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I have an 03(May) Mondeo Zetec TDCi with the 9-spoke alloy wheels current on that model. The paint on all the wheels is bubbling with corrosion and I could peel it off in sheets by pulling gently with one finger, leaving a powdery corroded bare alloy surface underneath. The Ford badges in the wheel centres are also white and discoloured with corrosion and quite unsightly. When I complained to the Ford main dealer where I get it serviced he said that the anti-corrosion warranty didn't cover it. Moreover, as he didn't know the history of the car, the wheels might have been refurbished/resprayed and could be much older than the car, and thats what you get when you buy from car supermarkets (I bought it from a Ford dedicated Supermarket at 6 months /7000 miles and the wheels were immaculate then). I think Ford only introduced that 9 spoke model with the 03 plate so that can't be right. Can anyone out there confirm that? The inside of the wheels have large bare areas where the paint has peeled off completely and my local tyre technician tells me they are definitely not resprays. Has anyone else had this happen, and if so, what did you do? Surely the paint shouldn't fall off after only two and a half years?
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he said that the anti-corrosion warranty didn't cover it.
He's quite right. That applies to the bodywork only, and more than likely it's actually an anti-perforation warranty where a hole has to appear for the warranty to take effect.
As for the reason why your wheels have gone this way, do you use an alloy wheel cleaner at all? (such as the acid based ones)
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Does that damage them? I used Wonder Wheels all the time and my alloys look brand new.
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I have been advised not to use wonder wheels or most other wheel cleaners as in the long term they are very corrosive.The advice was given to me by a company that repairs and re-furnishes alloy wheels.
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No, I just go to the usual type of pull through car wash with pre-wash pressure jet. No specific alloy cleaner.
Phil W
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I have exactly the same type of car along with the 9-spoke wheels. Mine are okay except for where don't care tyre changers have damaged the laquer when wrenching off the wheel weights. The Ford badges in the centre have all started to show corrosion underneath the laquer.
I think that there is a serious manufacturing fault with your wheels. 2½ year old alloys should not degrade to that extent. I have 8-year old Alfa alloys that have been scored years ago and the laquer has not been lifted off by corrosion.
I would suggest that your alloys were not correctly prepared prior to laquer application. Surface debris and contamination or incorrect application of the laquer will give moisture every chance to find its way between the alloy and the laquer. Once this has taken place you will get crevice corrosion. This is one of the more aggressive forms of corrosion. Aluminiun will 'self-heal' normally (your aluminium ladder lasts for decades). But the presence of contaminants and possibly a degrading laquer will cause ionic species to be present that will promote further corrosion.
I would go back to Ford and ask them to demonstrate why they think your wheels look like they do. If they can't then they must surely replace them.
I'm afraid I don't know what the laquer is made of, but clearly it will be designed to withstand most or all easily available cleaning agents.
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I'd be wary of the place you bought it from - quick rub down and polish and a squirt of laquer can make kerbed alloys look ok long enough to get them off the forcourt.
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There is no need to use products like Wonder Wheels on a regular basis. Just give the alloys a good regular wash with warm water and once a year a nice polish. Wonder Wheels is a great product for removing really baked on brake dust, but the point is if you regularly clean them, these products are not needed.
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If you're going to use any powerful cleaner in the wheels,do them off the car;some are not good for discs and calipers.
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Err guys, I thought Philter is having problems with corrosion of alloys beneath the laquer. There didn't seem to be any intention or possibility of cleaning the things...
The laquer, I believe, used to coat alloys is polyurethane. There are various types, depending on the environment it is to be used in. Strong acids and caustic liquids will attack it and whilst they may not go right through on first application, the surface will be damaged such that dirt and debris will be harder to remove the second sime around.
Organic liquids such as acetone and trichloroethane will also dissolve polyurethane.
All of these liquids are unlikely to have been used on the alloy as they are not very easy to get hold of in large quantities
Brake fluid is pretty nasty stuff. Has some of this been dripped onto the alloy to start things off.
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Thanks guys, especially Red Baron, thats very helpful. One thing puzzles me - you seem to be describing clear laquer as a sealant on bare alloy metal if I am reading you right, rather than silver metallic paint. What I have here is silver metallic paint on these alloys. Where the paint is lifting it is still silver metallic but is peeling off a corroded alloy surface underneath. What are yours like on your mondeo? You can tell the difference by the particulate nature of the metal flakes in metallic paint if you magnify it enough. I shall take a wheel off tomorrow and have a close look at the insides to see if they are the same as the outsides. There are certainly no scratches or marks under the paint that would be evidence of previous over-sprayed "kerbing". I'm well aware of the marks you get having resprayed many a set of wheel trims in my time.
I would also have seriously expected the full AA inspection I had before delivery to have picked up bodged up wheels on a 6 month old car. Does anyone know which year these 9-spokers were first introduced?
Phil W
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If the car was a 'Ford Direct' vehicle then in my experience of owning a few Ford Direct cars they will have had some sort of alloy wheel refurbishment done to at least one of the wheels.
I had a W reg Ford Direct Mondeo, it had been a rental car, only 12k on clock but had every alloy refurbished, not very well on very close inspection.
My partner's 52 plate Ford Direct Focus has a patchwork of repairs on two of her four alloys, again a low mileage car that was originally a Ford Motor Company demonstrator.
Are all four wheels showing the same symptoms?
PP
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Yes, they're all the same, some worse than others. I bought the car 6 months old from "Fords of Winsford" but it was originally supplied to the first owner by Bristol Street Ford in Gloucester.
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The wheels have seen better days on my 02 Mondeo - the centre caps are showing signs of corrosion, half the plastic caps have come off the wheel nuts leaving them rusty and the fronts have a bit of kerb damage on them. The design of the 9 spokes doesn't help as the bead of the rim protrudes well past the rim protection strip on the tyre.
I have found a place that will refurb them and either paint or powder coat them for about £30 a wheel which I'd be quite happy to pay, but I haven't really got any means of leaving the car with no wheels for any length of time. I'm keeping my eye out for a cheap spare set of wheels on ebay to tide me over whilst I get the originals refurbed.
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The 17" alloys on my '02 Ghia X look externally pretty much as good as new after 95k however I have had a slight problem with corrosion around the valves causing slight air loss, even fitting rubber valves in place of the original metal ones did not help much, I have had the valves replaced, the holes cleaned and a sealer applied however I still lose about 3 psi a week out of one wheel around the valve.
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Philter,
Yes you're probably right. I forgot about the paints applied to the alloy first. I say paints as there may be a primer applied before the silver colour. However, the surface preparation details still stand. The polyurethane laquer will not be a water based paint, but I don't know about others...they may be water based.
The only problem areas on my alloys are where damage was caused as balancing weights were pulled off. Here the alloy coating has been flaked away. The whitish corrosion has not appeared underneath.
I get the impression that the 9-spoke was introduced before 03. A call to a Ford dealer should answer that.
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