I recently noticed that the alloy rims fitted to my 2002 Octavia L&K were showing signs of corrosion blistering.

The car is washed regularly and is garaged every night.

The corrosion started sometime between three and four years from new and between 30 and 40K miles.

Two wheels now show severe blistering but the other two are still perfect.

Skoda UK are not interested!

They state that "this is fair wear and tear" and they can't consider any action as the three year warranty period has now expired.

I noted to them that I felt that a 50% failure rate after less than four years and 40K miles was not a fair performance but they are still not interested.

Has anyone else noted similar alloy corrosion after such a short time?

Is a 50% corrosion rate after less than four years reasonable?

I checked out all the used Skodas at my local dealership and although many cars are older than mine, none of them show the same corrosion pattern.

Any ideas as to what I should do next?

Maybe it's the environment that has accelerated the corrosion (although this wouldn't explain only 2 of the wheels) Do you live near the coast? salt sea air, or do you park in a builders yard, cement yard or similar during the day??

Out of interest, is it the front or rear wheels which are corroding more quickly??

I live more than 50 miles from the coast in the East Midlands area.

The car only travels on main roads to residential addresses and has not been exposed to any corrosive elements.

It is the front off-side and the rear near-side that have pitted; the other two wheels (and spare) are perfect.

It seems apparent to me that two of my wheels came from a bad batch but Skoda remain adamant that a 50% failure rate constitutes fair wear and tear.

I suggested that they should note this in all their marketing propaganda but I don't think they took me seriously.

My boss had this on his Y reg mercedes recently (which was purchased used) and totally differing from Skoda they contributed 50% towards the cost of new wheels.

Try another dealer or speak to Skoda UK Customer Services

It seems apparent to me that two of my wheels came from a bad batch but Skoda remain adamant that a 50% failure rate constitutes fair wear and tear.

I suggested that they should note this in all their marketing propaganda but I don't think they took me seriously.

Have you had any luck on this issue yet??

I would seek further advice on this. It seems that this could not be down to wear and tear, since the wheels affected are on opposite corners of the car. If your dealer, or Skoda UK can give you a valid reaon why the corrosion has happened to these wheels in this manner, then fair enough. But i don't think they will be able to, and as such it must be down to some other reason, i.e. the quality of the wheels.

Would it be worth having a chat with someone who fixes or refurbishes alloy wheels, for an indepentant 2nd opinion, someone credible, qualified?

JD

How about at some point they were both on the same axel and getting more brake dust then at some point during a tyre change over they got swapped over.

How about at some point they were both on the same axel and getting more brake dust then at some point during a tyre change over they got swapped over.

Was thinking that myself, but sounds like an odd swop.

My rear wheels suffer more from tar/ road salts than the front, which suffer more from brake dust.

When they swapped mine over they did all 4 off, then change 2, balance all 4 then put them back on. Fairly easy to do a swap like that in that case.

Even so a bit tight if they corrode this early on