Buckling Alloy Wheels!

[Johnno1212]

Hi, I bought my Fiesta Mk.7 a couple of weeks ago, and I'm hearing a lot about alloy wheels buckling! Now my question is, what sort of alloy wheels are we talking about? There are a few different types fitted to the Fiesta Mk.7. Are we talking ALL Ford alloy wheels or just certain ones? Obviousely I'm concerned about the 16" 15 spoke wheels fitted to mine, are these suspect? Can anyone advise? Sorry ! it looks as if my query has already been answered by the post dated 20/8/11

[rojariggs]

As you have already seen, there are a number of topics and posts on the site already dealing with this topic:

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/21031-buckled-16-alloys/page__st__30__p__158250__hl__alloys__fromsearch__1#entry158250

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/18374-dont-buy-a-fiesta/page__st__75__p__162688__hl__alloys__fromsearch__1#entry162688

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/29901-17-ford-fiesta-alloy-problemshelp/page__hl__alloys__fromsearch__1

[ONETrueSaturday]

Hi, I bought my Fiesta Mk.7 a couple of weeks ago, and I'm hearing a lot about alloy wheels buckling! Now my question is, what sort of alloy wheels are we talking about? There are a few different types fitted to the Fiesta Mk.7. Are we talking ALL Ford alloy wheels or just certain ones? Obviousely I'm concerned about the 16" 15 spoke wheels fitted to mine, are these suspect? Can anyone advise? Sorry ! it looks as if my query has already been answered by the post dated 20/8/11

The bigger the alloy and lower the tyre profile the more likely they are to buckle.

That doesn't mean to say that all 17" with a 40 tyre profile (like mine) are going to buckle though.

I've hit a good few major potholes recently and my alloys are okay so i wouldn't worry too much....

[Nico.]

they will only buckle if you dont respect them... it's simple really, if you hit pot holes, curbs etc then they will buckle regardless, but if you dont they wont! not asif anyone's wheels on here have buckled do to the fact the alloy has just bent for no reason is it? completely down to the way you drive

[colin79666]

I recently bought a new Titanium as well. To be honest it is a worry but not enough that I wouldn't buy the car although I do think that 15" 195x55 wheels would have been fine on the Titanium given that it isn't one of the "sport" models.

Also bear in mind that Ford have changed the Titanium wheels design, it might well be that the new ones on mid 2011 onwards cars prove to be more robust. As said above a lot of it is to do with your driving and the state of the roads.

[Johnno1212]

Thanks for the input everybody. I'm getting on a bit now and am not as speedy as I once used to be, so I dont tend to hit many potholes these days, so hopefully my alloys will be fine.

[ford=win]

Thanks for the input everybody. I'm getting on a bit now and am not as speedy as I once used to be, so I dont tend to hit many potholes these days, so hopefully my alloys will be fine.

hi mate, i work as a tyre fitter and i see quite few buckled wheels but to be honest about 90% of them are down to the driver being a bit silly and driving into pot holes at massive speed lol

i wouldn't worry to much, I'm on my second fiesta now and I've racked up over 14,000 miles of driving fun with no wheel issues at all

hopes the helps

[d2kea]

they will only buckle if you dont respect them... it's simple really, if you hit pot holes, curbs etc then they will buckle regardless, but if you dont they wont! not asif anyone's wheels on here have buckled do to the fact the alloy has just bent for no reason is it? completely down to the way you drive

It's nothing to do with respect. Sometimes you have no option. Like when you don't see it. Or you are forced into one.

Many times I drive down the lanes where I live and pot holes appear overnight. With wet roads and dark conditions you can't always see them.

If you buckle a wheel due to a pot hole it's just bad luck. We can't all drive around at 20mph watching for them. :)

[rojariggs]

It's nothing to do with respect. Sometimes you have no option. Like when you don't see it. Or you are forced into one.

Many times I drive down the lanes where I live and pot holes appear overnight. With wet roads and dark conditions you can't always see them.

If you buckle a wheel due to a pot hole it's just bad luck. We can't all drive around at 20mph watching for them. :)

Nobody would argue with that - but, when it happens, it's not the time to start pointing the finger at the manufacturer of the wheels as many people on this forum seem to be...

[d2kea]

You can always try the council. You need a photo of said hole. But I've yet to hear of anyone successfully getting any compensation. :(