I've posted on this website for a couple years now and I've always had great success. Unfortunately over the course of the last year my 03' Bonneville SSEI has encountered an insane amount of problems and I just can't seem to get past it. I have replaced my engine TWICE since April 2009 and now when I thought I've gotten everything take care of shes back again with problems. The other day I notice my tire pressure sensor comes on and says low pressure. My dad has a compressor so we just put all 4 tires to the proper pressure and the sensor went off. After 3 days of driving the sensor came back on and I thought maybe the sensor was bad. However, I checked the air pressure and my drivers side was down 15 PSI over 3 days. I took it to my local Tire shop and had them rotate and balance all tires as well as see if there was a leak in the tire and I paid to have it repaired. Upon picking up my car I was told there was nothing that they could do. They said the tire itself is perfectly fine (not even 20,000+ miles on the tires) but that the chrome rims on my SSEI are peeling and its causing the tire to retreat from the rim so the air is continually leaking out. They said they buffed off the corosion and put a sealant on that should last a couple months but the problem is going to come back. Well today, 2 days later, my air pressure sensor comes on again. I'm at work so I haven't had a chance to mess with it but I'm sure its the same tire with the same problem. The guy at the tire shop said the only solution was to get a set of new rims, which would not be a problem but I've spent so much money on this car over the last 6 months I can't really afford another expensive repair. I know this is a longwinded post but I guess what I'm looking for is suggestions. Should I just try and replace the one rim? Should I replace the entire set? Should I get aftermarket rims? What kind and where should I buy them? As you can see I'm very lost right now and any help would be great. Thanks in advance!! P.*. - Car only has 76,000 miles, bought it at 42,000

I'm about to try this fight with a car I recently purchased. Chrome rims can do this and it can be tough to overcome.

If you like the rims that are on the car, just replace the one. Otherwise, replace them all with a rim that you like and that will fit your tires and hub.

When the chrome cracks from the rim, the entire bed area of the rim needs to be taken down to bare steel. The steel can then be primed to help prevent rust and then a new bead seal applied. As Bill stated above, it'* a tough fight, but you have to take off all the chrome on the tire bead area - not just the are that you think is the problem. The tire has to sit and seal equally along the bead.

X 2. Once that chrome starts to peel, the only fix is to strip it and build it up again. That'* where you have to balance the cost of repair versus buying a used set. There are used sets on here once in a while from guys who install custom wheels.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I'm taking my car to a tire place on Saturday who claims they might be able to fix the problem, or at least delay it for awhile. We'll see what happens. If I do have to get a new set anyone have any ideas on a good looking, cost effective set that would look good with a Charcoal colored car? As you can probably tell I've never purchased rims before and I'm hoping I won't have to but it seems as though that might eventually have to happen.

ive had this problem with my 03 sle and ive got only 38k on her. problem started off the same as you described. when i dismounted the tire i found all the corrosion on the bead seat as well. i took a metal scraper to the seat to get most of the big stuff off, then hit it with some sandpaper to knock all the aluminum corrosion dust off, then chased with steel wool to smooth it out a bit. as somebody else here mentioned you have to get rid of all the corrosion first then after the surface is repaired then brush on a liberal amount of bead sealer on the rim surface to seal the surface and then remount the tire. ive done this to 2 wheels so far and im sure the 2 others are not far behind but so far this worked for me. and i believe there is a tsb from gm for the same problem and their repair is the same.

Been dealing with this problem for many years now.
Did not have much luck with any of the tire guys’ solutions. The best job lasted around 18 months.
Finally ended up doing it myself by sanding and wire brushing all loose chrome and aluminum oxidation on the lip.
I then painted the entire bead with a high build industrial epoxy. The paint was thick enough to fill in craters. I finished off by wet sanding any rough spots.

Thanks guys, I just had a place I go to say they got them taken care of but after hearing some of the horror stories I'm sure its just a temporary fix. If they can last long enough to where I can get some new rims I guess thats all I can ask at this point.

You can buy a replacement wheel off of ebay probably. Or check craigslist for the wheels. I know they get rather ridiculous for OEM wheels. You might as well buy 20s for the cost.

My rims looks good on the outside and i had the same problem as you. Theres a rubber attachment for a pneumatic hand tool that is made for "sanding" the rim. The tire has to be off obviously, and the rubber fills the porous holes inside of the rim. Chrome and aluminum gets porous over the years and they leak slowly.