Ford Fiesta Alloy Wheels - Have You Had Buckled Alloy Wheels, Or Know Somebody Who Has? Let's Get Something Done About It!

[dazgreen]

A mention on Top Gear's news and auto industry happenings section, where they sit on the chairs together, would work wonders. More than any petition or Forum could do (with respect to posters here)

[Stoney871]

Anyone think I've got a buckle...?

Nah! Good wash will get that out. :D

[dazgreen]

Auto Express give this subject a mention.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/ford/fiesta/59731/watchdog-fiesta-alloys

[Tim3]

Just to say I have the same problem 2 buckled wheels on Ford Fiesta 1.6 s done 13k,been driving 30 years and have never had a buckled wheel.

While I do not doubt that pot holes are the cause in my opinion the wheels are clearly not up to the job,its a fact that in most towns in the uk you are gonna hit pot holes at some point.

going to see the tomorrow will report back.

[AdamFRP]

Ive had numerous fiestas now and never buckled a wheel, i think the answer is just avoid potholes and if u hit one and knacker your wheel you need to be writing to the council not ford!

[DaisyM]

Got a 2009 Zetec S 2 months ago. Tyre pressures have not budged and I last checked them 2 weeks ago and all was OK. Noticed rear off-side was flat this morning, so took the car into garage & was told the wheel was buckled. It must have happened in the last 2 weeks, as all was OK with tyre pressure up until then. I drive it extremely carefully and have definitely not damaged it through hitting potholes or speed bumps. After reading the posts I think, rather than buying one replacement from Ford, I might be better to replace all the wheels with some other make. I might even swap the 17" ones for 16". Can anyone recommend a make of wheel?

[freeman3030]

It's actually a relief that you have made this poll. A few month ago I bought up this discussion and a few people agreed with me and others put me down with arguments along the lines of the fact my driving style impacts on the potential to buckle my alloys... Which I fully accept, but it bothers me that so many other people have this problem too. Some others state that having low profile tyres on the 16" titanium alloys is going to increase the chance of buckling your alloys... The problem is, many of us consumers have buckled wheels therefore the alloys ford supplies us with our vehicles are not fit for purpose. I just wonder if this increases the chance of a tyre blowout that could cause a nasty accident.

I mainly drive short journeys so the problem doesn't bother me so much. But this weekend I've been away and driving back 100miles with the constant shaking drives me insane and actually tires me out.

I really hope you get the votes you need to take this to court because it's a serious issue that ford needs to rectify.

[alien27]

Hello

Just wondering has anyone here replaced their wheels with something more durable, I wrote to honest John

and he has suggested I have them replaced with 15" or even 14" steel wheels as fitted to the Fiesta Econetic model.

I was thinking of doing this as I have had two front 16" Titanium alloys replaced back in June (which I managed to claim back from the council), I had a third minor buckled back wheel but it was very minor - so had to leave.

I am now paranoid about pot holes and having read all these threads I can see that there must be a design fault. I would like

to replace the wheels if possible but am wondering what implications this could have, if any, further down the line, with electronics or insurance.

I had an Escort Finesse 1.6 for over 10 years and never had any problems with my alloys, however they weren't low profile.

[Stoney871]

Low profile wheels will always suffer more damage on bad roads.

Tbh I think the blame can be shared equally between Ford and whoever maintains your roads.

I have a friend who has had two full sets of wheels on his Astra (yuk) in four years due to buckling.

Low profile wheels look good on cars but due to less protection from the tyres will always suffer more damage.

Unfortunately that is the price to pay for good looking wheels.

[Tim3]

Just to say I have the same problem 2 buckled wheels on Ford Fiesta 1.6 s done 13k,been driving 30 years and have never had a buckled wheel.

While I do not doubt that pot holes are the cause in my opinion the wheels are clearly not up to the job,its a fact that in most towns in the uk you are gonna hit pot holes at some point.

going to see the tomorrow will report back.

