Hello!
I was wondering if anybody had a problem with the area around the lug nuts where what appear to be a clear, brittle layers of the (stock, non-HFP) peeling off. I've never taken them off myself, and they've only been serviced at Discount Tire Co. I can't post pictures (or at least don't know how to), but it doesn't look nice. It almost looks like something corrosive settled on the area of the H logo between the five lug nuts.

Our Fit is a 2007 Sport.

Mods: If I could somehow post pics, that would be great!

 

mine did that too.

it was like a spidering effect of the clear coat on the rims. i took immaculate care of my car/wheels and washed them frequently. and didnt use the stock wheels in winter. yet i still noticed it happening with only 20k miles on the car.

never did anythign about it casue i didnt think it was worth my time. youd probly need the wheel(s) refinished to fix it.

 

Welcome aboard Mac! You might visit this area of the forum to get you started specially with posting pics and stuff: Fit Freak Newbie / FAQs - Unofficial Honda FIT Forums

As to the the spider-web mapping you're noticing, perhaps it's something to do with you guys being on the east coast (road salt). I don't have any of that on my '08. Aluminum alloy corrosion would appear a bit powdery white. Best cure would be frequent washing... Just my take...

 

Unfortunently this is common in the salt belt. Some wheels are painted with a silver paint. Sometimes they are shiny machined finish wheels with a thinner clear coat put over the surface. I have seen severe corrosion on both type at suprisingly low mileage at Toyota (but Honda will be similar), while other models have no issues. I think it just comes down to the particular OEM supplier quality control, exposure to road salt, and maintenance. I only recommend soap and or regular (not heavy duty) Simple Green on a cool wheel to clean your wheels. Those caustic harsh chemicals they sell in autoparts stores are not recommended IMO. I have seen damage from the "Safe On All Wheels" products out there. But as the other poster said, the wheels will need refinished to correct it. Contact a local body shop and see if they have a vendor that repairs the wheels for them. Most are mobile set-ups that can fix your wheel on site as opposed to you leaving your Fit on blocks for a week when you send them out for repair. Hope this helps.

 

One thing to do on all alloy wheels is to remove them and LIGHTLY coat the studs and the back side of the wheels where they touch the steel hub with anti-seize. You will only need to do this once as enough will anti-seize stick around for all future removals and re-installations. This is a preventative and not a fix for ones that are all ready corroded.

 

Not sure what the "Salt Belt" is, but it has never in the history of were I live snowed.....I do live a block from the ocean and our cars rust like it's going out of style. I have a '03 GD3 here in Japan and mine is the same....looks like white sealent splatterd all over the wheels from a distance, mainly by the lug nuts. Up close it is the white powder under the clear coat. It is called galvanic corrosion, it when 2 dissimilar metals are touching. There is a chart that shows which metal will corrodes first whether it is the anode or cathode....I do structural repair on airplanes

So, it's time to give then a good DA and paint them up.....I'm thinking gold like I did on my EK9.