This is what happened to my right front rim when the dealership gave me my "free" car wash after service. They said they will replace / fix it if it looks like "they" did it.
This is a lesson to all - NEVER take your car through a carwash with a "rail" system! It will KILL your rims!!!



72585-Mvc-027s.jpg

 

A closer shot of the damage.. this is *all* around my rim.



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Oh crap. That's going to be hard for them to weasle out of. You'll probably be looking at new rims, and you could probably keep those for winter. If you don't want those for extra rims, i need a set for winter tires. I'd buy the rims from ya???

What's the deal with that drop of white paint on the rim? It's on all of mine too. I scratched most of one off thinking it was just one, but it's on all of em. Just currious.

 

yeah man that really blows.....thats why i tell my dealer DO NOT WASH MY CAR PLZ...heh.....they handwash it at my dealership though

<font color=green>-Rambo</font color=green>
G35c 6MT DG/Willow

 

Damn KDogInChiTown, they really jacked up your wheels, are all of them scratched like that? I am from Chicago too, which dealer did you take it to?

 

WOW! Talk about major F-up!
My dealership has one of them mini-car washes too and each time I stop in, they ask me, do you want a free car wash - and each time Im like - no thank you!

FYI - Those rims, if the dealerships replaces them, and they allow you to keep the old ones, which they probably wont do, you can get them repaired for roughly $90 a rim and they'll look good as new. If you're interested, the place that does this and other type (more serious) of rim repair is located near me on Long Island, NY and their turn around is super fast, often in like 1-2 days. Drop me a line and I'll get you their phone number.

 

oh snap they [censored] up ur rim. wow and free things sound soo nice. thanks for the heads up.

Ordered: 2004 G35 Coupe 6MT * Diamond Graphite * Graphite Leather * Premium Package

 

It was Motorwerks dealership in Barrington. They're being pretty cool about it so far. I'm bringing it in today so they can look at it.
By the way the damage is only to the right front rim - all the others look fine. The people they have hired to bring the cars thru the wash are minimum wage and don't have a clue (or care). I spoke w/ the manager of the dealership and he said they're going to have to "seriously look" at how or if they can even wash the G35's.

Like others said, I'm definately saying "NO" to any more free car wash offers. The only thing that seems safe is hand wash, which is gonna suck once the weather turns sour in Chicago - which is like 8 mos. out of the year.

 

wow.. that sucks ***. i bought my g35 from fields in glenview. they have free hand carwashes on sunday. if you decide you want to have it fixed there are a couple places in the chicago area that will fix, but if you can get them to give you new ones, go for that.

www.fixrim.com
www.transwheel.com

c-

 

The white dot on the rim is the marker that the tire needs to be lined up with. If you notice (might be worn off) there is a red dot on your tire that lines up with it to balance the tire. If you want, go to the dealership and get Brilliant Silver touch up paint and than go to the hardware store and get really FINE sandpaper. SAND ONLY the white dot and any other places where you hit your rim. Paint the silver paint on. It will match the rim you won't even notice it. I'm going to soon do this to my car so I will post directions on this.

Thanks - Joey Avino

 

This is the kind of scary news I've been hoping not to hear. I keep my G35C in a parking garage in Manhattan (NYC), and during the winter I'll have no choice but to run it through an automatic car wash or leave it dirty. Given the speed with which brake dust alone accumulates, along with normal dirt, this is not a good situation. There are no "touchless" car washes anywhere near me that I know of. I could get it hand washed but it's pretty pricy in Manhattan.

I'd be curious to know who may have tried an automatic, "rail-type" car wash (the standard-issue ones with the hanging/spinning cloth "brushless" thingies, the giant blow dryer, etc.) on their G35C w/18" wheels and DIDN'T have any wheel damage. My previous car, a BMW 325is with 225/50 VR16's went through the one I'd be using countless time with no damage whatsoever. They did a nice job in general on the car too, and if it weren't for my paranoia about the wheels I'd be fine with the idea on the G35C.

Of course, I could ask the manager before the car goes through if it will definitely be safe, and if not, if they'll take responsibility for any damage, but I'd rather not have to "go there". The scary part is it's pretty much of a one shot gamble. Run the car through, and either it's fine, or the wheels are %#$@ed permanently, and a huge claim hassle ensues.

So...is anyone here using these types of car washes uneventfully?

 

Actually, before this damaged occured on my front rim, I had taken it thru a local carwash myself, with the "rail" system. First 3 or 4 times, no problems. The 5th time, I noticed about 5 or 6 scratches/dents on my right rear rim. So I immediately stopped using car washes.

When I took it to the dealership I didn't realized they had a rail-system carwash.
It seems to me the metal/material used on the rims of the G35C seems much more malleable than on others. Like BMW3 said, I know other cars w/18" rims where the carwash is not an issue.

So in winter I'm stuck either handwashing in my garage or using a 'touchless' wash, where your car stays put while the water sprays around you. Doesn't work as well, IMHO.

I'm going to the dealer in about 3 hrs - I'll fill ya in on what they say they're going to do.

 

So it seems that the issue is that there is not enough tire for the wheels. What I mean by this is, when you purchase after market wheels and low profile tires the rule always has been to have the tires stick out a little from the wheels so you get some protection if you brush a curb. This way the tire gets the hit not the wheels.
Infiniti looks to have not followed this rule, by wanting to keep the wheels inside the wells.
And this is why I think you are all having issues such as this.

 

I think the moral is to always inspect the car really good on the lot when you pick it up at a dealership. I don't mind the car wash so much, it's the scratches or dings I'm concerned with.

As for the white dot on the rims, use your fingernail and "scratch" the dot off. 3 out of 4 of mine came off. I'm going to give the last dot another try when I wash the car next time.

-Rick

 

I had the exact same problem at a Car wash company here in Charlotte, but they claim their car wash wouldn't do that so they won't pay to replace them.

2003 G35 Coupe 6MT
Black/Black
Premium Package
Aero Package