[IanmK]

All 4 wheels on my 330i are showing corrossion despite not being kerbed. BMW UK have declined to help me and claim it's 'wear and tear'! It was noticed a few months after the 3 year warranty expired. Has anyone had any luck getting any help towards them being refurbished or replaced. They've only done 20,000 miles and never cleaned with acid wheel cleaners etc. I'm very disappointed and not likely to buy a BMW again based on this poor customer service.

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[KRS_SN]

Within the first 3 years the chances of bmw contribution in this =slim
Outwith that its just not going to happen.

[Pentland]

It’s a tricky one. Most corrosion starts at the hub - party due to the hub cap damaging the lacquer on fitting. The marks on your wheels could easily have been caused by stones hitting the spokes.
Looking at the black part of your wheels, they are pretty scratched suggesting over cleaning or harsh brushing. I’m not saying they are, but the marks on the spokes could have been caused by your wheel brush hitting them. It’s easy done.

Either way, you are out of warranty (that’s black and white) and therefore reliant on the dealers goodwill.

What I would do (did), get them powder coated. Around £65 per wheel, no corrosion, cheaper to repair if you curb them.

[Armaan]

Unfortunately at the best of times, that could be deemed wear and tear - stones hitting or light scratches and water ingresses then causes the white worm.

A manufacturer defect would have to be consistent and across all four wheels, much like the centre cap white worm that’s common.

Random like that…you’d have to have a generous dealer even in warranty.

Armaan

[Pond]

It is common knowledge, presumably with the manufacturers too, that diamond cut wheels notoriously get the 'white worm' as soon as the lacquer is damaged.

Japanese cars' wheels suffer from paint damage easily IME aswell.

It is a hard pill to swallow, especially as the price of replacement 'OEM' wheels is stupid, but it is just one of those things unfortunately.
Could be worse; there are many, many alloys fitted to cars which will crack or buckle at the first sign of a pothole, especially with RFTs.

Presumably the manufacturer, if pushed, would cite the roads in the UK are to blame. They would have a very good argument TBH.

[mikeoz]

As Pentland says, it normally starts in the centre hub and spreads. The F30 was famous for this and there are threads on the "Alloy worm" as it spreads like a worm up the rest of the alloy. Yours looks different.

I has my F30 wheels replaced out of warranty but this was the well known worm effect.
Local dealer will need to inspect then send of to BMW to see if they will make a good will gesture.

[lethbridge]

I agree with the views here - in the past I have had a set replaced for white worm from centre caps - I think it may even have been just outside of warranty. Dealer took a video, sent it off, and BMW confirmed it was covered. In your case it is far more random but in places where you would expect to pick up tiny stone chips, that, plus age I can see why they would reject. Many have had wheels replaced so I think it is fair to conclude BMW will support this if it was a reasonable claim.

Not sure on that style if the lacquer on the spoke faces has a smoke tint. If it is clear then a light sand finishing with a very fine paper to remove the corrosion and a spray with lacquer is a DIY repair that will deliver a good result. If it is tinted then a full refurb is the only solution. Powder coating is a long term fix, refurb with diamond cut will deliver an OEM look but will likely fail again in 3 or 4 years as that seems to be the nature of just lacquering an alloy.