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Unfortunately, true. Not retorquing the lug nuts in a modest distance after the work was done is an important task that most shops will advise the owner to perform, usually in the "fine print" of their work order/receipt for services. Of course, few owners have the means to do so and this is frequently overlooked on many cars.
For years, I have been observing on invoices the warning to re-torque the lug nuts after 25 or 50 miles after the wheels have been removed and replaced. Although this warning generally pertains to aluminum/alloy wheels, one should do it just as a matter of routine safety precaution. They can and do occasionally become loose if one fails to do so.
All wheel and automobile manufacturers recommend not to use impact wrenches during the installation of alloy wheels without a torque wrench. A lot of tire shops use torque adapters (sticks) on the impact wrenches, which is better than using an impact wrench alone. Still, I always torque to lug nuts properly as soon as I get the car home. Whenever I leave the tire shop, the mechanic tells me to bring the car back so he can re-torque the wheels after I have driven it 100 miles, but I just take care of it myself each time following the automobile manufacturer torque value. For example most Toyota automobiles use 76 foot-pound of torque.
This link pertains to alloy wheel installation on Toyota automobiles, but the instructions, except for the Toyota torque values, should be good for all automobiles: http://cf.linnbenton.edu/eit/auto/eh...loy-Wheels.pdf
For years, I have been observing on invoices the warning to re-torque the lug nuts after 25 or 50 miles after the wheels have been removed and replaced. Although this warning generally pertains to aluminum/alloy wheels, one should do it just as a matter of routine safety precaution. They can and do occasionally become loose if one fails to do so.
I'm not surprised one bit this was done at a Tires Plus, who would ever use this place? OP if they say they'll fix it (good luck getting that) I'd decline, they're not even capable of tightening lug nuts correctly, you really think they can fix something more complex???
Thanks all for the great info. This is what happened today. Took the car in this morning (btw, it is 09 Legacy 2.5). He greeted us by asking what can I do for you, to which I answered " a lot!" I had the paper work from last week and to his credit he did not try to blame us or anything else. My concern was that he is going to fix this on the cheap. I told him I really want a new wheel. The studs have chewed up the holes pretty bad and it is not safe. He was sort of noncommittal. Later on the day he called and said he is going to replace the wheel, and the studs of course, but he can't locate one locally. It'll be Tuesday before he gets the wheel. I expected that. Looks like studs are not part of the hub/rotor assembly and I assume they can be replaced individually. So far so good. If this was my car it would have never reached this point. I diagnosed the problem after driving it less than a 100 feet. My son drove it 100 miles+ and couldn't even tell if the noise is coming from the front or the rear. Oh, the millennials!
I keep my breaker bar and lug nut socket in the back of my car for these just-in-case scenarios. My wheels come off my car pretty frequently and learned my lesson when my wheel almost worked its way off.
Ditto. I change my tires twice a year and may have them off for other maintenance along the way. In the past 3-4 years I've had frequent issues especially with the right rear coming loose. I actually have to over-torque them and even so, need to check them for a month following them coming off before I feel secure that they're on for good.
I *always* check them before any long drive. It's a pretty distinctive noise when they are loose but I can usually feel that something is off before the noise starts.
Took my son's Subaru to Tires Plus for something rattling. Got it back later in the day and he drove it back to Baltimore (from Philly). Drives it around for a week and before coming back here tonight calls me and says he hears some noise. Can't really say what or from where. I said don't take a chance and go back but he was too far along. After he gets here I took it for a test drive. Didn't take more than 100 feet before I recognized it must be the lug nuts and sure enough two were missing and the third one was loose and about to fall off. He was very lucky.
Now, I am going to take it back to the shop and I am 100% sure they will deny responsibility. The paper work from last week does show that they inspected the brakes and for that they must have taken the wheels off. BTW, the wheel and the studs are both shot. It is not going to be a cheap fix. How would you approach them and make them pay?
If I was the shop, I'd offer to replace the lug nuts, bolts and all....
Beyond that, ALWAYS inspect a shops work, you are the one whose life is riding on it.
The shop isn't liable at this point. He drove for more than a week and several hundred miles if not more.
While the shop may not have tightened the lug nuts properly (we really don't know given the information in your post) it is common knowledge that they should be checked after 50-100 miles to make sure they are still tightened to spec. It was up to your son to keep an eye on things, to prevent further damage.
This did happen to me once... And I was the one working on my car. I was in a rush after changing the rear brake pads and I'd swear I tightened every thing to the proper torque specs... But two days later and about 100 miles later, my wheel is making strange noises and I see that I've lost 2 lug nuts and the rest are loose and tearing up the wheel. It's my fault that I didn't recheck my work and keep an eye on them.
I'd say chalk it up to a lesson learned. It's your son who should be handling the maintenance of his own car, not you.
I wouldn't say it's common knowledge to check the work done by a shop after 50-100 miles. I've never heard of that in my life, and I'm 62. And I know no one who even knows how to do that, and few who know what what a lug nut is.
If a car requires an inspection after a repair, it's the duty of the shop to tell the customer, so the customer can take it somewhere for an inspection, IMO.
I think the customer would likely win in a small claims case, if he could prove that the work done was the cause of the lug nut problem, and that the other damage was caused by the lug nut problem.
This happened to me years ago on my Subaru. Scared the daylights out of me when I realized how close I had come to having a wheel fall off my car.
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Good points
