Going to the dealer tomorrow morning to remedy another problem (rearview mirrors no longer pan down in reverse). I'll ask them to check out the finish on the rims and see if the warranty will cover it. Will let you all know how it turns out.
Okay guys - finally presented this rim problem to the dealer. At first the service tech said there's no way for brake dust to embed in the finish. He went and got some sort of Lexus super polish and started rubbing on the area. He concluded that it wasn't a brake dust stain, but an erosion of the actual finish. The more he rubbed, the more black area appeared as he was wiping away the actual finish. He thought I must have used some sort of corrosive cleaner that had etched away the finish and was exposing the black underneath.
But then he went and got another guy that concluded that if that were the case, the problem would be all over the wheels, not just on the edges. His theory was that it must be a combination of brake dust, something corrosive, water, heat, etc... He suggested that Lexus should replace the rims with new ones - or at least some rims of another new car that had upgraded to chrome.
Then a third guy showed up to take pictures for documentation, which have to be submitted to some sort of regional manager type guy. I'm not sure what will happen there. They finally sent me on my way telling me that they'd have to order the new rims regardless of what they decided with the warranty. He's supposed to call me when the new rims arrive. Hopefully, they'll just call it a defective finish and replace them at no charge. Stay tuned...
Any updates from the dealer? Did they hook you up?
Not yet. They called me about a week ago and told me they were waiting for some regional manager guy to swing through town. They said he would want to look at my rims and that he would have to "approve" the replacement. I thing I'm still waiting for that guy to come through...
I am new to this site looking for info on stained rims and I saw your pictures and my car rims look exactly the same way!! I noticed it about 2 weeks ago, but just go out this weekend to attempt to clean them. Obviously with no luck- have you had any feedback from the dealership on this yet. That is going to be my next call. Please advise, thanks.
The dealer service tech called me this morning to let me know that the Lexus engineer (based on photographs) has miraculously determined that something corrosive has been applied to the rims. Not necessarily a cleaner or chemical purposefully applied, but perhaps something from the road while driving... In any case, he has determined that it is not covered under warranty. Since he was able to determine all this from some digital photographs, he must be a really smart guy...
Now, I'm in a holding pattern waiting for some Lexus Regional Manager to come to town, at which point, he may override the engineer and warranty them anyway on a sort of goodwill/customer satisfaction basis. I guess next time I get ready to drop $60K on a car, I should look at BMWs...
I am about to make the call and I will take it in and have a feeling I am going to get the same treatment- it's funny you mentioned the BMW- I know these aren't going to be covered w/o a huge fight, so I started researching 2006 BMW's about an hour ago. At least I have a little ammo going in now with your story. Thanks for the info and good luck. If you receive any other info. please keep me in the loop.