mandyfig

Sorry for your lost time and $. Chromed rims have been a sore spot for many people. hence if they are not factory chromed wheels, I would stay away from them.

There's a lot of finger pointing. Ever wonder why they (whoever is selling chromed rims) do not mention the risks?

mspearl95

Old thread I know. Not sure if this is already common knowledge, but 2RX owners may do well to inspect their factory 18" rims for cracks on occasion. Today I sold a set of 4ES wheels to someone who owns a 2005 RX330 AWD- recently they were driving on the highway, and the front passenger wheel completely left the vehicle. It turns out the rim had broken off completely, where the 5 spokes connect to the center hub. Luckily everyone was ok, but he had the rest of his wheels inspected, and two others also had developed hairline cracks in the same place. The cracks start on the inside of the wheel and work their way out, so you don't notice them from the outside. As these cars age, this could become more of an issue. He said he was the second owner, and the car had been well taken care of it's whole life, and has always been in the PNW, so no salt roads to cause issues. Car has 280k. Just a heads up!

ChemEng

Thanks @mspearl95 for sharing this story with us. I'm sure a lot of people including myself don't pay any attention to wheels and their mechanical integrity. Do you know if this is a specific proplem to 18" chrome wheels, or it can happen with all wheel sizes from that era? Mine are the basic 16" lexus wheels.

mspearl95

Yeah I've never given a thought about wheel integrity on any vehicle I've owned. I don't know anything about the potential extent of the issue, but the wheels on the affected RX were the 18" five-spoke alloys. We also have a 2005 RX with the same 18 inch wheels, so I'll definitely be going over them to make sure they are sound.