No. Pics please.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tk7owp44j1953n3/2015-08-08 12.01.51.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a1a2wai4xvpacra/2015-08-08 12.01.47.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/341r38gkspdp1o3/2015-08-08 12.02.33.jpg?dl=0

 

I take it these are the Njord wheels. I have them. No problem at 42K miles. I do not use them in the winter months and I'm sure that helps.
What do you use to clean them? Maybe that is the problem.

 

Same here no probs at 42k. They should still be covered...ide have them replaced.

 

WOW! Did you buy the car new or pre-owned? It appears as though the wheels were poorly repainted and that paint is peeling. My 16 years at Volvo, I've only seen it on cars where the wheels were repaired incorrectly.

 

I bought the car as a CPO at around 37K miles. I very rarely use any kind of wheel cleaner. Why would the wheels have been refinished in the first place, assuming that's the case? I've never had a car with peeling rims. With any luck perhaps I can get the warranty to cover?

 

It does look like the wheels were refinished at some point during the life of the car for them to peel like that.

 

Do you use one of those spray-on rim cleaners to clean your rims? That looks like what happened to the rims on our Lexus. The paint started to bubble at the edges and then flaked off.

 

I've seen one case when a brand new Mercedes rim started to peel just like that (clear coat flaking off) after a few months so it's not unheard of even with the original factory finish. In my experience it's quite hard to get something like that covered by the warranty but definately you should try.

 

Some wheel cleaners will screw up wheels. Wheels left dirty in certain environments will at least pit. Abrasive waxes on wheels might be an issue. Plenty of things it could be. The good news is there are websites that sell cheap base OEM wheels. Maybe $125/corner. Or Ebay. Or pay to have them repainted, even.

 

On some Volvo wheels, unlike yours, there's a machined pattern on a bare metal section that's covered by clear coat. If the wheel was refinished, they probably didn't match the machining and polished the bare metal. Or the texture of the clear coat might be obvious. In that case one can compare the wheels with another Volvo with the same wheel pattern to see if there's some difference that's visible when you look closely at all four of your wheels and the other car's wheels.

Anyway, you might look at the edge of each rim to see if there's some visual discontinuity. That might happen if the wheel was curbed and the edge of the rim was touched up with color and then the whole wheel or a portion was resprayed with clear coat. If the entire wheel was repainted, you might be able to see some evidence by comparing the color and surface texture to that of a new wheel. A resprayed clear coat can have a foggy or mottled appearance. And there's usually a change in the clear coat texture as soon as you look at the inner surface of the rim behind the spokes (it's usually more of a flat finish than a glossy finish).

But when I looked at the pictures again, it seems that the clear coat is peeling most frequently where the spoke meets the rim, where it's hardest to keep the wheel clean of brake dust. I think that might suggest either a repaint or use of some caustic cleaner and abrasive scrubbing.

 

I submitted a non-warranty claim with Volvo this morning to have the rims repainted/refinished. Will advise on their decision.

 

If it's a CPO car, the rims were probably refinished to mask any curb rash from the previous owner. The dealership should be able to go back to the refinishing company and get them warrantied for you depending on how long it's been (1 year is usually the standard). Most companies will back their work. It shouldn't be a Volvo warranty issue unless they've never been repainted.

 

It is a CPO vehicle, but it's been a year and a half and I have no idea if the wheels were refinished previously or not. The original owner had the car serviced at the same dealer, so I suppose they would have a record.

 

If the previous owner had them refinished before he traded it in then there won't be any recourse. If the dealership did it to try and get more money for the car (who wants a car with curb-rashed wheels right?) it doesn't hurt to see if they'll help you out in some way.

 

So, Volvo's regional rep has declined to do anything. This despite VCNA appealing his decision. VCNA said that they have final say over these matters. Sorry, but this is inexcusable. I have an 11 year old Subaru with 216,000 miles in my driveway with rims that aren't peeling. I really love this car and exhibited a great deal of patience and understanding when the engine had to be ripped apart to correct a serious oil consumption issue. Yes, it was covered under warranty, but my confidence in the quality and longevity of this car is seriously compromised. What's next?

 

Will the dealer provide some "Goodwill" monies to pay for getting them repaired?

 

Why would Volvo pay for rims that have previously been refinished? If the dealer refinished them as part of the reconditioning process then they should be able to help. If the original owner had them done before trading the car in then how would the dealer even know? (Unless the repair was obviously poor)
If this was the original, non-repaired finish on the rim then you'd have a leg to stand on.
Hit the dealer up to see if they'll get you cost on rim refinishing.

 

There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the rims were previously refinished- either by the dealer or the previous owner. I bought the car from the same dealer that sold it when new. If the wheels were refinished by the dealer, then they would have grounds to go back to the co. that refinished the wheels. In any case, the dealer wants me to drop-off car next week so they can address the problem - don't know what that means yet.

 

You can see in the last two pics that the shade of silver is different. Hyper silver is very difficult to match. I know this because we've had issues with our rim refinishing company regarding this. It's especially noticeable if all four wheels aren't done. Some guys are lazy and don't prep/prime the wheel right so the paint ends up flaking quickly.
If the dealer wants to see it then they want to take a closer look at it and call in a refinisher to take a closer look at it. If they reconditioned the car and had the wheels refinished then they should take care of you.
That's what I would do.

 

That's exactly what it sounds like they're going to do. They are going to have their "wheel guy" take a closer look at it. So - perhaps they did have the wheels reconditioned and are going back to the wheel guy to say WTF? It's just gotten to be extremely frustrating. I really do love this car - I've gotten the Polestar tuning and K-Pax exhaust and get compliments on the car all the time. I've just spent way too much time in the service department. I hate having to deal with this crap when I have far more important things to do.

 

Yeah, had one of my Bor wheels refurbished after Mr. Tire scraped the hell out of it (they paid). The clear coat started peeling in 2 (spoke) corners after less than 6 months. Apparently hard to duplicate the quality of the factory finish/process.

 

Pleased to report that my rims were refinished at no cost. Dealer really stepped up.

 

:beer: