Recently I purchased a 06 LS430 with very low mileage from a private party here in Las Vegas. Car is in an amazing condition and I don’t think it was ever driven in a rain since it doesn’t rain very often around here. The only upgrades from base models are chrome 18 inch wheels, cooled seats, and Mark Levinson sound. Color is white. Over all it has been very good experience and I am pretty happy with the car.
I have been following the CL website and I am grateful for all the great information from all the members and in the future I will try to contribute if I have something smart to say.
I also have a question about chrome wheels (original Lexus rims) on my car. I tried searching the forums on this issue but I couldn’t find any good info. Last night I was cleaning the car and I noticed that the chrome inside the wheel well is starting to peel off and expose copper colored surface. This is hard to notice but since my car was so clean I could actually see it. I checked all the other wheels and they seem just fine. Is this something other people have experienced and is it just a minor issue. I know that the old owner told me that the wheels had a five year warranty and if this is true I might complain to Lexus. Any advice will be welcome.
Thanks,
George

 

George,
Welcome to CL and congrats on the LS! You will certainly have a love affair with it! If the wheels are in fact factory then I would absolutely take it to Lexus provided you still have warranty. I am on my fourth car with chrome and have never experienced that. Enjoy reading through the posts, you will soon be an expert!
Keith

 

Generally the chrome wheels were dealer installed/port installed option... They usually have a contract with a local vendor that dips them in chrome, therefore inconsistency is always expected. If you still have the warranty then take it to the originating dealer and claim your warranty or you can have any local wheel fixing place to fix the one defective wheel (cost could be around 100per rim)

 

Any lexus dealer can look up the VIN and tell you if the wheel was factory chromed or not. The LS was available w/ factory chromes, but many dealers contract out to plate shops and have them chromed before they are initially sold. Cars equipped w/ factory chromes will also have a chrome spare wheel while the dealer never chrome the spare if it was done in the USA. So look to see if your spare wheel is chromed. That should be the first tip-off.

My LS430 ultra can equipped w/ "factory chromed wheels" (on the window sticker). If it just says "chrome wheels", they were added after arriving at the port. My LX has wheels chromed by the dealer.

 

Welcome to CL. I haven't had this issue with my chrome wheels but Jim offered some good suggestion about using the VIN or looking to the spare to see if chrome was factory or not. You may be able to use your factory warranty, warranty from original dealer or fix it somewhere else if it's not too bad yet. I've seen damaged chrome go from minor to larger quickly sometimes so sooner is better than later.

 

I would stay away from chrome wheels in the future and go polished or machined instead. Luckily you are in a dry location in Vegas. The chrome as you notice will start to pit and peel. Worse is when it causes your tires to lose air because of the deterioration. Happen to my factory and aftermarket wheels. The fix is to grind away the chrome where the tire bead meets the rim.

 

I have scrapes and curb rash on my factory chrome wheels. Two local bodyshops told me that there is no quality repair service for the wheels. They both said that all services like re-dips, etc. yield poor and / or short-lived results. The only real solution is a new wheel or 4 painted wheels that can be refinished.

 

Thanks a lot for all the great advice. It is always great to get multiple answers on a question like this. I guess I will check that spare wheel to see if it is chromed or not. It is full size wheel for sure but I don’t remember if it is chromed or not. I will get in touch with local Lexus dealership to see what they say about it. Is it possible to have five year warranty on the rims as the previous owner said if they were factory chromed rims? The original warranty that covered most of the car unfortunately expired last month before I noticed this.

Thanks