Hi

Just an update after reading the rest of the posts on here decided that taking it up with the Ford Dealer would probably achieve little except raising my stress levels.

So took it to a friend who runs a performance car garage and he said the buckling was not that bad and they could bang out some of the dents on the affected wheels and recommended swopping the back with the front which they have done and everything seems ok for now.

[RB2004]

Hi, I know this is a fiesta thread... and as yet seems to be nobody really complaining on the focus about buckled alloys.

But I have the rather rare, Sport Pack on mine which included 18" alloy wheels... combined with a rather heavy 2.0 TDCi engine.

It is a 2008 focus also, which was when sport pack was introduced.. so wouldnt surprise me if the same alloy on those fiesta alloys is being used on mine because its all around the same time frame for production / release.

But at 11 months old, Ford dealer told me I had a buckled alloy wheel on the front, which I went in for assuming it was also just a lost balance weight.

New alloy wheel, then the other side has now also developed a flat spot... which was causing steering vibration.. for the moment though until I can get it replaced ive shoved it on the back.

But when checking the rest with a dial test indicator, ive found another one which is slightly buckled by a few mm... not enough to notice when driving but buckled none the less.

So since owning the car, by the time I have replaced the 2 buckled alloy wheels again I would of replaced 3 out of 4 of them... and its likely it wont be the last alloy wheel either to buckle.

whats strange is, ST has 18" alloys also, but different style and no complains about buckling, so I guess they are stronger as they was designed around 2005... more expensive also to buy!

So next time, I might take the compromise of a similar but not identical style and go for ST replicas from a company which has a good reputation for quality... cant get replicas of my style because sport pack was an optional extra so quite rare.

But it is disgusting that ford, a good brand, has a problem with something stupid as alloy wheels... but it wouldnt be the first time a manufacturer has had problems, BMW also had problems with alloy wheels cracking.

Only explanation is, cheap alloy is being used

[gadgetman]

Yes me too.Hit a massive pothole which i could not avoid took out 2x 17 inch rims and 2 tyres.So far cost £500.

Will be putting in a clain to the local council.Will let you know how i get on,claim may take months to settle if any.

[davethescoot]

Dave, Don't worry I did not take it personally, I understand your anger, the whole thing is a joke and to be honest I have decided that my next car will not be another Ford, it may seem stupid over wheels but think about it in context.

The only thing that makes contact with the road (via the tire) and it has a high proportion of failure, that to me is simply unacceptable.

Combined with the door seals being stuck on with Blu-Tac and my seat that is either already broken or will shortly break I cannot stand the hassle that comes attached to these cars.

Antman99......deffo with you re the 'blue tack' comment.....Ford quality driving me away to another manufacturer !

[sambooka]

Well just picked my car up after having its second service 2011 zetec s 16" with winter tyres on its all I use the 16s for and have been told that my drivers side front is badly buckle on the inner and outer like its buckled in 2 different places but weirdly it balances fine. It's the first one that I've had buckle one 2 years and I had them on the car during first year of ownership so maybe just one to many pot holes

[Wobblie]

Hi all, Well I am new to owning a Ford..."The only car to have" says my Dad who has had many Fords over many years. So after having all other sorts of cars and now settling into being a mid-age driver I got myself a Fiesta Titanium....a month ago with less than 2000 miles on the clock...to my Dads glee..

What a mistake....

It has now cost me £150 to replace the OSF wheel because it has ........ buckled...

What a JOKE...I supposedly have bought a reliable car.....should have bought a Hyundai

[FiestaZpower]

It is common . It can happen with big wheel low profile tyre set up on any car .there are lots of these wheels about in breakers I've seen then go pretty cheap second hand

[sambooka]

I had me 16" ford alloys on for 2 years supposedly less prone to buckling last service was told I'd buckled 3 of them it was cheaper to buy the 17" aftermarket ones I had my eye on than replace with new ford 16s. But it is a very common fault with them more so the 17" street pack alloys

[2nd ford E+ B]

Hi all,

I used to have fez on a 58 plate that had the front passenger wheel buckled. My fault hit a pot hole Only really noticed it if was was going over 60-70 mph.

