Alloy Corrosion

andycalvia

Full Member
Oct 20, 2004
279
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38
Ayrshire
Hi all,

I have a 2016 Leon with 35k miles. I have noticed corrosion blisters on 3 of the alloys. Is this something that should be covered in the anti corrosion bodywork warranty?

Anyone experienced something similar of the 17" FR wheels?
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
Do you have any pictures of the corrosion blisters?

Don‘t know if Seat’s warranty would be the same as VW’s but under VW’s warranty, wheels are covered under the general new car 3 year factory warranty rather than the bodywork corrosion warranty. So when the car gets to three years old, the wheels aren’t covered.

Corrosion blisters on alloys are normally the result of stone chip damage. If that’s what’s happened to yours, then even of wheels are covered, I dare say Seat are likely to say the damage is the result of an ‘external influence‘ rather than as a result of a defect in the wheel or the original paint / powder coat / lacquer coating that was applied to the wheel when it was manufactured.
 

andycalvia

Full Member
Oct 20, 2004
279
28
38
Ayrshire
Thanks for the reply, the corrosion was present at the last service which was within warranty but I forgot to mention it to them. Is part of the service not a corrosion check?

Only one section has slight kerb damage the rest of the corrosion there is no obvious factor for. I've attached the pictures any further thoughts?
 

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BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
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Wow they are in bad nick for 4 years old

even the bolts and centre caps look shot!
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
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Wow they are in bad nick for 4 years old

even the bolts and centre caps look shot!

Agree - they do look quite bad..

A painted / powder coated finish like the OP has on their wheels is usually very durable and can withstand most of what the British weather throws at it.. The powder coated alloys on my current VW have been on the car for almost four years and three months - so a similar age to the OP’s wheels - and they’re virtually indistinguishable from new. It’s usually diamond cut alloys that have poor durability and can suffer from premature corrosion issues.

i had corrosion issues on a couple of the diamond cut alloys around the centre caps on my last car (Mk6 Golf). The centre caps on those wheels were replaced under warranty, and I‘m reasonably certain that the dealer removed the centre caps by levering them out with something like a small bladed implement from the front of the wheel, and they damaged the lacquered surface around the centre bore in the process. Those wheels then suffered from white worm corrosion around the centre bore.

Is it possible that the centre caps on your wheels have been removed using a similar method to that used by the VW dealer on mine, and the paint / powder coating has been damaged in the process? If so and the damage was right on the edge of the wheel’s centre bore, you’d be unlikely to notice the damage until it developed into bubbling and blistering as yours has. Also, harsh cleaning products could damage the finish on alloy wheels over time. Whether or not harsh / inappropriate cleaning products would degrade the finish so that it suffers from bubbling and blistering I don’t know, but could possibly be a contributory factor if something like an acid based cleaning product has been used.

Alternatively, would you know if your wheels have ever been refurbished? If so and if the quality of the refurb was below par, then it’s possible they could prematurely suffer from a deterioration in the finish.
 

andycalvia

Full Member
Oct 20, 2004
279
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38
Ayrshire
I've had car since new and never had the wheels refurbished.

The car gets a thorough clean weekly at my work (car hire firm) but I never use anything more than standard off the shelf car wash soap. I never use the chemicals we use on our fleet, the only reason I do it at work is because the powerhose is about 3 times more powerful than my karcher at home.

I do however live right on the coast, so I don't know if that would perhaps affect the rate of corrosion. That said I have an 18 year old Alfa 147 and it's alloys are still pristine and it gets cleaned and stored in a similar fashion.

Think it's worth trying Seat Customer Care?
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
I've had car since new and never had the wheels refurbished.

The car gets a thorough clean weekly at my work (car hire firm) but I never use anything more than standard off the shelf car wash soap. I never use the chemicals we use on our fleet, the only reason I do it at work is because the powerhose is about 3 times more powerful than my karcher at home.

