gunslinger646

Howdy, Purchased my 2013 Grand Sport June of last year....Cleaned it up again yesterday with the break in the weather here in Cincinnati. Have noticed what appears to be pitting on all 4 of my wheels? Tiny pinhole spots on my wheels..you can feel it raised on the chrome. From 5 feet you cant see it...Of course it is bugging me to no end....standard Meguire
's wheel cleaner to help. Any suggestions as to what it is and how I can treat/eliminate the problem....Is this normal? Do I need a specialty product? Likely would not show up in the amateur pictures i could take....Thanks for the help!

Torchsport

Same thing has happened to my '11 GS.

lavla

I purchased my 2013 Grand Sport (new) last May and had a, somewhat, similar problem with my chrome wheels. You can see the 'bubbles" in the picture below. The wheel was fine but I know that over time one of the "bubbles" would pop and the chrome would begin to peel.
I brought it to the dealer for an oil change and told them about it. The service manager told me that he'd order a new wheel under warranty from the factory. He called me about two weeks later and told me to bring the car in because my new wheel had arrived. I'm glad to finally bring a good dealer story to the Forum. The dealer is Bridgewater Chevrolet (Formerly Royal Chevrolet) in Bridgewater, NJ.

Rockie Rocko

Ooooohh......I hope mine don't do that, I will be pissed. They are not cheap!

pokerpro

Its not the chrome that failing, rather the aluminum is pitting and pushing up on the chrome plating. There is nothing you can do to stop this cancer. You have to take them off and ship them to a quality plating company who will properly prepare the aluminum before the plating process begins.

Rockie Rocko

mine are factory wheels, If it happens they are going to fix them.

gunslinger646

Hmmmm.....Car still under warranty of course. I will be taking it into the dealer for a 1700 mile alignment adjustment soon, will address it with them at that time. Not very pleased. I've kept the car clean, surprised this could happen on all of my wheels. tried some wd-40 on a tip from someone else. Did not do anything. Have any other Grand Sport chrome wheel owner's experienced this?

Rockie Rocko

That's what i would do, I'm gonna be out their tomorrow looking at mine with a magnifying glass......LOL Getting tired of chevy using cheap parts.

Chevy Cust Svc

Hey gunslinger,

Sorry about the pitting on your wheels! I am happy you caught it early and also had a somewhat nice day in Cincy! If you would like us to get a case started for you in our system and contact your dealership prior to your visit, just let us know. We are more than willing to help!

Kelly J.
Chevrolet Customer Care

saplumr

I'm curious if GM warranties salt damage.

erikszr1

gm chrome wheels do cost a bunch but the quality is far from good. you think what you can see is bad....wait until you get new tires.....the part of the wheel where the tire seals at the bead will be so badly corroded youll be lucky to not have them leak forever....sorry guys. especially if you live northeast or similar climates. I ordered my Z with competition grey wheels after seeing the chrome fall of these when subjected to dampness on a regular basis.

Rockie Rocko

The only dampness mine sees is when I hand wash it. I also air dry and then use chamois to get the extra moisture off.

1968swbbigblock

This issue has been around for a whole host of years.
I had the chrome come off in sheets on my 04 SS.
Part of the issue comes from the lack of Hexavalent chrome.
This was great chrome but harmful to the environment.
What I will say is that GM should chrome the entire wheel - they currently only chrome the center and the front half of the barrel, I think this compromises the pretreatment process for the entire wheel which could lead to cross contamination across both the plated and unplated surfaces.

Rockie Rocko

Yea I sent my original OEM 1999 wheels off to a place in California and they chromed them for $500.00, and sent them back to me. I NEVER had a problem with them. The wheels that came on my 2013 G.S. almost 3 times the cost and they better not bubble or chip. I will have Chevy replace them, that is totally un acceptable......I hate to complain, but, this is my 4th Corvette. Fixing them s expensive.

BAKnBLK2010

My 2011 GS chrome wheels look like crap. I don't have the bubbles like the above pic but there is pitting and some kind of contamination probably from the excessive brake dust. The contamination won't come off either....

saplumr

Gotta keep the brake dust off...it's very corrosive.

BAKnBLK2010

I just bought the car 2 months ago. The damage was already done before I got it. I'm going to try and get them replaced as it is a GM certified car with the 1 year 12,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty and the remainder of the powertrain warranty.

gunslinger646

Thanks Kelly, I will handle it through my local dealer soon. Will let you know if i could use your assistance....

csf

Interesting . . . I have some brownish staining on the rear wheels from brake dust that I cant get off. The car was perfect when I bought it but it occurred on the 400 mile drive home after buying the car brand new. I the wheels were apparently pretty hot and I did not think to wash the dust off right away. Gonna see if the dealer has some way to clean them since its obviously under warranty.

1MEANGS

I had the same problem on my 2011 GS... I keep my car garage kept and every time I drive the car I either wash it
Or detail spray it to bottom and make sure it's lookin good for the next time I take it out! So I noticed the pit and took the car to my chevy dealership and the guy looked into it... Took awhile but I got a call saying to come back in so he can take pics of the wheels and he was going to try and get it taken care of... Then shortly after my 2nd visit I get a call saying the wheels have been ordered and he will let me know when to bring it in so they can be swapped out (: So far so good but I hope it doesn't happen again and if so I'm switching to black or polished... I really keep up on this and use nuttin but the best products! Was a shock to see it happen on such a mint car but glad the dealership took good care of me!