a metallurgist...

I'm planning to take it up with the dealer when the car goes in for its first service, as this is definitely a warranty issue

[VWmaindealer]

Accoding to our service dept here. They would not replace these under warranty as there is nothing inherently wrong with them. I've had a wander around my used cars and most suffer from it. It's just more noticeable with the 18" wheels.

Not great news but at least you can be prepared for it?. Different dealers occasionally take a different view on warranty claims so let us know if your stealer will replace them.

VWmd

[cartmell]

How bad is the rust.  I was gonna get 18" wheels but is it  now just worth keeping woth the 17's

[VWmaindealer]

Not any worse than with the 17"s but you can see it more. If I were you i'd have a look at a GTI with the 18s and have a look (guaranteed it will have the rust).  A reason the service dept gave me was that under braking, you get hot dust from the pads which falls down onto the hub and weakens the coating on the hub. Moisture and rain etc then attack the raaw metal. Sounds feasible?!?!

Rust is quite noticable but its all a matter of opinion. Maybe someone can take a picture of theirs?

VWmd

[Hector]

I took delivery last April and noticed the rust immediately on all four wheels (18 in), following about 4 visits back to the dealer to have several other problems fixed, I finally snapped and asked for the hubs to be looked at (one is very bad now with a large band of rust visible all around) the dealer told me that hubs are not covered under warranty - doesn't half make the wheels look naff !!!
I have been looking at the Audi A4 which has almost identical hubs and haven't seen rust on any car yet (it's becoming an obsession !!!) - why VW !
On another subject - anybody noticed a slight depression visible on the top of the bonnet - at the point the bonnet latch is attached to the underside of the bonnet.  In certain light conditions (mine is Graphite Blue)  I can see a slight depression on the top of the bonnet at the point the bonnet latch plate is fixed underneath - drives me mad (not as much as the rust though).
Still a great car, but slightly depressed with the rust and depression !!!!