Chrysler 300C Rims

jpit

The rims on the 330c are pitting very quickly. They have plastic iver the rim and when moisture gets under the rim it causes pitting and discloration. Looks like hell on a new car. They are saying you are n ot maintaining car correctly. Not True. Defect and they are not addressing this problem. Need to contact Chrsyler to let them know of this problem. They are not standing behind this. Have to have rims replaced ot reconditioned. Better to replace because of this problem. Need to contact Chrysler to address this problem.

srt8jockey

I agree completely ! I have staining some pitting and overall concerns with the quality of these rims. Excessive brake dust and grooving rotors are also spoiling my first impressions of my new SRT 8 300. I hate to complain about this otherwise great car, but paid big cash for this premium ride and hope to see some support from others with these issues.

vic10

First of all, I was surprised to learn that these were plastic covered wheels since I thought the original brochure on the product defined them as "chrome wheels". Plastic clad is not the same thing. Secondly, the replacement seems to be at the whim of either the dealer or the local rep since there were several posts in 2005 that indicated owners had problems and the wheels were replaced at no charge. There is either a problem or there isn't. I just took my 2005 in (18,000 miles)and noted the condition to the dealer. He's been very responsive, but in this case clearly indicated it was the regional office who would decide. He took photos and sent them in. Haven't heard. He did mention the possible affect of corrosive cleaners and I said "Murphy's Oil Soap and Windex??" Ended that discussion....

srt8jockey

I'm in Canada and am not too sure what the protocall is here for dealing with pitted wheels and grooved rotors,brake dust etc. , but will soon find out. I am taking the car in this week to have the wheels looked at and will post my results here. I have not recieved my dealer performance evaluation survey yet and have also informed this dealer that I intend to purchase 4 new trucks for my business by August. I hope these incentives will result in new wheels and brake discs and will post my results here for others who may have the same problems. Does anyone have pictures of their wheels/brake discs with this problem ? I will be photographing mine and posting them here for comparison to others and hopefully help others plead their case to Chrysler.
Rob

jpit

contact 1-800-992-1997 customer assistance center need to address

jpit

also try 1-800-853-1403 if you can get through. Will keep trying need vin number

mikeyjohn

I have had my C since the very beginning (June 04) and ran into the pitting in late fall and winter 04-05 and my original dealer refused to do anything about it. I went to another dealer and they were more receptive and after several back ad forth contacts with DC they recognized that this was a major problem and changed the way these wheels were made. They replaced my wheels but will only do it on a need basis only there is not a TSB per say.

If you go to other 300 websites you will see that many, many owners have had the same problem.

pearlcoat

What MPG numbers are you getting to city driving with the 300 Touring or Limted with 3.5L engine? Same question for highway MPG.

vic10

Finally wrote to Chrysler, with photos of my wheel corrosion, and copies of edmunds.com indicating several customers received support from their dealers for wheel replacement. Chrysler's first response was the car is out of warranty (it's an '05 and currently has 37K miles). So I advised that I have the supplemental, supposedly bumper to bumper, warranty. They replied well, that's really only a powertrain warranty (not sure when a radio or power windows--which are covered--became "powertrain" but they apparently have) and the wheels would be under the basic warranty only. So I replied, well, if you look at the dealer's work sheet I provided, it shows that I complained about the wheels in April '06 (19 months old) and at 18K miles, all well within the basic warranty period. They replied, well, after careful consideration, we decided we will not honor this warranty claim anyway.

Obviously, now I don't have a good feeling about the support I'll get with the dollar-wasted supplemental warranty. And for all those out there wondering about the Chrysler "lifetime" powertrain warranty: Beware. It's only words until Chrysler decides to honor it and this episode wouldn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

xtec

Vic- I will say you did a good job presenting your case.I agree with you.In the past if you had a defect and notified them of that defect,they would honor the factory warranty.I think because Chrysler is pinching every penny,they aren't doing what they did in the past.My suggestion is to put a complaint in at BBB,then file a complaint with your states Attorney General office.To me Chrysler breached your warranty by not replacing defected rims during warranty period.Good Luck

bobon

I am looking to purchase two OEM Chrome rims for a 2005 300C for the purpose of putting snow tires on the rear.
I plan to put 2 or 3 tubes of 70lb sand bags in the trunk for the winter months.
any ideas.
BobON

coolrunning

Sandbagging a car that weighs in at over 4000 lbs. at the curb is probably not necessary. Your 300C likely has the same traction control (ESP) system installed on it as mine, and will perform superbly in the snow with the right tires. Old school solutions are OK if you don't have the technology to get it done any other way. If I lived in a northern state where snow is a way of life, I think I would have sought the AWD version of the car. I am sure it solves a lot of traction related problems as designed.

shipo

I'm thinking that you'll be waaaay better off if you buy a complete set of four rims and winter tires. Putting just two winter tires on the back and leaving the fronts alone is a sure invitation to finding your car in a ditch some time.

Best Regards,
Shipo

brit5

Agree with Shipo. I've had my 300C RWD for 3 yrs now & there is plenty of snow where I live. The OEM Conti's are just plain horrible in snow -- but with a set of 4 winter tires the car is very good indeed -- pulls like a tractor in deep snow & stable & secure with the ESP active -- just the ticket for getting the groceries on a nasty day. However, the real fun comes with the ESP off -- long power slides & a quick flick of the tail with a twitch of throttle. The car is very well balanced, responds crisply to steering inputs and has a big critical steering angle -- so you can really get it sideways & easily pull it back. I haven't had fun like this since my T-Bird Super Coupe. I hate front drivers in the snow -- boring snow plows.

vic10

Personally, when driving through snow, I LOVE boring....

plowboy820

My son drives a 1995 300 M. I'm not sure what the rims are but he has trouble with the bead breaking on them in the winter. Local tire dealer tells me that chrome rims have that problem. Has anyone heard of this and is there anything that can be done?

Thanks

coolrunning

Bead breaking is common on any rim if the tires are underinflated and the car is subjected to hard turns at higher than normal speeds. Chrome has nothing to do with the problem, since the steel wheel under the chrome flexes just as much as a painted rim. Keep your tires fully inflated, especially in the colder winter months, and take it easy going around corners. The "problem" will go away.