Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

After about a month of driving and several car washes I have noticed that the wheels look dirty. I tried cleaning them by hand with water and a towel and it appears that the "dirt" is beneath the protective finish. It looks like a mottled pattern of brake dust. I saw a post on another Mazda forum and was curious if anyone here has had the same problem.

Thank you,
Craig

RE: Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

Craig
After owning for about 3 weeks and 5 washes, wheels still look good, but I will keep an eye on it

J.B

RE: Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

Mine still look decent and I handwash my vehicle so would notice if anything wasnt right. Will definitely keep an eye on that though and post if I see anything change.

RE: Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

Did you noticed that the fellow who had the problem said that that the dealer and MAZDA were replacing the wheels?....follow up with the guy it may be helpfull to you...

RE: Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

My dealer just looked at my wheels and they have to check with their rep for a claim.

RE: Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

Craig, I too am having this same problem. I have just discovered it today on my 2008 CX9. I have called the dealer and they said to bring it in and have them look at it. Please let me know of your outcome and I will do the same. Ryan.

RE: Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

I have read this problem on another forum. It seems that there was a bad batch of rims that have impurities beneath the clear coat. Take them in and have them replaced.

RE: Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

I have the same problem and Mazda is replacing the rims under warranty.

RE: Aluminum Alloy Wheels Look Dirty
 

As a follow-up to my dirty wheel problem, my dealership did own up to the issue and replaced all four wheels and rubber with an exact CX-9 on his lot. I have had no issues with the new wheels so far and have washed the car at least once a week or two since.

Craig

Dirty wheels
 

Does anyone have any contact information or documents relating to having the OEM wheels replaced due to the brake dust stains under the clear coat?

I asked my local dealer to replace my wheels and was informed that they have never seen this problem before. They accused me of using something too strong to clean the wheels.

cx9 stained wheels
 

i just purchased a 2008 cx9 gt awd.
the dealer didnt have time to clean because it was so late.
i didnt care because i like cleaning cars anyway
when i went to clean the wheels they appeared stained.
i tried different cleaners and polishes but it looks like it is under the clear finish.
does anyone have any suggestions?

stained wheels cx9
 

i too have stained wheels.
have you had any success with yours?

This is a known defect with the wheels. There was a paint problem associated with certain batch of tires.

I am trying to find the TSB but not having much luck at this point.

Check the Mazda 24/7 Forum. this one is lame

My apologies...Lame was not the proper word. But, as you MUST admit, there is very little activity on this board compared to 24/7 where there are multiple postings to multiple threads every day. Or Edmunds where there are at least a few per day. Where this forum is once a month sometimes or on a good week, once per week.

Lame, no....my apologies, just not as active or seems to attract the "knowledge" crowd you find on the other 2 forums.

CX9 wheel discoloartion
 

I too am having the same issue and my dealer and Mazda are basically trying to say that it's chemicals we use when washing the car that causes this. Apparently there was a bulletin about it but I never received anything.

Stay tuned as I am digging deeper and will need all your help when this happens.

In the meantime, call Mazda Corporate 800-222-5500 and complain.

see below:

Some automotive cleaning products contain strong acid or alkali. When these types of cleaners are used to clean the wheels on Mazda vehicles, the chemicals contents penetrate the clear coating of the wheel surface and damage the paint under the clear coating. The damaged area has the appearance of dark stains.
Use extra care when cleaning wheels. The following are guidelines to follow when cleaning the wheels.
§ Mazda recommends using a mild soap or neutral detergent as stated in the owner's manual under Appearance Care in the Maintenance and Care section.
§ DO NOT use a cleaning products containing strong acid or alkali contents to clean the wheels.
§ DO NOT apply any type of specialized wheel cleaner to the wheels when they are hot (such as after driving the vehicle or if the vehicle has sat in the sun). Ensure wheel temperatures are the same as ambient temperature before cleaning.
§ Within 15 minutes after any cleaner is applied, rinse the wheel thoroughly to completely remove cleaner.
§ Stains on Mazda Wheels caused by improper cleaning are not covered under the Mazda Vehicle Warranty.

CX-9 Wheel Stain
 

I have the same issue with my CX-9 GT 20" rims being stained. Has anyone been able to get them replaced under warranty? Is there a Technical Service Bulletin? I have had zero help from Mazda our the dealer. This was in no way from any chemicals applied as Mazda is trying to imply. Own up to it Mazda. This is a problem other manufactures would resolve for customer satisfaction.

20" Wheel Staining
 

I too have a set of 20's that are stained. car has 27K on it. Never been through a car wash and always washed with Meguiars soap and waxed using meguiars. Dealer (Bankston Ford/Mazda in Fort Worth) states their is nothing they can do and cited the TSB. I asked how far I need to take this up the chain and she said call Mazda. Quite Frankly I believe the strong chemical line is BS. I lean more towards an incorrect or porous clear coat. There are thousands of cars that are not hand washed that go through car washes every day with alloy wheels and never have a problem. I think this is Mazda's way of takeing the easy way out. Pretty piss poor customer service on their part. I had a guy at American Wheel tell me the that the strong cleaner response was a bunch of BS. If anyone has had success through Mazda, let me know.

I have this same issue. I would really like to get this resolved, but I would prefer to have the TSB as ammunition before going.

Anyone have the info?:confused:

Hi Folks from down town Australia..................
We have a 2018 Mazda MX5 RFGT and a few days after a service last week we noticed that all four alloy rims had these blackish stains which looked like sling / cast off from the tyre shine that the Mazda dealer applies to the tyres after servicing the car ( they wash the car and put tyre shine on to make the car look pretty !! ) Some areas of the rims also looked like the finish colour of the rims was fading and the stains appeared etched into the clearcoat or underneath the clearcoat of the rims.
Took the car back to the dealer and they too thought at first it was sling / cast off from the tyre shine they applied so they took the car away to see if they could clean the stains off. The service manager came back after about 30 minutes and explained that the stains were not sling / cast off and had nothing to do with the tyre shine they had applied a few days earlier.
He explained that the stains were actually under the clearcoat and coming through the rim's finish colour from inside the rim itself. He advised that they had seen similar problems and staining with Mazda 6 alloy rims ( which apparently have the same colouring process and clearcoat as the MX5 rims), but he had never heard of the same happening with the MX5 rims and that this was their first occurence.
He showed me a Mazda 6 rim which was replaced by Mazda and the staining was exactly the same as the staining coming through on all 4 of our MX5 rims except for the fact that the staining on our rims is much more invasive and covers more of the rims. In some places it appears that the coloured finish of the rim is actually fading and other areas are blackish looking spots and run marks.
The service manager advised that Mazda believe the heat emanating from the brakes is affecting the colour finish and the staining is coming through from the inside of the rims and under the clear coat.
He has taken pictures of the rims and is sending them through to Mazda and believes that Mazda will have to replace the rims as they did with the Mazda 6's that have been affected by this apparent fault / issue.
We can only hope that Mazda take ownership of this fault with their rims and they replace the rims without delay.
Has anyone else had this problem or heard of this with the MX 5 ???

Cheers & Beers from down under folks ........................Waz from Oz