Ugly Chrome Wheels

[RBWall]

I have a 05 330 the chrome wheels did not survive the Dayton Ohio winter of 2008. The plating has started to peel and flake off. And the wheels look like crap. I find it hard to believe that Lexus would product a wheel that would fail like these have.

Has any others out there had the same problem??

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Bruce Wall

[blk_on_blk]

Yeah, I have chrome RX330 wheels on my RX300, and the wheels are showing some pitting and discoloration. I keep them regularly polished with metal polish, and that keeps them from getting any worse... but the pathway is there for corrosion. Without maintenance, the corrosion would work its way under the chrome plating and it would flake. A full strip and replace/rechrome is needed. There's a guy online who does that with Lexus wheels (an exchange process), but it's about the same price as aftermarket RX330 "knock-offs". Personally, I would go with replacement wheels and get them 8" wide rather than the 7" that's stock.

[1990LS400]

I don't see chrome wheels as an option on the 05 RX so I assume they were a dealer option and not an official Lexus option.

I had a similar situation on the 2000 LS400 I purchased in 2003 after it came off a three year lease. Chrome versions of the standard wheels were an option on the 00 LS. Since chrome versions of the Platinum Series wheels were not available, the dealer equipped the car with Platinum Series wheels chromed by an aftermarket company in California.

The aftermarket chrome wheels were badly pitted when I bought the car in 2003 due to the lessee using the chrome wheels through three Kansas City winters.

Before I purchased the 00 LS, I verified that the chrome wheels would be replaced under the car's original 4 year/50,000 mile warranty. Because the car was originally sold/leased with the aftermarket chrome wheels, the dealer provided the same 4 year/50,000 miles warranty on them as the rest of the car had.

After five years of non-winter use, the replacement aftermarket chrome wheels still look perfect. I have a set of inexpensive aftermarket wheels from Tire Rack for winter use with snow tires.

Several people on this forum have said that the official Lexus chrome wheels have a clear coat which makes the chrome hold up a lot better.

If your RX is still within warranty, contact the dealer for replacement. It might be worth a shot even if the car is out of warranty.

Most people I know who use chrome wheels in the summer have non-chrome wheels to use with snow tires in the winter. I know a couple of people who use their chrome wheels all year round and they look like crap.