drunkenoldman

There is some black oily stuff on my front tires rims and on the side vents. Could some one tell me what this is? And if it is perfectly normal?

blueSL

You get the normal brake dust, but you should not be seeing "oily stuff". Sounds like a hydraulic leak to me. The side vents are fake though so if you are seeing it on them, it may be something else.

Schiznick

If the car is new it sounds like Tire Dressing. Had the same issue on mine....

drunkenoldman

Im sorry but what it "Tire Dressing"?

jettie1767

Sounds like brake dust.

Schiznick

My dealer uses a solution like Armor All to brighten the rubber on the wheels. It is oil based and makes the tires look shiny and black. It got all over the side of my car when I drove it home from the dealer. You could tell it had spun off from the tires.

I doubt it was Brake dust unless it was sticking to something else on the car. I get tons of Brake dust but that is typically settled on the wheels.

Schiz

drunkenoldman

Ahhh. I thought I was bruning oil and destorying the engine...Guess i was not. No need for a check up?

Schiznick

I would look at the wheels and see if the rubber is shiny. Clean it up on the fenders and see if it comes back. With mine it stopped after three days. If it keeps going take it in.

If you are concerned that it is coming from the engine then take it in for a check up. As Blue said the vents are not functioning so it is not coming from there.

drunkenoldman

Yes yes. We just bought the lovely car from the dealership and the tires were very shiny. But when the guy from the dealership came to show us what all the gizmos do, he said that it was from drving to fast which i dont believe at all.

blueSL

It's not normal, so once any tyre dressing has been washed away, see if it comes back as Schiznick says. As for it being due to you driving to fast, it just shows that there are people in the dealership who don't know what they are talking about.

Twinturbo

Usually dealerships wack on a heap of tire dressing to make the tires shiny quickly without putting it on properly. Wipe of the excess with an old rag or something so that it is no longer oily. If the oily stuff on the rims and vents dont come back then you know it is only the tire dressing and you can re-dress the tires to how much you like, or back to how it was if you dont mind oily wheels. If you get a good quality tire dressing and let it absorb into the rubber and apply it properly you can still get shiny or very shiny tires without the mess.

Edit: The reason for the oily vents is because usually the tire dressing is applied to all parts of the car that have black plastic. Such as the plastic behind the vents. If you find any plastic parts under the bonnet that have the same stuff you are talking about on them than you can be sure that it is only tire dressing and not a leakage of some sort.