2016 CX-9 20 inch rims turning black

[morenar]

About a few months back, I noticed that my CX-9 20 inch rims were losing the grey finish from them. It wasn't peeling but just a lot of black was showing up. The clearcoat on the rims was still intact. After speaking with my dealership they asked that I open a case with Mazda, which I did. Mazda then called the dealership and it happen to be that the Mazda rep was going to be in town today. I met up with them at the dealership and he looked them over and asked if I washed the rims with anything other than soap and water. I told him no, because I really on use soap and water.
He said there was a TSB they have that shows certain chemicals can cause this. He said because he see's how well I take care of my car it could be something that was either added to the rims at the port or at some point. They will now be replacing all 4 rims instead of refinishing them because he is worried it may seep through the finish if we just have them redone.
Gotta admit this was pretty great of them stepping up and doing this. Here are some pics of the rims.

 

[sm1ke]

Always nice to hear when the manufacturer steps up to correct an issue. Well done Mazda!

 

[aka_]

I'll take them off your hands!

 

[JPL]

Hopefully this is a limited case. Talk about a tremendous cost if Mazda had to replace all CX-9 20's.

 

[Guest2018]

Thanks for the heads up, morenar. Will be keeping an eye out for this. I use an all natural dish washing liquid on all my vehicles and never had a problem, but I'll now start checking more carefully, these particular rims.

 

[aka_]

Thanks for the heads up, morenar. Will be keeping an eye out for this. I use an all natural dish washing liquid on all my vehicles and never had a problem, but I'll now start checking more carefully, these particular rims.

Doesn't dish washing soap remove any wax and isn't great for paint unless you're stripping it?

 

[Guest2018]

Doesn't dish washing soap remove any wax and isn't great for paint unless you're stripping it?

I use a plant based product with no phosphate from Seventh Generation and I have no problem with stripping wax or damaging the clear coat. The clear coat itself has been sealed with an aircraft wax - using a 3 layer application. In the interim between washes I use Aerolon (once every couple/few of months) as a polish and Meguiars as a more routine spray detail to keep things up to date.

 

[cipi1212]

Thank you for the heads up.
I've noticed that my wheels were turning black for a while.
I finally went to a dealer and complained about it, they contacted Mazda.
Mazda agreed to changed them.
Waiting for new ones to come in.

 

[Bingoy]

Are these for the 2016 models? Or did they address this from 2017 and forward

 

[poohster]

My wife and I noticed the same thing happening to to her 20 inch wheels. I guess I will contact the Mazda dealership. I did clean the wheels witha wheel cleaner. Will that be an issue? It is a 2016 model.

 

[TravL350]

Mine have been doing the same thing over the last year, getting darker and darker. It didn't really bother me, (in fact it looks kind of cool!) except that now they are starting to peel as well. 2016 year model. I just went to the dealer today and they are contacting Mazda so we'll see.

 

[ZackAttack]

My 2016 Sig had this happening on all 4 wheels, and my local Mazda dealer called it and got all 4 replaced (no charge). I had ~36k miles at the time.

They said that they thought there was debris or finger print oil on the rim before it was painted which caused those areas to fail.

 

[TravL350]

Well done Mazda customer service

Mine have been doing the same thing over the last year, getting darker and darker. It didn't really bother me, (in fact it looks kind of cool!) except that now they are starting to peel as well. 2016 year model. I just went to the dealer today and they are contacting Mazda so we'll see.

Dealer will replace all 4 wheels next week under warranty, no questions asked. They obviously know this is a common problem. Anyway, glad they are doing the right thing. Hopefully other owners get this taken care of as well before warranty is up.

Wheels when brand new:


Wheels today (notice how bright the wheels on my 20 year old Jeep are by comparison...):

 

[sm1ke]

Oh yeah, that's some pretty clear discoloration going on. Glad to hear it's going to be take care of. How many miles on your rig?

 

[TravL350]

Oh yeah, that's some pretty clear discoloration going on. Glad to hear it's going to be take care of. How many miles on your rig?

I've got about 32,000 mi. on it. First noticed the issue about a year ago, though, but didn't think much of it until I saw it had started peeling off in several places!

 

[sm1ke]

I've got about 32,000 mi. on it. First noticed the issue about a year ago, though, but didn't think much of it until I saw it had started peeling off in several places!

Thanks, I'll be sure to keep an eye out on mine.

 

[karthik]

Hi, my 2016 cx9 touring has a similar issue. Can you let me know how you got it resolved from Mazda?

 

[morenar]

Hi, my 2016 cx9 touring has a similar issue. Can you let me know how you got it resolved from Mazda?

I went to the dealership but at that time it was still under warranty, but just so you all know. The replacements I was given have now started to show the same issue.

 

[SDL]

My wheels are losing the clear coat and are partially dark. They look like crap. Also a 2016 - the top of the rear door is also bubbling a little.

 

[nathanmares]

Setting up an appointment now with the dealer 2016 CX9 GT and all 4 rims look like this.