Wheel Came Off After I Picked Up from Dealer

[CharlieS]

Manufactures of the spacers I have used provided and specced red loctite. According to Spidertrax customer service "Retorquing" is just to see if the lugnut moves - if it does, the lugnut moved and the loctite failed - you need to redo it.

 

[doru]

Red is usually "permanent assembly" locker and requires heat to break the bond. There is no retorquing possible with such a locker.
But I do not know what kind of red the manufacturer speced so can't say if the practice of testing the bond by trying to retorque the bolts will damage the bond or not. To murky the waters some thread locker manufacturers do not follow well known Loctite colors so red may not mean "permanent".

On OP case if indeed that was used on the flying spacer, then the dealer should have had a hell of a time removing it. So that puts into question the dealer removing the spacer.

Given all the variables and the missing info I recommend following the manufacturer instructions.

 

[grinchy]

I ran spacers for a while waiting for a deal on rims in the right size and offset to appear. The nuts never loosened, but I do all my own rotations and checked them every rotation. When I first put them on I checked after 50 and 250 miles or something like that. It's a drag, but pulling all the wheels with a floor jack only takes 30 min or so.

Now that I've got rims in the correct offset don't have to fuss with it but I didn't find it such a big deal.

Now dealer service, and what they do right or wrong is a scary topic and this is just one more example of why you can't trust them at all, even for the most basic and obvious safety kind of stuff that should never ever leave a shop because somebody double checked it, manually, with a manual torque wrench, spacers and lugs.

 

[bloc]

I was surprised to find soo many 200 series owners using wheel spacers instead of getting proper offset wheels. Sure they can be run and some have done so safely for many miles but I just thing it better to get the right rims. Unless you are checking them every few hundred miles how can you be sure the spacers are still fastened properly.

I have always seen the use of spacers like a bandaid till you can afford the right wheels for a road vehicle. But I guess for the 2hundos the wheel selection is limited and sometimes tire upsizing creates issues easily solved with spacers.

Dont take this as a personal attack, just making an observation. I am glad it didnt come all the way off causing the body to hit the ground and no one got hurt. Most tire shops in my area will not mess with spacers due to liability issues.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[nwfl4runner]

Dropped my car off for a 50k mile service at the local Toyota dealership in Austin yesterday. Picked it up this morning and drove to Houston for work.

On my way home, the driver's side wheel... came off. I still don't understand exactly what happened or how this is possible.

Years ago I had Spidertrax spacers and OMEs installed at Ed Martin. I wonder if my local dealer didn't fully tighten the lug nuts or re-install the wheel properly after rotating. Any ideas on what might've happened? Anyone had a similar experience?

I'm just really thankful this didn't happen when I was driving at speed on the highway home.




View attachment 3680817

Correct me if I’m wrong, but are the studs on your axle all intact? The video makes it seem like they’re just fine?

 

[Artie]

I have always seen the use of spacers like a bandaid till you can afford the right wheels for a road vehicle. But I guess for the 2hundos the wheel selection is limited and sometimes tire upsizing creates issues easily solved with spacers.

This is pretty much sums up the wheel rabbit hole I’ve been in for far longer than I care to admit.

I do my own rotations so after installing spacers with red loctite I’ve never put a wrench on those lugs since installing them 30k miles ago. Passively shopping for wheels and tires for when I either need new tires or brakes, whichever comes first.

There are not many options in the offset range I think I need in the diameter I want to move to…. I need to make a spreadsheet of options and share it here to let the thunderdome of those wiser than I help me decide.

 

[taylorbrooks]

I confirmed with the dealer that they did in fact remove the wheels and the spacers. My service advisor also confirmed that the spacers were reinstalled but, "most likely not torqued to proper specs".

I understand their are pros/cons to the of spacers vs no-spacers and offset wheels debate, but I think that's a separate issue.

Even if I had offset wheels (and no spacers), if the wheels are not reinstalled correctly then that is a problem.

 

[Artie]

I confirmed with the dealer that they did in fact remove the wheels and the spacers. My service advisor also confirmed that the spacers were reinstalled but, "most likely not torqued to proper specs".

