Cracked wheel spoke

dhemrick · #1 (**permalink**) 05-07-08, 05:18 PM

I was wiping the brake dust off of my wheels this morning, and I noticed that one spoke on the right front wheel is cracked completely through.

I have not hit any large potholes or road debris, and in fact the tire is completely un-marred so I am ruling out any kind of physical shock that could have caused this. I am the only one who has driven this car since the last time I cleaned the wheels about a week ago, so I know for a fact that I haven't hit anything and that it would have happened within the last week. I have been driving quite "nicely" lately, too. I haven' beat this car up much at all except for lots of quick acceleration, so I have no idea how this happened.

I did have new tires (Goodyear F1's) put on about a month ago, but I don't think that had anything to do with it either, but who knows?

Has this happened to anyone else?

I am going to take it to the dealer to see what they say, but I am afraid that they are going to blame the tires, and of course they tire people say it is a manufacturing defect in the wheel. To top it off, these are the chrome rims, so replacing it won't be easy or cheap.

Any advice guys?

Here's a picture of the crack:

**Florian** · #2 (**permalink**) 05-08-08, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhemrick

Any advice guys?

Here's a picture of the crack:

Speaking of crack....you may want to bend over and expose yours as I fear GM will not wty this and point fingers at the tire guys.....may want to bring some lube.

F

dhemrick · #3 (**permalink**) 05-08-08, 02:13 PM

Yeah... that's what I'm "a-feared" of. I've been pricing out industrial sized jugs of lube just in case.

The dealership didn't mention the new tires and I didn't volunteer the fact that tires were put on this car within the month. I really don't think it would have anything to do with the tires though, and from reading other posts, lost of other STS-V owners have put these same Goodyears on their cars with no issues. This is a national tire chain that I have used many times before with no issues.

You'd think a tire would not be able to exert so much pressure on a wheel that it could crack it.

Oh well... we'll see what they say.

bobs-sts-v · #4 (**permalink**) 05-08-08, 02:51 PM

dhemrick,
The process used to chrome the rims may have something to do with it. I read somewhere that the heating and cooling of the rims during the process results in the rims becoming more brittle. This is why most chromed rim manufacturers will NOT warranty them in cold weather. It is possible that this contributed to the premature "failure" of the spoke. Mine, of course, came from hitting a pothole, but that is another story (been there, done that).
Good luck.

Bob

dhemrick · #5 (**permalink**) 05-08-08, 03:16 PM

Interesting, Bob. I hadn't thought about that, but it makes complete sense from a metallurgy standpoint. The heating and cooling would additionally temper the metal so that it would be less flexible and would crack rather than bend.

I'll post what comes of the whole situation. I did contact Sewell Cadillac in Dallas (where my car originated) and asked them about it. They were very helpful and said they send the factory wheels off to either Oklahoma or California to have them chromed. They also keep some of those in stock, so they may have a replacement on hand. The guys at Hendrick Cadillac know the Sewell guys, so hopefully they can work together on this.

The worst case is I have to shell out for a brand new chromed wheel $$$, especially if GM comes back and says the chroming caused the issue. Sewell said they would normally warranty the chromed wheels since they put them on the car, but since I am not the original owner, then that may be in question. They were going to look into it and call me back.

Incidentally, while I was at the dealership, I was looking at the new cars and there are two XLR-Vs in the showroom. Both have chrome wheels nearly identical to mine, so I don't see how they can say the chroming on the STS-V is any different other than the fact it came from the factory that way. The same process would have still been applied to both wheels, and I would assume that they are made of the same alloy.

In any event, if GM covers the cost of the wheel itself, even if I have to pay for the difference of the chrome, then I will be OK with that.

CIWS · #6 (**permalink**) 05-08-08, 08:15 PM

Yeah my chromes came from the dealership (Sewell- Dallas). So if something strange does happen either they and/or the tire and wheel protect would have to cover it. I hope they are able to work things out for you.

Kadonny · #7 (**permalink**) 05-12-08, 11:04 AM

Wow, that sucks. Let us know what the dealer says.

dhemrick · #8 (**permalink**) 05-12-08, 04:20 PM

Well, I was going to wait until it is fully played out to post, but since you asked, Kadonny, here's the scoop:

Since my car originated at Sewell Cadillac in Dallas, and they had the original wheels chromed before the car was sold, Sewell said will warranty the chrome wheel since the car is still under warranty even though I am the second owner (first owner only drove it 1800 miles). Sewell has these wheels in stock, so they should be shipping one out today or tomorrow.

