LexusGSFGO

Anyone else having this problem? It must be from the brake dust, but it seems to be embedded in the wheel. I have my car professionally hand-washed once a week (it's obsidian) including the wheels. The detailer does not know how to remove it, he says it something about Lexus wheels. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks,

mrpartsman

is it on all the wheels, or just the front ones, what I did was u get does sprys, Armor all makes it, u spray it on the wheels and that protects the wheels from the brake dust,the problem is the brake dust from the brakes is causing it, so u have to clean it more often , sorry to hear it, I hope u get it cleaned.

LexusGSFGO

Thanks, and yes it's on all the wheels. It's not as noticeable as it seems in the picture - you have to look close, but it seems to be getting worse. Does anyone know of any product that I can try?

BrianFerg

I'd be careful with the armor all brake dust barrier product. It has made the wheels on our SUV a mess and actually more difficult to clean. It almost acted like glue.

I have a bottle from our dealer of something they wrote on the outside called body solvent that takes care of anything I have ever seen but can't be bought at a store. Maybe check with the dealer detailing guys I am sure they have it.

Good luck.

Winson6628

It kinda looks like u cleaned ur wheels with an wheel cleaner and it's kinda cleaned the clear coat sum on the wheels. Yea it looks like the brake dust makes it visible. C if using alcohol would help. I'd probably bring it to the dealership and ask them about it.

lexesty72

It looks like hard water spots mixed with brake dust and baked onto the wheel. I have one of the wheels look similar to yours but not as bad and I couldn't get rid off neither. So, I had to use 2 coats of the wheels wax on the other 3 wheels just in case, and make sure all the water is dried before driving off.

sydtoosic

do not use any products. take it to lexus and tell the service manager you want new wheels,,, they will try to repaint them,,, tell them "HELL NO". you want new wheels. mine is not as bad as yours. i have 1 or 2 spots,,, dark spots like sharpie marks on each wheel. it's under the clear coat. a lexus rep is coming to look at my wheels. but at the end of the day i will be getting new wheels. do not accept anything less. it's crazy how you spend your money,,, find a problem and they act as though they don't want to hear from you after you drive off. if i find something wrong i make it my business to become a PITA.

Mojo122

Agree. If several are experiencing this problem it's a manufacturing defect and covered under warranty.

jtrue28

Looks like whatever brand of tire dressing is the root cause.

LexusGSFGO

Why do you say that so definitively? Can you expand on your opinion? To me, that seems doubtful for a couple of reasons. First, I could understand how tire dressing may spill over slightly to the perimeter of the wheels, but I don't see how it it could migrate all the way down the spoke towards the center - and all 4 wheels exhibit the same symptoms.

Second my detailer works mostly for the nearby Lexus dealer and has done so for many years. I think maybe it is some sort of defect in the way the clear coat was applied. I've noticed this for a while, but always assumed it was new brake dust. I just never noticed that it was there immediately after the wheels have been washed.

Anyone else having this problem? Look close because the dark color of the wheels mask it. Thanks again everyone for posting. This forum has really been an amazing resource!

jscgs350

I have the lux wheels, and don't have the same issue, so perhaps it's isolated to the F Sport wheels. I certainly get a ton of brake dust, but I use Armorall's wheel protectant with excellent success in keeping the wheels looking like they've just been cleaned.

I've used that stuff since day 1 on the GS, and for quite a while on custom wheels on my G35 until I switched to ceramic pads. Unlike a couple other comments, I've had great experiences with that product.

Hope you find a solution, or root cause.

- JC

bradtopp

I've seen this before and I would suspect your "professional" detailer used a product meant for raw aluminum (no clear coating) to clean your wheels. If that isn't the case I suspect he left whatever "wheel cleaner" he uses on way too long without rinsing. If that isn't it I suspect he didn't dilute his wheel cleaner properly (he most likely buys concentrated wheel cleaner and dilutes). Another mistake he possibly made was to overspray the tire cleaner onto the wheels without quickly rinsing them off.

Professional or not it appears to me that he made a bad mistake. You will never get him to admit to the mistake. This is the exact reason why I don't let other folks touch my cars when it comes to detailing. No one can possibly care about my cars as much as I care.

Also, I have 2 GS F-Sports and the wheels are treated like the body paint. Clean them only with soap and water, nothing else. So far they are perfect.

This is just my opinion as a very dedicated car detailer (it's my hobby). No hard feelings if you don't agree.

dseag2

Yes, you have to use a cleaner meant for clear coat and wash it off quickly. I wash my wheels much more often than my car. I Always use Armor All Wheel Cleaner on the front ones and just water on the back. They always need to be dried as well or they will develop spots.

jj14

Try Sonax wheel cleaner. Unless this is under the clearcoat, it should be able to get it out.
Can you feel it if you run your finger (or fingernails) on the wheel?

UpSideDown

Its the wheel cleaner. The wheels on my old 09 250 sport (the wheels are in same color as yours) had that kind of spots here and there. It was caused by turttle wax wheel cleaner. I switched to sonax wheel cleaner after that. Much better.