W204 AMG Wheel Laquer Problem

[BEALEDUK]

The two rear wheels on my 2009 W204 C220Sport look pretty horrid (see pic.) I expected my dealer to replace them under warranty but apparently the factory are refusing to honour replacements unless they are sent back to Germany for inspection. I've been told I have to pay the cost of two weels (approx. £300) and hope to get reimbursed at a later date!!

Anyone had any similar experiences?

 

[tiger]

I had the same with 3 of mine, i took them off for my winter wheels and MB sent them all for refurbishment. Somewhere down south and came back looking like new and all freshly diamond cut etc. cant remember the name but the receipt was a shock....

 

[Dr-Nab]

front two wheels on the GL started to rot on the barrels and insides of the spokes but got them replaced under warranty which is just as well since the invoice would have been over £2k

What you're experiencing there is typical of the diamond cut AMG wheels, there is no lacquer or very little lacquer around the insides of the hub and where the centre cap sits so when standing water sits there and maybe the wheels have been cleaned with something too harsh they will go milky and effectively rot. I had my 18" twin spokes on the E-cabrio refinished in gloss black to get around that issue

If you kick up a fuss they should replace them under warranty as they know the diamond cut AMG alloys are problematic. My dealer told me to keep an eye on the rears before the warranty is up incase I needed them replacing as well

The dealership should only need to take a close up picture of the rotting area and complete picture of the alloy(s) affected and email them to MB UK to authorise a replacement wheel, they can either accept the pictures from you via email or they can take the pictures themselves, if they refuse to do anything and insist on you paying to replace or refurb it is because they want to make a bit of money out of you. The only time they will not pay 100% the cost of the alloys is if they are kerbed.

Hope that helps

 

[Simon_M]

Echo what's been said. It is a known problem with the style of wheel.

Dealers will push back very hard on this, usually using kerb damage as an excuse even when the corrosion is in the centre of the wheel which is where it normally starts.

They will also blame strong wheel cleaners even if you use nothing more than regular car shampoo.

Push....

 

[jaymanek]

Been a problem since they used diamond cut with lacquer since late 90's.... It just doesnt last...

 

[BEALEDUK]

So I have a choice, pay up £600 now and hope that it's reimbursed when the wheels are inspected in Germany or put up with my wheels looking like the above. I wish they's just say yes or no before I have to pay. It doesn't seem reasonable to me but I'm pretty convinced there is nothing else I can do - I called MB customer services and they just said "That's the procedure". Maybe it's time to look for a different car, the service can't be any worse that this!!!

 

[paulmm]

Choices

You do have a choice ,Take the wheels to lepsons in Gillingham they will cost around £90 per corner to sort out .


They will be as good as new !

It will happen again and MB know this as well. You will struggle to get any Dealer support MB Dealers are awful and only want to entertain you when you are putting your hand in your pocket .

 

[davidjpowell]

The procedure used to be pics to authorise. Mine got knocked back on unrelated kerning. A strong letter to mb saw me paying a very modest contribution in the end.

 

[Hammy]

My wheels look exactly like those in the photograph. Mercedes are also refusing to honour their warranty obligations unless I cough up £700. A truly shocking state of affairs. This co-incides with the last 6 months of my Agility agreement so I have done a deal to trade the car in for a new Audi. On top of the injector issue, numerous other problems and the horrific running costs associated with Mercedes I will be glad to see the back of it. One of the worst cars I have ever owned.

 

[Frugal]

Thankfully mine are still OK but they've only lived through a single winter. These are expensive rims and the consistent rot from centre looks like a worrying common problem so I hoipe this gets sorted out before I'm caught.

 

[kamalpatel12448]

So as many say, this is an issue with Diamond cut finished wheels. A common source of the issues come from road damage where the lacquer is chipped/damaged, or when you a tyre change as the centre of the wheel is held on the balancing machine with equipment that may not be kind to the edges around the centre cap.

I have a few threads on this so have a look at them, not all dealers are bad, but they natuarally don't want to pay for issues that are not down to manufacturing. I now have a shiny new set for summer and a refrub set for winter, let us see how my wheels survive over time.

Kamal

 

[mitsywoo]

Hi yes I have a clk320 with amg alloys, they looked pretty much like that when I purchased the car it was only 2yrs 9mnths old...so got the dealers to re coat, obviously no problem..but allas they have gone again. I'm in process of getting a quote, I wont go to main dealer tho..