Our ’06 IS250 was purchased with the dealer having put on chromed OEM rims. Well, last week I was checking the tire pressures and the right-rear valve stem got stuck with all the air pouring out until I put the cap back on.

Not wanting to take our weekend trip to Santa Barbara under those conditions, I took the car over to Vista Lexus in Woodland Hills. They said although our rims were NOT under the manufacturer’s warranty, they would replace the valve anyway at no charge. They also washed the car and we were out of there in 45 minutes. Good service, but it’s interesting to note that those fancy wheels the local dealer puts on may not be covered under warranty.

yea they wont cover it but they will sure take your money to install and sell them to you??? i am sure if you put a good enough fight that the dealer will help you out with in reason...glad it worked out for you!

I was under the impression that the Lexus warranty covers all options installed by the dealer at the time of purchase. So wouldn't OEM chromed wheels be covered? I wonder if they consider a worn out valve just a 'wear' item, like tires or windshield wipers?

I was reviewing my insurance policy the other day and it actually states that all items installed at the time of purchase are covered, but items installed later are covered up to $1,000. So things like tint, Spider-G wheels, and the ground effects kit which were on my car are covered, but they wouldn't be covered for more than $1,000 if they were installed later.

I know many dealers offer chromed OEM rims, so what kind of warranty would you get if Lexus doesn't cover it? Just the dealer's? This is interesting for me because I just saw a relatively good priced chromed X-package rim at a local dealer.

most dealers just have the factory rim sent out and its not actually from the OEM. if this is the case then the dealer will only cover it for 12 months and they will fight you on it. but if its a true OEM part and installed before you take delivery of your car then yes it does follow the factory warranty. if installed after then its 12 months that they cover it. i think it all depends on your relationship with the dealer.

All dealerships send out the factory wheels to be chromed... AFAIK, there are no wheels for the IS that are chromed from the factory...

Are you sure you got this information correct?

I would have thought the valve is part of the tire, not the wheel. And the tire is not covered by Lexus warranty... I could see them telling you that.

http://www.lexus.com/models/IS/warranty/index.html

The service rep clearly said the rims, including the valve assembly were not covered. The car has only 8400 miles on it, so a limited warranty would not be a factor here.

And as I mentioned, he said the valve replacement would be at no charge prior to staring the work, so I didn’t see a need to argue. Of course, this dealer was not where we bought the car, so perhaps he's looking for our future business.

warranty for the chrome wheels would depend on the chroming company. the ones we have gotten in the past were from luxury wheels in colorado and i believe they come with either a 36/36k or a 48/50k warranty on the chrome finish

Dealerships take on a huge responsibility when they install anything non OEM. Although the items will not be covered under any kind of factory warranty the dealer will suck it up. That's why most Lexus dealers look for high caliber vendors who stand behind their product.

So if one of those high tech pressure sensors fails in service, it is not warranted? You've got to be kidding. I could see denying a claim if there is obvious damage to the tire or wheel, but if the valve fails (as yours did) I can't see how that would not be covered. Besides, fixing it costs less than a buck. You said it held air just fine with the cap on? It takes all of a minute to remove the core and install a new one.

I am amazed they would give you any grief over this at all.

Hold on...EVEN if its not lexus OEM, you bought it from the dealer and the dealer installed it.

It should be covered by them. And not by the lexus warranty. So they are selling these aftermarket chromed wheels without any bubbling or defect warranty? That is BS.

1) Its similar to getting your windshield replaced. They have warranties against leakage, etc. If it leaks, they will fix it. Or if I buy a tire from NTB and have them install it, if it leaks, they fix it or replace it as long as its under warranty(and not the users fault).

2) The Valve stem is oem, its a part of the tpms. They may have chromed the cap and cover, but the stem itself should be OEM. So it should be covered.

I see your point and agree. But in that he said up front there would be no charge, I just let it pass. Besides, I felt a little guilty because the valve failed after I removed my air compressor from it when I added some air.

Maybe it was covered, but did a slight of hand trick, and said they will do it for free, to make it look like great customer service.

I bet you are right... Dealers are very shady like that...