Wheel fell off...overtightened bolts ??
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Wheel fell off...overtightened bolts ??
To make a long story short....Had an incident about a week back where after a 900 miles out of a 950 mile one-way trip the front passenger's wheel came off the the vehicle at highway speeds. Only thing I noticed was the car started to shake mildly around 15 miles prior but was not that suspect give the road conditions. Luckily no one was hurt but it looks to have done some damage to the car. I found the wheel a few days later and to my surprise the tire and rim were still intact with just scrape marks but the rim seems to not be bent and the tire is still holding air. It was 2:00 a.m. on a pretty deserted highway so I did not get a chance to look at the rotor in detail.
This happened in another state so this whole thing has been a nightmare but after much talk the dealership is now possibly blaming the wheel coming off to the lug bolts being overtightened by the tire shop.
Just in the fact that the car was able to travel over 900 miles since the shop installed the new tires and rims..I find that suspect...
Any ideas ?
This happened in another state so this whole thing has been a nightmare but after much talk the dealership is now possibly blaming the wheel coming off to the lug bolts being overtightened by the tire shop.
Just in the fact that the car was able to travel over 900 miles since the shop installed the new tires and rims..I find that suspect...
Any ideas ?
Last edited by respdoc; Dec 8, 2005 at 04:21 PM.
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Yes, the shop did use a torque wrench. I was not, of course, watching the guy closely but he seemed to be watching the dial on the tool while he was tightening the bolts. But again that was over 900 miles prior to the incident.
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depends on the weather
they were not installed correctly or at the very least torqued correctly ....
unless the lughardware actually broke which is highly doubtful .... when you started feeling the vibration the wheel was coming loose .....
another possibility, however remote, is that at some point somebody was trying to steal your wheels but, was interupted somehow
unless the lughardware actually broke which is highly doubtful .... when you started feeling the vibration the wheel was coming loose .....
another possibility, however remote, is that at some point somebody was trying to steal your wheels but, was interupted somehow
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Originally Posted by Luke@tirerack
they were not installed correctly or at the very least torqued correctly ....
unless the lughardware actually broke which is highly doubtful .... when you started feeling the vibration the wheel was coming loose .....
another possibility, however remote, is that at some point somebody was trying to steal your wheels but, was interupted somehow
unless the lughardware actually broke which is highly doubtful .... when you started feeling the vibration the wheel was coming loose .....
another possibility, however remote, is that at some point somebody was trying to steal your wheels but, was interupted somehow
Luke,
If by lug hardware you are talking about the lug bolts...yes, the dealership did say at least two had broken off and they were in the process of removing the remaining pieces from the bolt holes.
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2003 E500 Sport, 2004 E500 Wagon
Originally Posted by respdoc
Luke,
If by lug hardware you are talking about the lug bolts...yes, the dealership did say at least two had broken off and they were in the process of removing the remaining pieces from the bolt holes.
If by lug hardware you are talking about the lug bolts...yes, the dealership did say at least two had broken off and they were in the process of removing the remaining pieces from the bolt holes.
Not sure I buy the overtightening then. Only two shafts remaining would imply they broke from the load after the first three worked out (not torqued properly). Are these stock rims or afternarket (and maybe missing a spacer or wrong lugs)?
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Originally Posted by Benz-E-r
Not sure I buy the overtightening then. Only two shafts remaining would imply they broke from the load after the first three worked out (not torqued properly). Are these stock rims or afternarket (and maybe missing a spacer or wrong lugs)?
