Rusty Wheels Hubs

[Eddie135]

Hi all

Is it normal for wheel hubs to rust?
As the rust has corroded my wheels and spread to my wheel caps .

I did try cleaning off with WD-40 oil but seems like the rust has gone into the metal .

Car has travelled only 13,000kms, 10 months old.

I am planning to take it back to the dealership.

Any advice on what should I do

Thanks.

[Mechz]

Wow, that's pretty bad unless you live at the beach or something.

Tempted to check my own now.

[ansch]

yup.. it's "normal"... to a point where it's hard to remove the wheel from the hub.

[Eddie135]

Is there a fix for this rust?

I am planning to remove the wheel, sand it and spray paint.

[RaihaX]

I don't think there is - soon your outside wheel hub will rust too like mine

Need to get it painted in the future.

[Eddie135]

Originally Posted by RaihaX

I don't think there is - soon your outside wheel hub will rust too like mine

Need to get it painted in the future.

So it is a common issue for rust in wheel hub. Bloody BMW engineers who designed a wheel that picks up rust.

Just worried after sanding and painting, overtime the heat will crack the paint and rust still comes back .

If I leave the rust there, then the wheel will siezed to the hub eventually once the rust bonds tgether.

[Stuart@BMRAutowerkes]

Yeh it's normal.

I used to offer hub painting services a little while ago, but can't be bothered anymore haha.

You can easily DIY it though, sand it down, clean it with metho, then paint using 'Rust Guard' or something similar.

[JDUni1]

Next time the wheels are off sand it with some scotchbrite and throw a little anti-seize around the hub. That should take care of it.

[sbce90]

Totally normal, as others have mentioned there are a couple of ways to make it look better.

[Kiwi Peter]

It seems that when you wash the car water gets into the wheel center and sits there for some time, eventually drying from wheel/brake heat, or worse you wash your car give it a quick run around the block then put it in the garage for a week or so, over time things rust.
At Advan we always glean off the rust and paint if its really bad in fact some times we struggle to remove the wheel from the hub as over time the wheel will seize onto the hub. Another indication of the crap BMW service system Long Life everything so this is the first time the wheels have been of the car i wouldn't be surprised.

[Eddie135]

Originally Posted by skycat

It seems that when you wash the car water gets into the wheel center and sits there for some time, eventually drying from wheel/brake heat, or worse you wash your car give it a quick run around the block then put it in the garage for a week or so, over time things rust.
At Advan we always glean off the rust and paint if its really bad in fact some times we struggle to remove the wheel from the hub as over time the wheel will seize onto the hub. Another indication of the crap BMW service system Long Life everything so this is the first time the wheels have been of the car i wouldn't be surprised.

Stupid BMW engineers who designed wheel hubs that collect water.
As I wash my car very often that is why.

Thanks for the feedback.

[kmli5]

That is pretty bad for a 10 months old car.
Mine looks like that and it is from 05.
What I did was get one of those circular sanding bits (from bunnings) that you can put on the end of a drill, and then work your way on all 4 hubs. Not hard and do wear a mask and a goggle.

[Blauweisser]

I think the advice to use a product such as Rust Guard is good. Allow it to react properly with the residual rust that you can't scrape or sand off, and follow the directions. You can then follow up with an epoxy anti-rust enamel - you can buy it at Bunnings.

[Superdaws]

Checked my wheels and its there as well. Not quite as bad as Eddie's but its definitely there. Took it to the dealership and they said it was "normal". Wonder what it will be like in 10 yrs!