Broken stud:who's responsible

[KST]

I was at a large chain recently and overheard an arguement a customer was having with the manager. apparently a stud broke while they were removing the wheels.

They told the guy and recomended a place to fix it on his dime. Customer told them they should be paying for it. left before I could hear what the outcome was

So a stud breaks while they are removing wheels.

Who do you think should pay?

 

[FordFocus]

Probably the best thing would be when the tech noticed a lugnut coming off hard to inform the customer of the problem before the stud snaps. If you tell the customer after I can understand them being more upset even if it isn't the shops fault.

 

[JHZR2]

+1, do it at your own risk after giving the ok.

Of course most don't want to know about the issues and about this - the risk is there and the techs are expected to be capable of doing this stuff... Most can but sometimes things break/fail out of anyones control.

Tough thing. If the shop is customer centric and making money, they should eat it to build a relationship. Chain shop with monkeys may not... If the car is in disrepair I don't think anyone should.

 

[Astro14]

That's a tough one. The car wasn't broke when it came in even though the condition existed.

The stud snapped because some goon with a torque wrench didn't stop when there was way too much difficulty removing it.

They should have left the wheel on and told the customer about the problem and let him make a decision on risking removal...

So, even though the condition (galling, corrosion, damaged threads, whatever) existed when the car came in, the shop broke it.

 

[FZ1]

Dunno,but maybe we should all put just a tiny touch of anti seize on our lugs so this is less likely to happen to one of us.

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: KST
I was at a large chain recently and overheard an arguement a customer was having with the manager. apparently a stud broke while they were removing the wheels.

They told the guy and recomended a place to fix it on his dime. Customer told them they should be paying for it. left before I could hear what the outcome was

So a stud breaks while they are removing wheels.

Who do you think should pay?


It should the fault of the person who last had the wheels off.

Anyway, if a stud breaks, just replace it? cost a couple bucks for a part, and not much work to replace a broken stud. If a stud breaks in my shop, I tell my tech to replace it. Done. No big deal.

 

[HWEaton]

The deal is, the stud would have to be snapped regardless. Someone obviously "made new threads", or in other words crossed the threads of the nut going on. Even if the guy snapped it putting it on, that then means the stud is no good and would not be able to hold the amount of torque needed to secure it to the wheel. It's either a "Someone else screwed it up" issue or a "Wear and tear" issue, and I don't see how the shop is responsible.

I can tell you if it is an easy fix like some are, I charge for just parts. If I have to start taking off lots of stuff, then I'll charge labor rate. But really, it's not a whole lot of labor 95% of the time. It's one of those things that happens and one of those things that is part of the maintenance costs of owning a vehicle.

 

[tig1]

The dealer should fix it gratious. Customer relations, you know.

 

[rpn453]

It's the fault of whoever last installed the wheel.

I was re-torquing the wheels on my new-to-me-at-the-time Pathfinder after stopping in at my usual tire shop and having them balanced, and noticed that one of the nuts didn't look like it was on straight. When I attempted to loosen it off, the stud snapped. It was obviously cross-threaded using an impact wrench. I went to Nissan, bought a stud, then stopped at the tire shop to tell them what they had done. They didn't seem like they wanted to argue and told me they could schedule it in to be fixed in a couple of days. I told them I didn't want them touching it and presented the bill of around $10 for the stud. I didn't really care about the money but I was testing them to see if I'd ever consider buying tires from them again. They gave me the cash and apologized and I went home and changed it. Normally I take my wheels in loose, but I thought it would be more convenient to just stop in as I was driving by, especially since I was unsure whether four 31" tires would even fit in my Mazda3. I won't make that mistake again.

 

[suspiciousmind]

Four 31's in a mazda3???....they pretty much fill up my tacoma!

 

[123Saab]

Originally Posted By: HWEaton
It's one of those things that happens and one of those things that is part of the maintenance costs of owning a vehicle.


I agree.

 

[crazyoildude]

If that was my shop i would fix it because customer relations are an important factor and besides if he takes the shop to court the shop would probably lose and if the shop is in nj and is incorporated the shop would have to hire an attorney..
Courts usually lean toward the consumer i see this all the time.
Even know it was probably not the shops fault sometimes you have to bite the bullet. These days one post on the computer can damage your business

 

[Errtt]

A place that removes wheels for part of their business, I would think would also carry the studs - like they would never expect a problem, so they send (recommend) to a customer where to go and get it fixed.

 

[flatlandtacoma]

Originally Posted By: rpn453
I was unsure whether four 31" tires would even fit in my Mazda3.
I had to read that about 4 times. I was trying to picture 31" tires ON a Mazda 3!

The 31s were for your Nissan Truck, obviously.

Sorry, I had to laugh when I figured it out.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: FZ1
Dunno,but maybe we should all put just a tiny touch of anti seize on our lugs so this is less likely to happen to one of us.


There's another forum thread on that subject...but bottom line is that the threads on wheel studs are supposed to be clean and dry. I am a big user of anti-seize and love the stuff, particularly on exhaust fasteners, but clean dry threads on wheel studs won't have a problem...unless they've been cross-threaded by a goon with an impact wrench.

Granted, I am not under time pressure like the folks in a shop, but I always thread the nut/bolt by hand, then drive it with the impact to ensure it's not cross-threaded...

Instead of anti-seize, I recommend we all be careful...

 

[Shannow]

stud snaps coming off, I reckon the customer eats it.
stud snaps going on, the shop.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
stud snaps coming off, I reckon the customer eats it.
stud snaps going on, the shop.

Pretty much, in my opinion.
Where I am at, If I or anybody else notices a impact still having to hammer on a nut after it has unseated off of the wheel, it gets torqued back on and the vehicle is shipped.
However, we actually cannot allow a customer to drive off with a broken stud. Since we also cannot change studs we always eat a tow plus a stud change out regardless of fault.

 

[George Bynum]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: FZ1
Dunno,but maybe we should all put just a tiny touch of anti seize on our lugs so this is less likely to happen to one of us.
There's another forum thread on that subject...but bottom line is that the threads on wheel studs are supposed to be clean and dry.
+1 ... Lubricating threads and not monitoring stretch is a prescription to snap threaded fasteners ... much more tension for the same torque.

Clean and dry ...

 

[rjundi]

Depends on how much the replacement costs

 

[mrsilv04]

When I was taking the front tires off of Dad's truck, and the lugs were so tight that I bent the factory lug wrench, I stopped what I was doing, and drove it back to the place that had put them on that tight.

I let the manager break the lug nuts loose, and then he got to re-torque them to a proper level. If a stud was going to snap, then it was going to be his problem.