Just purchased a '19 EX350 that looks really great. Noticed as I was detailing it, that 2 of the wheels look off. Is this normal? Is the clear coat coming off? This is a "Lexus Certified" 2 year bumper car so I have a warranty. What would you do? It's just on 3 spokes.

 

That's not normal. The clear coat is failing.

Since it's Lexus Certified, take it back to the dealer immediately. That warranty should cover wheel refinishing for a factory defect. Don't let them tell you it's just cosmetic or wear and tear; push to have it fixed.

 

Agree something looks wrong. It may be water working under the clearcoat and it hasn’t peeled yet (it will if that is the case). I can’t say for sure. IDK if the warranty covers that but it does not hurt to try.

Frankly, Lexus wheel treatments have been crap since c. 2007-ish or whenever they went to the dumb “hyper silver” finish that fails so miserably. I always try to go to the simplest wheel finish of theirs that I can, and I’ve had to refinish quite a few wheels when the finish failed. It was worried about the cost/hassle/reliability of the NC wheels on the new ES UL, but then I found they were vapor chrome deposition. That’s a more high-tech finish to apply, but much harder to screw up in applying. I’m thankful.

 

Typical, CPO vehicles get the curb rash sanded down on the wheels. I have seen a lot worse touch-up work on the painted area of the wheels.

Look at the unpainted areas, you can see where the brushed finish has been sanded down. The arrow shows where the brushed finish ends, and the sanded area begins.

 

Ah, this makes more sense. It’s too even and regular to be accidental or creeping damage. On the upside, re-clearing is not so hard if desired.

 

someone may have gotten too aggressive in their cleaning methods.