Rust on wheel hubs on 1 year old A4

[harryg]

I don't know if this topic has been touched before.
My car was in for it's first year service and I asked to look at the rust on the four wheel hubs, the dealer said it was out of their hands to try Audi UK below is a response from Audi UK:



First reply from Audi UK


With regards to my previous email, I have contacted Glasgow Audi to gain further information on your vehicle and have been advised that the rust has not been caused by a manufacturing issue.

As rust is a natural occurrence it is not something that is covered under the manufacturers’ warranty. The occurrence is purely cosmetic and will not affect the performance of the vehicle; it may be that your previous vehicle hubs were made of a different composition of metal which could have been a reason the hubs were not rusting on that vehicle.

As with all feedback this has been logged and will be collated and fed back to the relevant department so that it may impact future builds of vehicles.

I would like to thank you for allowing me the time to investigate this case.

Kind regards

Senior Case Manager
Audi UK
My reply to Audi UK





Thank you for your reply and I beg to differ regarding the rust not being caused by a manufacturing issue. The rust is caused by a LACK of protection on the surface of the metal.
What I can't understand is Audi fit Alloy wheels to most of their cars and this COSMETIC defect must show through the alloy wheels as in my case.
I previously informed you I have had Honda cars for a good number of years in which the hubs had no COSMETIC rust, as it happens I was invited up to the Honda dealer last Saturday for a test drive with a Honda Accord I had previously expressed an interest in, I made a point of speaking to some of the technical staff and looking at various year old and above Honda cars. These cars exhibited no signs of COSMETIC rust in any of the hub areas..... in fact Honda seemly paint/treat this area with a epoxy grey coating (maybe Audi could get some advice from Honda in corrosion treatment).




Second reply from Audi UK


Thank you for your response and I am sorry to hear of your dissapointment with Audi UK and the product.

As advised yesterday, all feedback is collated and passed on, as it will be with this case.

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention.

Kind regards



Senior Case Manager
Audi UK Customer Services





Just to top it all my wife has a year old Ford Fiesta with no rust on the hubs, if this a sample of the corrosion protection on Audi cars I don't think I will be keeping this car long.

[21stCentury]

I know how you feel, mine are shocking after 1 year too, as are the psuedo stainless dust shields behind the discs.

My general impression of the B8 compared to my previous B6 is that there has been some cost-cutting in a number of areas.

That said, it hasn't really spoilt my enjoyment of the car; I still get a thrill from driving it and so far I haven't caught any passers-by 'tut-tutting' at the rusty hubs.

One day I'll get round to painting the hubs myself, I just need a good idea as to how to re-finish the dust shields - any suggestions?

[thescouselander]

I had this on my previous car (BMW 3 Series). I just left it and in the end the rust turned black - I believe this is caused by heat so next time its raining could get the brakes nice and hot to see if you can encourage the rust to oxidise further to a less noticeable colour.

[Eshrules]

I don't understand the issue.

The hubs are a bit rusty? Surface rust is always to be expected, be it on hubs or discs - washing the golf use to leave a nasty orange rusty residue which soon burnt off.

Unless you're driving around with your head hanging out the window I honestly don't get what the big issue is?

[RickT]

I don't understand the issue.

The hubs are a bit rusty? Surface rust is always to be expected, be it on hubs or discs - washing the golf use to leave a nasty orange rusty residue which soon burnt off.

Unless you're driving around with your head hanging out the window I honestly don't get what the big issue is?

I think the issue is that you would of expected the exposed area to be treated to prevent this from happening.

A simple resolve will be to wire bush the housing, then spray it with a decent heat paint.

Rick

[eno394]

Notice this on my B7 Sline if standing unused over the weekend. Gone again after my first day of use.

[Red 2]

Had this on my 2month old(!) Golf GT 4 years ago. VW dealer sympathetic and wanted to treat it with a special paint used by their sister Audi garage (literally next door) for the same problem but VW refused and Audi also at the same time withdrew authorisation to dealer to treat their cars. Allegedly something about danger of paint flaking.

Wife also had Seat ith same issue. Seems like a longstanding VW Group issue although wife's current Golf unaffected.

[a8 tech]

Main cause for this lies with poor valet methods from pdi.

The correct method suggested by Audi to clean a vehicle is to hand wash with approved detergents not to apply acid based agents then steam clean

Chemicals are used universally by valet companies in dealers and outside, these erode the protective film which then becomes exposed to road salts etc.

Most dealers rework the disc with approved paint under goodwill which is not warranty but a gesture paid by the dealer if they see fit to do so

I agree the corrosion is unsightly and as wheels expose more and more then the basics behind the wheels that do all the work become more visible and there job is to stop you and drive you.

I use the silver hammerite spray which matches the oem paint very well giving each disc 5 good coats and 24 hours to dry off, as yet no further signs of corrosion have been reported as well as avoiding the drive in clean your car with acid mafia valet firms.

Notes on warranty
3 years against paint defects, applies to Audi passenger vehicle bodies built from 25.03.83 onwards
6 years against rust perforation, applies to Audi passenger vehicle bodies built from 07.03.79 onwards
12 years against perforation rusting for all Audi vehicles built from model year 1998 onwards

So corrosion to brake disc hubs will not be covered as a warranty claim due to the component being a mechanical part which is exposed to the elements and variable heat changes

[JimC64]

Totally agree that it looks awful, especially on a top end car.
I have similar issues with my A6 and have had since around 6 months old.....I knew they wouldn't be interested in that, so every 6 months or so, its off with the wheels, a brush down and a coat of hammerite silver smooth on the hubs and the calipers.
A real PITA *** but I love my car to looks its best at all times and worth the hassle for me anyway

[B6Andy101]

This is also an issue here, I am waiting for the dealer to get back to me. Thanks A8 tech for the useful insight. Incidentally my previous 2004 B6 with 140k on the clock has no signs of surface corrosion.

[B6Andy101]

As a gesture of good will the dealer has cleaned and sprayed the hubs. Looking good again. A great service considering the car is just over two years old and had done a tad under 60k. It looks to be a problem that they are well aware of.

[paultheo]

I have already painted mine at 4 months old. I used a heat resistant silver paint and also did the calipers and shields. It is now easy to keep clean and looks better than new. It does not take long and with some care can look better than new.

[harryg]

Audi so called quality car and YOU need to paint hubs, shields and calipers never had to do this to my Honda's prior to this Audi.

Now front of car has numerous stone chips, as they say in Scotland 'Lucky white heather'








pop production

[simfin]

I had this on my soon to be traded BMW 1-series. Looked awful and really made a mockery of buying nice optional wheels, just to look at Rusty orange calipers and hubs.

I complained about it and to be fair the dealer did remove the wheels and paint with "silver hammerite" (I think thats what they said they used), after two years and 20,000 miles they still look perfect.