cracked rims on a 2007 RX350
 

Has anyone else experienced cracked rims on a 2007 RX350? Checking on a loud noise from the rear wheel while traveling on the highway I discovered that four of the five spokes on the rim were cracked all the way through. Does anyone have an idea, other than an issue of impact, what might cause the rim to fail this way?

Besides heavy impact? Perhaps faulty unit off the production line. However, more likely the former than the latter. Are you sure it is cracked all the way through and not something else?

Pictures?

My wife tells me she experienced no instances of heavy impact. I know I didn't. Four of the five spokes cracked all of the way through. I am thinking it is a manufacturer defect, but the dealer is telling me the warranty has expired.

I would wager defect which brings into question the remaining wheels. They may be part of a bad batch. I wonder if x-rays can be realistically taken. In any event I would be shopping for all new rims. I wouldn't let my family out on those.

It's good that no one was hurt.

Your 2007 isn't so far out of warranty. On the assumptions that 1) there is no obvious evidence of abuse and 2) that the wheel is cracked to the extent you describe, your dealer could and should offer to cover your wheel(s) as a matter of customer good will (not to mention damage control over a potentially serious safety issue). Even under abuse your wheel should have bent somewhere before failing, leading me to suspect defective material or bad casting process.

As a practical matter, there's a whole continuum of possible outcomes, ranging from free replacement of all the wheels, free replacement of the defective wheel, replacement of the wheel(s) at reduced price or dealer cost, etc. to zero help and you buy rims from a salvage yard. For your safety you probably want to have replacement rims reasonably soon as Carver suggests. Although time definitely favors the dealer, I'd make an appointment with the SM and GM to explain your situation (calmly and professionally) and ask for as broad a warranty exception as they can allow. Ask what they can do for you so that your wife can feel confident to drive your Lexus again. If you don't get satisfaction I am betting that there are members here who can provide great advice on working with the Lexus national customer service organization and perhaps other possible solutions. I hope this works out for you.

Thank you for the advice. I too am concerned about the other rims and watching them carefully. Regarding the warranty, I had the five-year platinum which expired at the end of April, 2011, so it really is not much out of warranty. Mileage is under 100K. I will be talking with the dealer SM.

You should be able to get some goodwill on this since you had extended warranty. Depending on the dealer. Good luck. That's the 1st time I have heard of cracking rims. These rims are made by Enkei, arent they?

Wow. I would carefully inspect those before I drove anywhere. You're likely to lose a wheel if your not careful friend. Either way, get it fixed ASAP my man.

Post pics if possible please.

I don't know who manufactured the rims, but there is one more aspect to them that may or may not be relevant. When the car was new, before delivery to me, the dealer arranged to have the manufacturer supplied rims chromed at a local source. Does anyone know if that process could have weakened the rims?

The chrome plating process would not cause the damage you suggest. Small electrical charge is used while the rims are in a bath of solution.

I will say that it is possible the rims that went to the shop to be chrome plated were not the same that came back.

Edit:
There is usually an exchange process.

That's interesting, RX330 is correct, the wheels you turned in were not the wheels you got back. There is every possibility that wheel suffered damage prior to being chromed and put on your car.

Wheel mongers can do amazing things to scuffed up wheels.

Cracked Rims on my 2007 RX350
 

Two years ago, I drove 1 freeway and stopped at a friend's home, then continued on two other freeways -- a total distance of appx. 65 miles. I had been hearing a rubbing noise. As I made a U-Turn in front of my sister's house to park, I heard a loud "pop" and the right front side of my 2007 RX350 dropped to the street with my car still rolling, metal against cement. I gently applied the brakes, put the car in park and got out. A man who had been washing his car was running down the street to catch my right front tire! The rim had cracked, leaving the center of the rim on the vehicle and the outside rim and spokes still attached to a fully inflated tire. Lexus repaired the damaged rim, bumper and everything else without charging me. Now, in Aug. 2011, I discovered a hair-line crack in the driver's front rim. Lexus called to tell me that two other rims are "bent" and asked if I had hit any potholes or done any off-road driving. My answer to both questions was "no." The person who called me told me that each rim would cost appx. $1,000 to replace because my extended warranty does not cover rims. I told him the defective rims have nothing to do with the warranty. The rims are covered because Lexus sold me defective rims! I am now dealing with someone who has contacted the manufacturer of the rims. Luckily, I have amazing pictures of the first disaster and if Lexus won't replace the rims, not only will I contact Lexus headquarters here in Southern California, I will have my RX350 towed to NBC, CBS & ABC and start a media blitz! I also plan on contacting the Feds if Lexus or the rim manufacturer won't step up to the plate.

Mozetta Burks
alwaysateacher@yahoo.com

Bingo! That's probably what happened. Maybe google to see if this is a common thing with lexus oem rims.

You usually don't get back your wheels. Our dealership has sold lots of chrome wheels with no problem. But, we make sure we use a reputable company that only uses OEM wheels. I wonder if what you got was chinese knock-off replicas or such. They should have a raised "JLL" on the wheel which is the Japanese equivalent of a DOT approval. We did receive one set that had "JLL" stamped into it like it was trying mimic a JLL approval. We didn't use the set of wheels or that company anymore.

cracked rim on RX350
 

Follow-up ...the dealer confirmed that the rim was chromed locally and it is unlikely that the chromed rim was the same one given to them by the dealer when the car was new. Therefore I have no idea if the rim I received was new or if it even met manufacturer specifications. The dealer also held to the position that because the rim was chromed locally, the manufacturer warranty did not apply. The dealer arranged to have my spare rim chromed to match the others (charged me $200 and said the cost was $300) and I purchased a new rim to have as the spare. I also had to purchase a new tire pressure sensor because the one on the broken rim could not be removed. The dealer took the position that the damage to the rim must have been caused by Discount Tire when they installed new tires on the vehicle. I doubt that, but I can't prove anything. I am happy I caught the problem before anyone was hurt or more damage was incurred. The net result was about $800 out of pocket and a lot of time and frustration. Thanks to all for your input. It was helpful.