Evidently your private mailbox is full, so here is the response to your question concerning the resolution to the problem I had with my wheels getting black blotches on them.
After some doing BMWUSA replaced all four wheels. I had to buy new tires since I have been told that the type tires used on these rims cannot be safely remounted. It didn't make a lot of difference to me since the original tires were pretty well worn.
BMWUSA's first response to me was that I had damaged the finish on the wheels by using an improper soap on them. After I told them that I had used the same soap on the wheels that I used on the paint, the paint still looks great, they said they wanted to have a service rep from Atlanta come look at them.
When the rep came to see the wheels he said they would like to give me a bottle of BMW wheel cleaner and see how the wheels do. At that point, I asked if the wheel cleaner was going to cause the silver paint to return that had obviously worn off. I also showed them a email from this site that said that they had replaced the wheels for a Florida customer with the same problems I was having. They had set a precedent for the replacement. After that very calm discussion he agreed to replace my wheels under warranty.
Good luck and feel free to use the emails on this site to support your request. BMW is obviously aware that there is a problem with the finish on these wheels. From my experience you will need them. They won't volunteer to replace the wheels but will do the right thing if pushed.
This Pi**es me off!! I went to the dealer to get this taken care of. However since my wheels are gashed they said they would not repair them. Chrome coming off the wheel sure the heck looks alot worse then a little ding. .
Does anyone know how I can get this taken care of? It's not a new issue I've had the problem for a long time now.
thanks for the response, do you have a contact for the factory rep that I can reference?
I'd like to start a formal list to document this problem. If you've experienced blackening of your rims please add to this thread and include whether you were able to get any resolution this issue
I don't remember the BMW rep's name. He was a young corporate-looking type in the Atlanta BMW regional office.
I think the best first step is to take the problem up with your local service manager. Mine provided support for my argument with BMW after I let him know that BMW had replaced discolored wheels for other customers.
If your service manager doesn't volunteer to get the regional rep involved you may have to go to them direct. I am sure that the Atlanta region has replaced wheels since they replaced mine. I also recall that someone on the West Coast got replacement rims on one of the threads on this site.
Originally posted by Jim Catington I don't remember the BMW rep's name. He was a young corporate-looking type in the Atlanta BMW regional office.
Jim-
Aside from being a young, corporate-looking type, was he also an arrogant pr*ck?! If he met both your and my descriptions, then his name is Erik Lucksinger. He was kind of an 'Uber-Field Service Engineer,' or regional tech rep for BMWNA. He's the pit-bull they assigned to lemon law cases
He's now providing his unique brand of customer service for the Mini Group. God forbid anyone has problems with a new Mini Cooper!!
My car started noticing the problem with the dark blotches on the wheels at about a year old. It is an August, 2000 Royal Red. I first brought the problem to the attention of BMW when it was about eighteen months old.
Evidently the silver paint finish on the wheels does not have a durable clearcoat to protect it. Just the normal road grit and brakedust seems to abrade off the silver top coat and reveals the black undercoat. It doesn't seem to take much mileage to do it. The wheel manufacturer must miss putting a clearcoat finish on some of the wheels it makes.
It seems that most M5's do not have this problem. I can't imagine some of the folks on this site tolerating deteriorating wheel finish without bringing it to everyones' attention. I can only recall that about 4 or 5 people have mentioned it in the last two years.
By the way, I must have gotten lucky. I don't remeber the rep's name being Erik Lucksinger, but I could be wrong. However. the first thing he tried to do was tell me it was my fault. That didn't fly for long and they ended up replacing the wheels. The new ones seem to be doing a lot better and are not getting the splotchy spots yet (Knock on wood).
I experienced two of my wheels discoloring and asked the serivce representative (Matt Moody) at Leith BMW (Raleigh, NC) to evaluate the problem while the vehicle was in for routine service. There was also another M5 owner (2000 model, Avis Blue) who overheard me asking about the problem and notified Matt that all four of his wheels have also discolored.
Matt asked a few questions about my cleaning procedure and if I ever coated the wheels with any harmful solution or detergent. I have always used the same saop solution used to wash the entire car.
Matt informed the service manager who came over and examined the wheels on my car and the other gentleman's. The service manager agreed that this was a manufacturing flaw and would order new wheels for us. I did receive my two new wheels and had them installed free of charge about 10 days later. They ordered the other M5 owner 4 new wheels. I have not spoken to him since the wheels were ordered and can't verify if he ever received them.
I hope this information helps any other M5 owners with this problem. I understand that this usually occured on many 2000 models and early 2001 vehicles.
Im having the same problem as jim. theirs lots of little black blotches. Im thinking of the the same thing, that is getting
new ones under warranty. I barely drive the car to work so i think the rim is in good condition other then the stupid dots.
Im having the same problem as jim. theirs lots of little black blotches. Im thinking of the the same thing, that is getting
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