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

[Browndoor25]

So I got two new front tyres fitted on Tuesday then on Saturday I noticed a weird noise, like the wind getting under the car and flapping plastic or something, I asked my husband to look and he said some of the plastic is slightly loose but that it’s not anything to worry about. I was going to get in booked in on Monday anyway. I was driving to work today and it was getting worse which I thought was odd then suddenly there’s a bang and the front passenger wheel is off.

Thankfully nobody has been hurt which is the main thing! I’m not car savvy at all but never had any issues with the wheels before in the whole time I’ve had the car. Could it be the garage not fixing the wheel properly when they changed the tyres?

The reason they advise you to check after 50 miles is because a properly torqued wheel CAN come loose.

So why don’t we have to check every 50 miles? Or even every 5000? Because that’s bullshit and garages writing such crap on invoices are trying to cover themselves for being bad at their jobs. If your garage is doing this you need to swap to one which is capable.

Thank God that you are still alive .I hope you can get your car towed and get this dealt with.

I don’t think they advise you to take it back in just check it yourself. I’ve also seen it on signs on the wall in places I’ve had my tyres changed.

Technically checking you're wheel nuts should be done frequently regardless if changing your tyres or not. It's the same as checking for a light bulb out. It comes under your due diligence before getting in your vehicle. Torqued wheels can and do come loose. Or you have the alternative somebody actually loosens or steals a wheel nut. I once stopped a zip car on the motorway because the front wheel was wobbly and I managed to get them of the road. I'd try the garage anyway nothing ventured nothing gained. Most of the time they come loose because of the guns they strip the thread over time. Hence the 50 miles get them checked. Most garages have CCTV for this exact reason they'll know if they were torqued or if it's a case of someone thought someone else was doing it.

"The reason they advise you to check after 50 miles is because a properly torqued wheel CAN come loose."

Not what th link a pp provided says.

It says tyres not torqued to the correct spec can work their way loose or dirty threads can give false torque readings leading to the same problem.

I've never taken tyres back to be checked but do have my own torque wrench to double check at home.

In this case, most likely someone forgot to re torque the wheels or had the wrench set way too low.

Suppose you have a 25km commute, as some people do, so 50km a day. Does that mean you have to take the hub caps off and check the torque of sixteen wheel nuts every day? That’s what some of the replies are saying.

Similarly, the textbook advice is “carry a set of spare bulbs in your car so you can carry out a quick roadside repair” (I know this is compulsory in some countries). Who actually does this, apart from perhaps driving instructors? Do you know how tricky it can be to actually change a car bulb, especially at the front? In some cars, to change a headlight bulb, you have to turn the steering to one side (remember to avoid dry steering), get on your knees, and reach up inside the wheel arch. Imagine doing that in the dark, in heavy rain, at the side of a busy dual carriageway. Remember not to touch the glass of a halogen bulb, and I hope you remembered that obscure star screwdriver that some cars need.

Although basic repairs are supposed to be common knowledge, and indeed part of the driving test, in practice, it’s not as easy as all that to follow the idealistic advice of “check and maintain all these things weekly”, especially as on some modern cars, they are very difficult to get at. Most of us have the car serviced and MOTd once a year, other repairs done at the garage when needed, and the rest of time, we don’t even think about investing in a double torque wrench for checking torque on wheel nuts, just in case.

I go to a local tyre place and am not even given paperwork. It's a legit company. I just pay and go.

I've never been told that, either. I always get my tyres replaced at a local independent garage.

This is difficult to advise on because the garage is likely to have put a disclaimer on the receipt-especially if it’s a known tyre place. But….my husband and I have had many wheels off many a time and have never needed to go back and retighten them, if they are tightened properly in the first place they WILL NOT come loose.

You are I’m afraid on shaky ground with it. Because there’s no doubt they haven’t tightened them, but proving it is going to be nigh on impossible and if they have a disclaimer they’ll say it’s your fault anyway

It’s because of settling. Wheels aren’t being fitted in a clean room, a spec of dirt or rust on the wheel face or a thread that’s not spotlessly clean can lead to a false torque. Even thermal differences can cause it. Correctly torqued wheel fasteners on cars actually aren’t that tight.

Why do you think truck drivers are required to check their wheel nuts daily? A properly torqued nut shouldn’t come loose, right?

This is not something I’d expect to happen often, the point is that it CAN.

Completely off field but :

Is it possible someone has looked at your car , thought "Oh look two brand new tyres" ( because they are obvious) tried to remove/steal them but got disturbed ?

I’ve been driving for the same amount of time, DH for over 50 years, neither of us have ever been told to tighten the wheel nuts.

Well obviously it sounds like too big a coincidence so soon after the wheel change for it not to be connected, but when you look underneath the car is there any sign of anything else being broken? Only a few years ago I had a similar experience, i.e. driving along when there was a horrible noise and the car came to an immediate standstill. When I got out to investigate it looked like the wheel had come off. However, on closer inspection the "wishbone" underneath the car had actually broken.

Anyway, just to say glad you were not hurt. That must have been terrifying on a busy road like the A1. At least mine happened at only 30 mph on a relatively minor road on the edge of a town.

I'm in my 40s and every time I've had the wheels removed by various different garages, the invoice states to check the bolts after X miles. Any article or manufacturer document will also tell you to regularly check the torque of the bolts but 99.9% of the general population will never do it (along with tyre pressure, oil level, etc).

Find it really weird that so many on here seem to leave garages with nothing but a credit card receipt though!

Any reputable garage will have fixed the nuts electronically and will not require a customer to return after 30 miles ! I have been a driver for 30 years and have never been advised to get wheel nuts checked,ever !

I'd leave out the part when the car was making a funny noise and you could see something was hanging off but still decided to drive to work when telling the insurance....

Whenever a wheel has been off the hub the torque should always be checked after about 50 miles... standard.

I’ve never been told this by a garage and I’ve had a car for over 20 years.

never been asked to come back to check wheel nuts-different garages

Well, I think one thing we've learned from this is to go back to the garage to check the wheels aren't going to come off!

I've never been told either. I can't imagine a garage telling you that they might be crap at their job one day so better check like.

Sorry, this must be a British thing. Been driving and owning cars since 1994 and changed wheels bolts are tightened with a machine (almost impossible to untighten myself). I had 2 changed in June and have checked my paperwork and nowhere does it say I have to take the car back or check myself after x miles. I would have done 100 km the first day anyway, as my commute was so long. I think it is just shoddy garages trying to get out of their responsibility by adding "clauses". Not first time that abuse of position clauses have been kicked to the kerb...

Explain what you mean by electronically.

Dh has never been given an invoice or been told to bring the car back and his been to a few different places for his tyres.

Worst place was kwik fit who Locked the breaks on somehow still didn’t get told or have paperwork saying to check after 50miles.

Wheel nuts correctly tightened will never ever undo by themselves, the torque setting will be typically around 120 newton meters.

Nothing is going to make those come loose.

The garage forgot to tighten them but i suspect they will hide behind paper work.

My tyre fitter always uses 2 people, one does the work and another comes around with a torque wrench and tightens to correct value.

Will be a digital torque wrench, beeps when correct value reached.