[Hjalle]

Im glad to see someone is taking action against this outrageous behaviour from Ford.

I recently bought second hand 16' Fiesta rims (thinking they would be a safe reliable, good quality option due to them being official Ford ones) for my mk6.5 Fiesta. They looked clean and tidy so I was a very happy chappy for a week. Then I had the all to well known wobble, took my car in an alignment check only to find out 4 out of 4 alloys were buckled!

I dug deep and had all 4 rerolled by an independent wheel repairer with 3 out of 4 being perfectly round and 1 almost perfect but balanced out. I was told that I was lucky to have had success with rerolling becuase they were in a scrappable condition and most rerollers don't touch Fiesta alloys due to their rubbish quality.

While I dug deep and paid for them to be fixed (while the car they are off is under warranty!) Ford's solution was to sell me a new set for a casual £2300/ $4000!!

My biggest concern now is what if it happens again! I have altered my driving style to avoid potholes now and kept my old hub caps just in case the problem reoccurs but should I really need to live in constant fear of breaking something with normal driving? I mean the car is an 06 and those wheels hadn't broken in the 7 years of use and its not like I have decided to hit every single pothole now I have these alloys.

I know I have an older Fiesta but I was very happy and considering buying a newer one but after this fiasco and rubbish help from Ford I am seriously contemplating cutting it off the short list.

[antman99]

HJalle,

I may be wrong but I think your wheels in the picture are taken from the Mk7 they look like the 7 spokes I have on my titanium.

If you do then yes indeed you are correct they are weak but they certainly are not standard to the mk 6.5 and therefore someone has changed them.

Unfortunately Ford Will not admit liability and I have tried everything including multiple laws. Ultimately I have made the decision I will not buy another Ford as it is damn right dangerous.

[Hjalle]

Yes you are right antman99,

In Australia they are fitted to the mk 7 Zetec and I bought them second hand and put them on my mk6.5. They were taken off the original car after roughly 8 months of ownership as the girl I bought them off had bought aftermarket ones and was totally unaware of the buckling.

I was just surprised at how a Ford product can be so bad. I was expecting a factory fitted alloys to be better quality than aftermarket ones. I am heading down the same path of not buying another Ford product again and to have a customer aged 18 saying this is not a good business model for Ford.

[b1g_dav3]

Some of mine lasted 2 months, 2 wheels actually; so that was enough for me personally, after having replaced a load. When Ford took the car from me, after having replaced the front wheels at no cost to myself, it had a full set gone again...

[craiglr]

i don't understand this thread it isn't fords fault britains roads have got worse and worse. and the thing with speed bumps if people slowed down enough for them they wouldn't damage your wheels anyway.

plus can you prove your tyre pressures kept at the right level as this will increase the chances of buckling wheels.

[b1g_dav3]

It is actually Ford's fault, the metal they've used is way too soft for purpose. I don't go anywhere with speed bumps as all, and if I do I crawl under them as I had a lowered car from standard, so I'd foul against them if I went too quick.

I've given my new alloys a hammering, and there hasn't been a single buckle in them on the Mk7.5 so it's obvious Ford knew there was a problem, plus every tyre garage I've been to has said the same, the alloys buckle for fun. When gathering my evidence, my dad through his work looked at 4 other Fiesta's of the same age, and all had at least 1 if not 2 buckles, or more.

And I check my tyre pressures, oil levels and fluid levels almost every evening after use :P always have and I recommend everyone to do the same >_> takes basically 2 minutes to do. With my garaged ST, I always check before and after it's run too.

[Clarky2013]

Ive also given my mk 7.5 17" alloys a bit of a hammering especially round the new forest its littered with potholes and hugs cracks in tarmac and mine are fine so far. Had ford check them when my car had its 1500 mile check and they are fine