Got two new front tyres on Tuesday then the wheel falls off today whilst traveling down the A1.. coincidence or garage at fault?

All wheel nuts should be torqued by hand, unless you mean literally tightened up by the fingers?

That's BRILLIANT news OP! I'm SO pleased for you! As you say, Facebook can be a pain in the arse at times, but on this occasion it's done you a massive favour!

Bet you'll always check your wheel nuts in future, I know I will, after your experience!😂

Could It possibly be the case that the people saying they’ve never been told to … just haven’t read the full invoice? It’s generally written in small print along the bottom - which obviously doesn’t help situations such as this!

I’m not saying all places do it but I’d be really really surprised is the 30/40/50 year drivers have NEVER had one that said it and have NEVER gone to a garage that had a sign up. More likely they just didn’t notice it.

This happened to me years ago and it was actually my dad’s fault. He’s been fixing brakes and put the wheel on without tightening the nuts. Meant to go back and do it. It happened the day after he’d been doing the brakes.

We had the wheel come off on the M1 shortly after getting new tyres. The axle was damaged as well. The RAC said that the bolts had been tightened too much.

We were very lucky not to have been hurt in the incident or in the 5 hours waiting next to the motorway for the RAC to come to us.

It’s to do with the initial settling rather than continuous wear
as for 5 bolts if one works loose then the vibration and oscillation would eventually work to others loose

the problem is it’s unlikely but certainly not impossible for it to happen

I just had a tyre replaced and received absolutely no paperwork because it is a company car and the paper work is not mine, no warning was given to me either.

I didn’t know this either.

I would request a replacement receipt before you tell them the issue or try hard to find it before bin day!

We had a similar issue after getting new tires. Kept hearing a strange noise so took it to a different garage (we were on holiday) and they said that the locking wheel nut had not been put on and the others were all tightened incorrectly. It damaged the wheel which had to be replaced. The first thing they asked was 'You haven't taken it to somewhere like Kwik fit have you?'.

Kwik fit took it very seriously and came out to see the car once we were home. They then refunded the cost of the tires and paid for the work the other garage had done.

Most wheels are 5 bolt, are you saying that all 5 can come lose?

Like i said, never been asked for this to be done or seen in on an invoice & one of partners friend runs a trye fitting business.

We had a fleet of 350 cars.. was never in the driver handbook either.

They -some- advise it to be done, to remove themselves of the responsibility of an incorrectly fitted wheel.

In anycase, if tthe wheel needs re checking after 50mles, why keep checking daily? your reasons can happen at any time....

Interesting that this is international. Tyre shops tried introducing this in Germany as well, but the courts heard technical experts and told them to get lost. A correctly torqued wheel does not come loose in short intervals (which is why you might want to check it yearly and why rules are different for commercial vehicles), if it does it is the fault of the tyre shop and they can't give themselves a "get out of jail free card" by shoving the responsibility for checking their work on the customer.

This is what confused me. I have a couple of times had to spend all day waiting in a tyre shop and wheels were on and off all the time but I didn't see a single person just getting them checked, ever - surely there should be as many people coming by for checks as there are getting work done in the first place? Maybe I've just been very oblivious to it but I am very surprised by this!

I’m having some work done on the car at my usual garage next week (not the one where the tyres were changed), so I’ll ask them to check I think.

I’ve had 3 tyres changed recently and my paperwork doesn’t say this

I find it incredibly hard to believe that they could go from correctly fitted to the wheel coming off in five days. If that's the case then they need a better system, because obviously it's dangerous. What about the people who live more than 15 miles from the garage, or those that get a new tyre fitted at the side of the motorway. It's not always possible to check in that time frame.

I had a tyre replaced a couple of weeks ago , no mention of re-visit
I have the paper invoice in front of me
I have the email "How Did We Do" surveys
No mention.

Been driving now 40 years and never at any time have I been told this , I;ve had tyres from independent tyre fitters , main dealers , Kwik Fit .
Never heard this .

Meaning?

I just told this to DH - he never heard about it either, we found invoice and email from our local Kwik fit and nothing.

Jesus this thread is a prime example of how thick people can be.

@MoreDangerousThanAWomanScorned free at tyre shop (where you had the job done) you pull in, guy comes out, 10 minutes later your done. You stay in the car and drive off. After saying thank you of course.
All shops around here leave you a note saying at mileage XYZ (based on odometer reading) retorque required.
Even when dh changes tyres we noted the mileage and rechecked.

But they can still come lose even if they have been correctly tightened with a state of the art digital wrench
When it’s fitted the 2 metal surfaces will never be 100% perfect so when the cars used the metal expands and contracts due to heat they can move and find a new level hence lose bolts
also there can be grease dirt and rust that again can loosen bolts

it’s funny that most tyre suppliers ,retailers like kwik fit and motoring organisations like RAC and AA
all recognise this can happen yet the mechanics of mumsnet say it can’t

I think it one of those things that can happen it’s extremely rare and OP is one of the unlucky ones caught out

• During the initial driving period after a tire change, the lug nuts can settle and slightly loosen due to vehicle weight, rotational forces, and temperature changes. Retorquing ensures they are tightened to the correct specifications.

Always checked the torque on mine the day after a garage has had the wheels off. I just thought it was something everyone knew they had to do.

I'm a bit confused - when people say it should be checked after 50 miles, do they mean the driver should check, or that the garage should? If the former then I've never done it but I can see how it's a reasonable precaution. If you're supposed to go back to the garage then wouldn't tyre changing places have a constant stream of people coming back for their check?!