I do however live right on the coast, so I don't know if that would perhaps affect the rate of corrosion. That said I have an 18 year old Alfa 147 and it's alloys are still pristine and it gets cleaned and stored in a similar fashion.

Think it's worth trying Seat Customer Care?
Could be the salt air!
But could also be the cleaning products. Depends whats in them i guess. Maybe harsher than you think.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
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Salt air isn't going to help but my money is going on the pressure washer. The last thing you want is to hit your car with a jet that's even more powerful than your domest one! Even those can take paint clean off a car. My guess is you've hit weak points on the paint with the pressure washer and opened cuts in the paint. Once is all it would take.

I've seen flakes of paint on the ground after a guy pressure washed his car! That was years ago and I'm sure paint is better these days but I wouldn't risk it. Too easy to get to close and do damage. Using an even more powerful washer is just asking for it.
 
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SRGTD

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May 26, 2014
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Salt air isn't going to help but my money is going on the pressure washer. The last thing you want is to hit your car with a jet that's even more powerful than your domest one! Even those can take paint clean off a car. My guess is you've hit weak points on the paint with the pressure washer and opened cuts in the paint. Once is all it would take.

I've seen flakes of paint on the ground after a guy pressure washed his car! That was years ago and I'm sure paint is better these days but I wouldn't risk it. Too easy to get to close and do damage. Using an even more powerful washer is just asking for it.
That’s a really good point @Mr Pig. A guy I used to work with managed to pressure wash a large area of the clear coat off his wife’s Audi A3. That car had been repaired and it was an area of new paintwork where he managed to pressure wash the lacquer off, so it may have been a substandard repair. Having said that, it does go to show the type of damage that can be done.

i will hold my hand up and say I also use a pressure washer on my car. However, when I bought mine, I deliberately bought an entry level machine which isn’t that powerful because I was aware of the potential damage that could be done to paintwork. Also, the angle you hold the pressure washer lance to the bodywork is pretty important when washing a car; square-on, and there’s an increased risk of damage. Always best to hold the lance at an angle of no more than 45 degrees to the bodywork. Difficult to maintain that 45 degree or less angle on wheels though, due to the many different contours on a wheel’s face.
 

Dr.Dash

Active Member
Aug 30, 2015
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Midlands
There's no chance of that being covered under any anti corrosion warranty imo. Even making a bodywork claim is virtually impossible unless there are holes right through the panel.

It does look like pressure washer damage. Even the tyres are showing some browning which can result from excessive pressure washing. The very high pressure washers are so tempting to use, you can blast virtually all the dirty off a car, then you find a particularly mucky bit so you get up close to remove that, wheels obviously need blasting etc etc and in no time you've damaged the vehicle.

Generally If I wouldn't put my hand in front of it (pressure washer jet) then I wouldn't use it on a car. Only use fan jets, not the rotating blaster type, no closer than a foot and that should reduce the chance of damage.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
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The problem is that it's too easy to accidentally get too close with a pressure washer and all it takes is a split second to do damage. I have a pressure washer but it doesn't get used on the cars. A hose is quicker, safer and just as good. Rinse with the hose, sponge with foam and rinse off again.

Personally, I think one of the worst things you can do is wash your car too often!
 

andycalvia

Full Member
Oct 20, 2004
279
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Ayrshire
My ethos was I would never put my car through a car wash and always perceived jet washing as being the "safe" option.

Looks like I may have been wrong and in the pursuit of having a nice, clean and showroom condition car may have actually caused more damage than if I had left it, aside from the wheels the rest of the car looks immaculate though, so may just have to get them refurbished and from now on just wash the car with a standard garden hose.

Lesson learnt for me and a warning for others of the consequences of too much washing using jet hoses.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
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The paint finish on new wheels is not that great. They only put a heavy coat of paint on the front and the sharp edges from the casting process makes the paint bleed away from the rear edges of the spokes and other details. Once wheels are refurbed they are typically better painted than they were when new.
 
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