Loose Lug Nuts
- Thread starter Warstud
- Start date
Never had this happen and don't plan to as I torque everything to spec after I get home from a rotation or other tire appointment. I'm paranoid I guess but I don't ever assume it was done correctly. I will say the majority of the time it's over torqued, I never have found them under torqued.
I've had some loosen a bit, but I stopped and checked at the first little odd noise.
I have never had it happen personally. I do retorque after a fresh set of tires and / or rotation and have never had a loose lug nut discovered at that point either. I also check before big trips, just part of the pre-trip check out. Again, nothing discovered there either.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
I had one front and one back lug nut come off my Escape, don’t know how or why but it’s happened the wheel hadn’t been off for awhile maybe I missed them the time before on the torque. Just got new ones and replaced them and have never thought about it again till now lol.
Never.
Shops usually gun it down so tight they won't come off, the exact opposite problem!
Shops usually gun it down so tight they won't come off, the exact opposite problem!
Had a knock-off wheel come off while I was towing the car backwards.
After wheel removal and mounting, I always torque wheel fasteners again after 50 miles. Wheels on drive axles tend to get loosened by 1/8 turn. After this second torquing down the fasteners no longer creep.
That's what Discount Tire recommends
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2021
- Messages
- 415
Yeah you're supposed to retorque these after 50 miles. On my son's pick up It's suggested 100 foot pounds. We rotated his tires and torqued them down to exactly 100 foot pounds. He drove back and forth to school for 2 days which was approximately 50 mi. There was one lug nut a bit loose. So yes it does happen.
If you have a shop rotate your tires you will probably have to have a 10-ft breaker bar to break the lug nuts loose.
If you have a shop rotate your tires you will probably have to have a 10-ft breaker bar to break the lug nuts loose.
So why don't new cars have the same requirement?
I've never had it happen, but I always retorque my lugs after 100 miles. I can't say that I can recall more than mildly budging a lug at that point to symbolizing it coming loose. I've never had what felt like a loose lug nut removing a wheel either.
That would make sense that it was possible, but I never thought of that!
Really depends how the wheel face and hub seat, if they are perfectly clean and you get good flat contact there is no way for the lugs to loosen.
If there was something stopping the wheel from fully seating(dirt for example) and then after driving it seated then yea you'd have a loose lug nut.
I've had lug nuts come loose, but not after a tire shop
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 1,283
Reminds me l had my LF wheel off yesterday, l should have wire brushed the back of the wheel and the hub area.
Well It will be back off before too long.
My father had a tire fly off and through a store window after new tire installation. I think it prudent to check after any work involving wheel removal/installation. I find one or two loosen a little after tire rotation or new installed despite proper tightening with a torque wrench.
Returning home after having any shop remove the wheels, I loosen the lug nuts (sometimes it takes an impact) and retorque them. I don't want to be stuck in East Egypt and not able to remove them.
