shelbymustangdan Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Hello everyone, This past Saturday, I had my 07 GT500 in for state inspection at my local Ford dealer. On Sunday, I went to wash my car for its winter break and noticed several marks on my rims, mostly around the lug nut holes. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was caused by the air wrench used by the mechanic to remove my rims for inspection. (it certainly looked liked it to me) I contacted the Service Director and sent him pictures to show him what I thought was damage caused by his tech during inspection. He responded this afternoon saying this was a known issue called "Fillform cracking". He also went on to say that Ford has a "job aid" documenting the issue, and the remedy which is replacing the entire rim. Unfortunately, it is only covered under the 3yr/36,000 mile warranty. Of course I am coming up on my fifth anniversary and just over 8,000 miles. (Before I hear comments about the mileage, my daily driver is a 01 GT and I have two 67s to play with in addition to the GT500) I know, tough situation to be in.... ;o) Anyway.... Has anyone else heard of such a thing? Is this true or is he blowing smoke up my ass?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Dan - Does this appear to be a defect under the clearcoat on the wheel? If you run your fingernail over the defect is it smooth or is there an edge? I have something similar on one or my wheels. I showed it to the Ford dealer who did some work on my car last year and he didn't know what it was. I did make him document it in my service notes for future referance (just in case it got worse...which I suspect it will). It looks very similar to a problem I had with the rims on my 1980 Mustang Giha. Those rims got so bad it looked like 'wood worm' under the clear. I was told it was an anerobic bacteria under the clear that was causing the damage becasue the rims were not cleaned correctly before they were cleaned. The defects will grow and spread over time. If this is the same thing, you would think that they would have figured out a solution....given they have had 30+ years to figure it out!!! Z-man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbymustangdan Posted January 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Just an update: I spoke with Ford (corporate) customer support last night. They have opened up a case for review of the current condition of my rims. There should be a follow up phone call in 3-4 business days to discuss more details with a case manager. I will post the results when I have something to report from Ford. This way, if by some miracle they do something about it, then everyone who has the same issue can take the necessary steps. Stay tuned.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 I googled "fillform cracking". The Internet is silent on that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbymustangdan Posted January 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 I googled "fillform cracking". The Internet is silent on that one! That was the first thing I did as well. Nothing. The rep on the phone at Ford had not heard of that term either, but readily admitted that the Ford dealers see everything going on in the field, much more than they would see or hear about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onirb Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 I saw the same issue the other day on my CS40. I sent an email over to Adams Car Care to see what they have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 Any updates on this topic? From the pictures posted, it looks like the same issue I have on one of my rims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorjock205 Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 It looks to me like some tire changer carelessly hit the wheel instead of the lug nut when he was putting the wheel back on....I have never heard of Fill Form Cracking...I have a 2007 and have looked at all of the wheels on it, and I see nothing like this at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 It looks to me like some tire changer carelessly hit the wheel instead of the lug nut when he was putting the wheel back on....I have never heard of Fill Form Cracking...I have a 2007 and have looked at all of the wheels on it, and I see nothing like this at all... If you could see the defect on my rim for yourself, you would know your suggestion is not the case. Additionally, the crack grows over time whereas a scratch would not change. Still very interested to see what others have to say, and I do that you (motorjock) for your comment. Z-man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbymustangdan Posted June 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2013 Hi guys, @Motorjock: That is exactly what I thought at first. (damaged cause while working with a log wrench or air tool) The lines you see on the picture are "under" the clear coat finish. If you run your fingernail over them, there is nothing felt. No ridge, scratch, etc., its as smooth as any other place on the rim. I never heard anything more back from Ford corporate. (not surprised) The service director (Sloan Ford in Exton PA) said there was nothing he could/would due as a warranty fix, etc. Then he made the mistake of going down the path of saying "I looked at your new car purchase history here, etc......." which clearly alluded to his feeling that since I had not purchased a lot of new cars from their dealership, he wasn't going to do anything from a "dealer perspective". Keep in mind, I've been taking my "family fleet of Fords" in there for service (things I couldn't fix) since 1999. Their sales department was never even close to being price competitive to the other Ford dealers, hence why I took my new car sales elsewhere. So......since then, I have taken my service related items elsewhere. (as much as possible) Its a real shame......I can still walk into the Service and Parts department today, and most of them know me by name. Anyway......I thought rather than go through the expense of having them reconditioned by a wheel service, I will just buy a new rim/tire setup when the time comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorjock205 Posted June 30, 2013 Report Share Posted June 30, 2013 Very interesting that is appears to be under the clear coat...Hope you guys can find a solution...figures that the dealer would not want to do anything for someone who buys an expensive car from them. Main reason I stay away from dealerships as much as I can...it has to be something pretty bad for me to take it in to have it worked on any more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Smith Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 This is a form of corrosion under the clearcoat. I had my rims and tyres stored in a warm, dry place as I had the Super Snake wheels on the car. All 4 of the original rims had this problem. I have now sold the original rims and the car as I have purchased a 2013 Grabber Blue/Black GT500. Great car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blotto Posted September 6, 2013 Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 I had the same problem on all four rims for my 2008 GT500. Fortunately caught it just before the 36 months. Ford replaced all of the rims. It's a common corrosion problem under the clear coat and usually starts on the edges. I bought another set of rims (2010 GT500 rims, a lot easier to clean too) to run on the car and put the factory ones in storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsfdiver Posted September 22, 2013 Report Share Posted September 22, 2013 Corrosion of the aluminum under the clear coat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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