Bellone wheel corrosion

[mother3251]

Hi, my wife and I both own DS3 HDI 110 sports, in the past 2 months we have had dealer replaced Bellone wheels (all 4)(Black and White sets). The centre hubs had visible corrosion all the way round, and the mechanic said they were replacing these wheels all the time.
Both cars were just under 3 years old.

[madjeff]

Hi all, just been doing some reading into what the car has/has not got IE heated seats and sub in the boot and this thread is very alarming.
Has this problem been sorted yet or is citroen just ignoring the fault and replacing them when they start to corrode.
One good thing is bazf2001 has had his wheels changed by the same dealer im getting my car from.
my punto sporting is 5 years old and iv never kerbed it yet and are similar to the ds alloys as in two tone colour and are still mint.
Just got a thing about scruffy kerbed wheels lol.

[Dangerousfish]

Hi all, just been doing some reading into what the car has/has not got IE heated seats and sub in the boot and this thread is very alarming.
Has this problem been sorted yet or is citroen just ignoring the fault and replacing them when they start to corrode.
One good thing is bazf2001 has had his wheels changed by the same dealer im getting my car from.
my punto sporting is 5 years old and iv never kerbed it yet and are similar to the ds alloys as in two tone colour and are still mint.
Just got a thing about scruffy kerbed wheels lol.

It's not uncommon for Citroen to not issue factory recalls for known faults.

You'll get used to it

[Jimbob]

It's not uncommon for Citroen to not issue factory recalls for known faults.

Is that an example of a triple negative Liam? D

JB

[Bigfeet]

Actually if you look at the whole scheme of things this problem only effect a small percentage of owners, hence why Citroen does the replacement thing ad hoc rather than issue recall to check all wheels.

[MadMan0]

My wheels & car was corroded and i went to Citroen. They told me the wheels are not covered by warrenty. Apperntly neither is the bonnet or rear wheel arches ... they did repair the drivers and passenger door. After a 9 week battle they agreed to do the doors but that was it. No damage to the car, bubbles came through from under the paint. Initally went through Citroen dealer, then CUK directly. I got V.Poor service from both; yet others get good service from them? why the huge difference?

[Dangerousfish]

Actually if you look at the whole scheme of things this problem only effect a small percentage of owners, hence why Citroen does the replacement thing ad hoc rather than issue recall to check all wheels.

Just because it's the most cost effective solution, doesn't mean it's the best.

[lfcrule1972]

I keep checking mine when I clean the car, I'll be straight onto the dealer if I see corrosion appearing....

[Bigfeet]

Just because it's the most cost effective solution, doesn't mean it's the best.

Lol! Very true but when is it ever!

[Dangerousfish]

Lol! Very true but when is it ever!

When the company cares about the products it's selling and recompenses the users that bought their flawed product and does everything in their power to right their wrongs, if any.

The general consensus I've read over the years is that Citroen and their customer service can terrible; I've been on the receiving end of their poor support in the past on multiple occasions. The fact they're still rolling out DS3's after ~4years with the same zero-day fault is testament they don't care about the end user.

That's not to say there aren't any good eggs within Citroen, a lot of the staff I've spoken to from CUK and dealerships in the past sound as though they really want to help their customers but the draconian processes in place means that the customer can't get the service they desire.

[Monty Zoomer]

My DS3 is now one week short of its first MoT, and so I gave it some TLC before presenting it to the local dealership.

I have to say that apart from requiring a new front LED daylight running light unit, and a recall for an issue relating to battery leads, the vehicle has performed well.

It was during the TLC process that I noticed corrosion on all four wheel hub bosses. Very odd I thought, and had a closer look.

The corrosion was on the "silver" coloured area, and seemed to be under the lacquered finish, it had not progressed into the black finished area of the wheels. There seemed to be no obvious damage to the lacquer finish itself,......... this indicated, to me anyway, that the issue was definitely related to a fault in the manufacturing process, and was not due to any sort of damage that may have been inflicted during assembly or subsequent servicing.

At this juncture I "Googled" the issue, and Lo and Behold, I found this forum, which I have now joined.

The vehicle is, as I said, approaching the three year mark, but it has only 7,300 miles on the clock.

Since I no longer have any sort of gainful employment, the vehicle is only used for pottering about; apart from which I own a motorhome, which I use for continental holiday trips, and also use on a regular basis to avoid what is known as "sleepy-van" syndrome. The motorhome is less than one year old and has as many miles on the clock as the DS3.

So:
I presented the DS3 to the local dealer at 0800 hrs (zulu) this morning, and I also handed them a detailed information sheet containing photos of the faulty wheels and all the pertinent vehicle details.

The chap in reception was "nonplussed", but said that he would photograph the wheels and send the resulting photos to Citroen to see what their reaction would be. He also claimed that he had previously only had a couple of such instances,.................. but then he would, wouldn't he ?

I will be returning to the dealers at lunchtime to collect the vehicle after its MoT and service, and I will also see what the score is on the corrosion issue,................... watch this space.

:rolleyes:

[kime252]

They do have to take photos for the warranty claim with Citroen or at least they did with me. You should be OK really as long as you're still under warranty.

I bought a second hand set of C3 wheels for the winter to help prolong the condition of the new Bellones, as well as waxing them to buggery whilst they're off the car!

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[Chris_Blue]

Hi Monty and Kime- welcome to the club.
Hope your wheels get sorted Monty- nothing like a warranty about to expire- hope all goes well

[Monty Zoomer]

I have collected the vehicle, fully serviced and with a shiny new current MoT certificate.

I then toddled off to the local post office, where I paid the princely sum of £20 for the upcoming 12 months road tax.

It seems that these road fund licence (tax) discs are to be phased out with effect from next October,.............. one less source of revenue for the forgers, and probably one more option for fraud in whatever on-line, PC-based system is put into place ??

That apart, the very nice chap on reception at the local dealership, explained that he had photographed the corroded wheel hubs and had forwarded the pics to Citroen.

When he has heard what they have to say, he will get back to me; he said that he was quite hopeful that a new set of wheels would be forthcoming ?

Watch this space.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of the car that I owned for 18 years (from new) before I traded it in (against the wife's wishes) for the DS3.



Citroen ZX Volcan - 1.9 Turbo Diesel. (The reg has been changed to protect the innocent, a bit like in "Dragnet")

I towed a caravan all over Europe, with it and it never let me down once.

Probably the best car I have ever owned. I dunno if the DS3 will match up. Somehow I think not. The old Volcan was built like a brick out-house whereas the DS3 is a bit on the "flimsy" side.

[Clean Your Ride]

If you do get a new set of alloys, do make sure you seal them with a good couple of coats of sealant or wax as soon as possible. A very good sealant is Planet Polish Wheel Seal and Shine and a very good wax is Fk1000p.

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