Just got ym new Blue xB yesterday and am waiting for the 19" wheels to come in. Did some research and found out they might be discontinued. And this is what I get, way to go Scion!

Please wait for a Scion Customer Advocate to respond. You are number 1 in queue.
You are now chatting with Moe
Moe: Hi Dien
Moe: How may I help you today?
Dien: I heard a rumor that the 18 and 19" wheels for the xB are discontinued. Is this true?
Moe: Since our customers want to be unique and want many choices, it’s difficult for TRD to be competitive with only one or two wheel designs given the many suppliers in the aftermarket. The aftermarket already offers an expansive variety of wheels from which customers can choose. For now, TRD will shift their Scion accessory focus from wheels to more performance-oriented parts, such as superchargers, suspension and exhaust parts. They will use this time to evaluate their involvement in the plus-size wheel market.
Dien: Ok, well I'm worried about replacement wheels if anything were to happen to mine.
Dien: What happens in a year when my wheel breaks?
Moe: What do you mean
Moe: ?
Dien: I ordered a Scion xB with the 19" wheel package.
Moe: Did you get the tires?
Dien: What happens if one of my wheels were to ever break or get damaged?
Dien: Yes I got tires too.
Moe: Did you get the car already.
Dien: I got the car but the wheels are on order and should arrive shortly
Moe: They are no longer available
Dien: I guess I need to call my dealer up and see what;s going on.
Moe: Yes you should follow up
Moe: The 19" package..
Moe: Does not come with a warranty any ways
Dien: No one told me that, it is TRD equipment....
Moe: Yes but it does not have a warranty
Dien: Would it void the warranty on other parts of my car?
Moe: If it directly affects it
Dien: I don't get how y'all can sell stuff like that
Dien: Doesn't seem so consumer friendly
Moe: It is also up to the consumer to do due dilligence
Dien: Sounds like an out for selling a bad product to me
Dien: Can you imagine paying $2660 for wheels and tires from TRD only to hear that?
Moe: Well do you get a warranty for damages to a car if you purchase 19" wheels from an aftermarket company?
Dien: No, but this is TRD and if Toyota won;t honor what it sell then don't mislead teh consumer!
Moe: TRD is an aftermarket product
Dien: But Toyota does honor TRD equipment for the most part do they not?
Moe: On some products they do
Moe: do you get a warranty for damages to a car if you purchase 19" wheels from an aftermarket company?
Dien: No, but TRD is assumed to be a Toyota backed company and consumers are lead to believe that
Moe: It is a subdivision of Toyota but it still reserves the right to not warranty products just like any company
Dien: Well then why would anyone want to pay MORE for TRD products unless they think they'll get a warranty
Moe: That is the pricing that is set.
Dien: Well if my dealer can't fix the problem then I'll be sure to mention you in my consumer survey
Dien: good bye
Moe: No problem

 

Damn that's bunnied up. I hope that you contact that dealer ASAP and cancel your order. Good Luck.

 

That sucks

 

So now there is even less reason then before to buy rims from the dealer?

Yay.

Good luck man, they had better take the money out of your loan (upside is you'll get a smaller payment).

 

glad I stuck with the steelies...2660 bucks f that...you could get some nice volks or works for that! and even add the wheel protection to it sheesh...

 

I never even bothered to sell any of the TRD rims. Way too expensive. Aftermarket is the way to go anyway

 

yo know, i had a bad interaction w that SAME guy on the chat thingy on scion life...i was asking about Scion Exposed, and a free keychain that scion was supp to send me that i never recieved!!! he was ttoally unresponsive and prolly should be fired!!!!


apparantly ,

moe is a @===> (D!ck for those who dont know)

 

i remember reading a disclaimer that the 19" trd rims were not warrantied when they were still listed under accessories on the regular scion website...

"moe" was just doing his job and stating the facts... if anything, i'd talk to the dealership that sold you the wheel package... THEY should have informed you of the discontinued/warranty issues beforehand...

good luck in getting that all sorted out...

 

I just purchased an 05 xB yesterday and inquired about the discontinuation of the 18" & 19" wheel/tire packages. They do indeed void the warranty, but the fact that they are TRD has nothing to do with it. Apparently Scion/Toyota feels that that size wheel can do damage to other vehicle parts and therefore are no longering offering them. Consequently, any aftermarket wheels larger than 17" will also void the vehicle's warranty should Scion/Toyota deem that the wheels were a factor in the failure of any part to perform.