Sewell said that as long as my local dealer, Hendrick Cadillac, will order a factory replacement wheel and send it to Sewell, Sewell will consider it a wash. Sewell is shipping the chrome wheel to Hendrick at no charge in exchange for the normal factory one.

Hendrick said this was no problem and ordered the factory replacement wheel. In fact, the guys at Sewell know some of the guys at Hendrick, so Sewell went ahead and pre-shipped the chromed wheel to get it to me sooner. In both cases, the guys I am dealing with are really top notch nice guys and I must say I am extremely happy with their level of service thus far.

Of course, I will reserve my final judgement until it has all played out, but I must say that I am VERY impressed at how well I have been treated by Sewell and Hendrick so far. Seriously, it is this kind of service that makes me glad I own a Cadillac and make me want to be an owner for life.

CIWS · #9 (**permalink**) 05-12-08, 05:44 PM

Great to hear things appear to be working out for you.

Kadonny · #10 (**permalink**) 05-13-08, 05:51 PM

Wow, great news and great to hear dealers are working with us. Nicely done.

z06bigbird · #11 (**permalink**) 05-20-08, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhemrick

Well, I was going to wait until it is fully played out to post, but since you asked, Kadonny, here's the scoop:

Since my car originated at Sewell Cadillac in Dallas, and they had the original wheels chromed before the car was sold, Sewell said will warranty the chrome wheel since the car is still under warranty even though I am the second owner (first owner only drove it 1800 miles). Sewell has these wheels in stock, so they should be shipping one out today or tomorrow.

Sewell said that as long as my local dealer, Hendrick Cadillac, will order a factory replacement wheel and send it to Sewell, Sewell will consider it a wash. Sewell is shipping the chrome wheel to Hendrick at no charge in exchange for the normal factory one.

Hendrick said this was no problem and ordered the factory replacement wheel. In fact, the guys at Sewell know some of the guys at Hendrick, so Sewell went ahead and pre-shipped the chromed wheel to get it to me sooner. In both cases, the guys I am dealing with are really top notch nice guys and I must say I am extremely happy with their level of service thus far.

Of course, I will reserve my final judgement until it has all played out, but I must say that I am VERY impressed at how well I have been treated by Sewell and Hendrick so far. Seriously, it is this kind of service that makes me glad I own a Cadillac and make me want to be an owner for life.

In my opinion, you are very lucky. As others have said, most dealers will kiss you goodbye for cracked wheels.

I suspect your attitude helped a great deal when dealing with your dealers. "Asking for their help rather than blaming GM for the problem frequently results in some goodwill from GM.

dhemrick · #12 (**permalink**) 05-20-08, 10:31 AM

You're exactly right, z06bigbird. Attitude will get you a long way. As they say "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." I discovered that truth years ago. It's all in how you ask, your tone of voice, demeanor, as well as going in with realistic expectations and laying out your case logically and without getting emotional.

I fully expected them to tell me to piss off and had prepared myself for that possibility, but I am very happy how they responded. I'm still waiting for the wheel to come in, though, so the jury is still out. I called the dealer this morning and they are checking to see if the wheel is there. My regular service advisor is out on vacation, so another guy is checking for me. I would think it would have arrived by now.

It was really bad timing, but I had an unexpected family emergency with grandmother's health in western NC Friday (about 130 miles from Raleigh), so I have been here since then taking care of family matters while she is in the hospital. I didn't want to drive the car as much as I have had to because of the crack, but I had no choice. The crack has now spread to another spoke so for safety reasons I have parked the car at my mother's house and am driving her Nissan Sentra (argh!!!) and my sister-in-law's old Dodge Stratus (yuck!). At some point, I am going to have to take that wheel off the V, take it to Raleigh in another car, get the tire mounted on the new rim and put it back on the car up here. There is no way I'm driving the car another foot if the crack is spreading. The last thing I need with everything else going on is to wreck the car because the wheel disintegrates.

dhemrick · #13 (**permalink**) 05-21-08, 11:19 PM

End of story: I jacked the car up this morning, took the wheel and tire off, drove it down to Hendrick Cadillac (130 miles away from where I am current). They put the tire on the new rim today and balanced the wheel. I put it back on the car this evening, and it's just like new.

I couldn't ask for better service than I received from Sewell Cadillac and Hendrick Cadillac to resolve this issue. Outstanding.