I understand their are pros/cons to the of spacers vs no-spacers and offset wheels debate, but I think that's a separate issue.

Even if I had offset wheels (and no spacers), if the wheels are not reinstalled correctly then that is a problem.

I’m surprised they admitting to not likely torquing to specs, points for honesty.

 

[taylorbrooks]

I’m surprised they admitting to not likely torquing to specs, points for honesty.

Was there any other possible explanation? (we work under a sloped roof?)

 

[RTaylor]

It looks like they forgot to reinstall the spacer lugs on that wheel. You are lucky it wasn’t worse.

I trust myself with wheel spacers, but no one else. This is the major risk of running them.

 

[taylorbrooks]

It looks like they forgot to reinstall the spacer lugs on that wheel. You are lucky it wasn’t worse.

I trust myself with wheel spacers, but no one else. This is the major risk of running them.

Yup.

 

[Artie]

Was there any other possible explanation? (we work under a sloped roof?)

No other explanations but it’s mentioned on here many times that dealerships break recirc doors and don’t own up to those.

 

[taylorbrooks]

No other explanations but it’s mentioned on here many times that dealerships break recirc doors and don’t own up to those.

Yeah, thankfully I read about that ad nauseam prior to my first service. My glove compartment is permanently locked and the dealership only gets the key fob when I drop it off.

 

[TeCKis300]

I confirmed with the dealer that they did in fact remove the wheels and the spacers. My service advisor also confirmed that the spacers were reinstalled but, "most likely not torqued to proper specs".

I understand their are pros/cons to the of spacers vs no-spacers and offset wheels debate, but I think that's a separate issue.

Even if I had offset wheels (and no spacers), if the wheels are not reinstalled correctly then that is a problem.

This is a reasonable and balanced interpretation of the situation.

Honestly in the time I've been on the boards, there's been more situations involving broken studs and lost wheels with the outer lugs and/or no spacer, than I have heard of failures specifically with the spacer.

With all things mechanical, common sense and due diligence applies. Wheel spacers or not.

Glad they fessed up, you and your rig are safe, and hopefully they will make you whole.

 

[NikP]

Hopefully your spacers have more thread engagement than I found on mine. I couldn't trust the spacer to be held on by a few threads so I removed them. You might check yours ... can you tell if the ends of your studs seem stripped or did the nut just just back off? Both the nut and stud might have more clues via thread examination.

Found spacers I didn't know I had

I bought my used 2008 LC early summer and today I was doing the normal oil change and tire rotation only to find these. I know lots of people run spacers but I was a bit nervous to not find many threads holding them on. They got removed... It also solved my tire rub problem when at...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Omega3651]

Was there any other possible explanation? (we work under a sloped roof?)

I saw what you did there.
Hilarious.

 

[bloc]

Making this right would mean replacing all of the studs on any hub that been driven on loosened lug nuts, personally.

As for the frequency of lug nut problems with spacers vs without, there are many times more users here without spacers, so that’s no surprise at all.

@RTaylor policy is a solid one.

 

[taylorbrooks]

Making this right would mean replacing all of the studs on any hub that been driven on loosened lug nuts, personally.

As for the frequency of lug nut problems with spacers vs without, there are many times more users here without spacers, so that’s no surprise at all.

Which is exactly what they committed to do. Replace wheel, spacers lug studs, backing plate, etc.

 

[bloc]

Which is exactly what they committed to do. Replace wheel, spacers lug studs, backing plate, etc.

Like others I’m surprised they even admitted fault.. so credit to them. Glad they are making it right.

 

[Artie]

Hopefully your spacers have more thread engagement than I found on mine. I couldn't trust the spacer to be held on by a few threads so I removed them. You might check yours ... can you tell if the ends of your studs seem stripped or did the nut just just back off? Both the nut and stud might have more clues via thread examination.

Found spacers I didn't know I had

I bought my used 2008 LC early summer and today I was doing the normal oil change and tire rotation only to find these. I know lots of people run spacers but I was a bit nervous to not find many threads holding them on. They got removed... It also solved my tire rub problem when at...

forum.ih8mud.com

Were your wheel studs cut? That does look sketch, it’s crazy what we all share the road with and your example isn’t even that bad.