I'm glad I discovered this before I made any aftermarket wheel purchase. I'll now be going with 17s even though they don't quite fill the wells like the 18s. The dealership I was at had one of the xA RS 1.0s and the 17s look good on that.

It will be interesting to see how Scion/Toyota handles complaints from all the customers who already have the 18s or 19s thinking they are covered since they paid extra for TRD parts.

 

I went with 17's myself and the only down side is that you don't get tires for life on low profiles. Actually if you lower your box and get 40's the wheel well is pretty much all taken up and the ride is really nice.

 

What do you mean 'tires for life on low profiles' ?

 

I'm not surprised that Toyota would discontinue these wheels, since folks were buying fragile wheel/tire combinations and then driving like they were on Monster Mudders.

The fact is, that when you have less than two inches of sidewall, you don't have much chance if you hit a pothole or rock. You're going to damage something and Toyota was probably tired of hearing people whine about their bent rims and cracked sidewalls.

At the same time, I'm really not surprised that some dealers aren't telling customers about the fact that 19s aren't covered by warranty. You get someone gullible enough to buy $2K worth of overpriced wheels and you're not likely to tell them anything that will sour the deal. If they don't read the fine print, too bad!

George

 

Some dealers offer to replace your tires for free if you get all your service done at the dealer and follow the dealer's recommendations for service.

Don't worry, the dealers aren't losing any money on this deal!

George

 

I have the 19" TRD Wheels on my xB. I didn't pay the outrageous 2600 for the wheels, I got them for 700 off some guy.

Anyway, what concerns are there with these rims?
I've had them on my xb for almost 6000 miles and I have not noticed anything wrong, is it more internal???

Thanks

KidKamel

 

45 series fills the wheel wells nicely too. Hit the link in my sig.

215/45R17s
Tein H Tech Springs

 

Well, if you put a tire with more traction on the car, it has the potential to stress the brakes and drivetrain more than the stock components. If you drive reasonably, it shouldn't be a problem. If you go to the limits of traction all the time it might be.

The only other danger is from road irregularities and debris damaging the tires and rims.

George

 

One of my aftermarket wheel and tire suppliers also informed me that MOST of the 18's and larger on the market may pose problems. Apparently Scion has changed a design in the rear suspension area of the xB and now that causes tire rub, which could lead to tire failure. My regional manager is looking into this for me to validate! Be carefully if you're adding anything larger than 17's right now.

 

Why on earth would anyone pay $2660 for these unimpressive heavy cast wheels? I f I was spending that much money I would go with a set of rare JDM rims or high-end forged wheels for sure.

And why is anyone surprised that these wheels are not warrantied? Look, you've got tires the thickness of rubber band protecting the rims. You have a HIGH CHANCE of bending the rims. The laws of physics are not repealed just because there is a TRD label on there.

 

[quote+And why is anyone surprised that these wheels are not warrantied? Look, you've got tires the thickness of rubber band protecting the rims. You have a HIGH CHANCE of bending the rims. The laws of physics are not repealed just because there is a TRD label on there.[/quote]

I understand exactly what you're saying and I agree, but I guess the reason I'm surprised is that if you look at 90% of the press photos of the xB that Scion uses in their product advertising, the all feature the car with the lowering springs and 18" TRD rims...and while I certainly am used to seeing this type of marketing with cars at auto shows, I think that a majority of customers would expect that product brochures would depict the vehicle in a manner consistent with keeping it under warranty - especially when one of the photos is placed not even an inch below the description of the warranty coverage and denotes that the 18" wheels are optional, but fails to mention they would void the above mentioned warranty.

I say leave it to companies like KMC to picture the vehicles with tricked out rims. While legally Scion is doing nothing wrong of course, an argument can me made that they may be misleading consumers be using these kinds of images in their marketing.

 

this is not different from anyother dealership, they all sell stuff that is not covered. If you buy a WRX and put the STi aftercat exhaust on it they can choose to void your warranty even it the problem is with the speedomiter cable. I think dealers should clearly tell you what will and will not void the warranty, that would make both parties life a lot easier.