So I'm driving home from Milwaukee and I experience some intense vibration in my car, I pulled took the next exit and upon examination of the car, 3 of the lug studs and nuts had snapped off one of my devotion wheels! I had to call Acura TLC and have my car towed, stored and taken to the dealer this morning. I also noticed the brake rotor (I have a 6 speed) was scratched around the outer rim of the rotor. I'm not sure if the problem started from the brakes or the lug nuts. The wheels were professionally installed and torqued to spec with a torque wrench. And retorqued the next day. So it could be the brakes, I just don't know how they could have caused this problem. I wonder if Acura will take care of this if the brakes caused it. My ABS and last week, but when the car was turned off and turned back on, the lights never came on. Luckily I pulled over when I did, the lugs would have kept snapping off, the wheel would have flown off and I probably could have gotten into a severe accident. Any ideas?

 

Not sure if you got a PM from MissM, but maybe it's related to her issues...

Also, let me say, damn! I saw some lady on the side of the road once and it looked as if her wheel came off while on the interstate...it wasn't pretty...glad you were able to get over and escape with no serious damage to yourself or your car.

I was going to suggest over torqued lugs, but it doesn't sound like that's it. Were your studs rusted? I'm sure you encounter a good bit of salt and slag up there...just a thought.

Now, if there was an issue with your brakes (as in they were vibrating) and banged up against your wheel to cause this, that would definitely be an Acura issue. Did you check to see if your rotors were loose?

 

I don't know how the rotor could be loose, not sure how the lug would come loose either. The lugs were never taken off as soon as the devotions were put on. The car only went through 1 winter and the car has closed lug nuts, so I don't think the lug studs could have rusted enough for them to snap. I still haven't heard from the dealer on the diagnosis, this happened 40 miles from my home so its not even the dealer near me. I'll have to wait and see what the dealer tells me.

 

I'm sure it'll be interesting...you've got me. Maybe the wheels weren't put on properly...like the lugs/studs got stripped and the wheel was able to get loose...ok, I'm grasping...let's see what the dealer says.

 

The only thing that seems to make sense in the situation you describe is the nuts were torqued to improper specs. I can't imagine how a brake problem could possibly cause the lugs to snap off with out some other noticeable brake type problem occurring before. The intense vibration was the wheel moving around on the lugs.

You say they were professionally installed and were torqued with a torque wrench and retorqued the next day (same installer? and why a second time?). It sure sounds like they came loose and the lugs got sheared from the wheel hitting them as it turned. Either they were over tightened and stripped and came loose or they were never tightened enough.

My guess is the remaining two lugs nuts were also loose and their lugs were about to shear and you lose the wheel. If the nuts came loose the steel lugs would open up the lug holes in the aluminum wheel. The remaining lugs probably have some aluminum filings on the inner threads from the wheel shifting and wearing away.

I had the experience of driving a big heavy car with a soft suspension while a steel wheel came off at 60 mph. It gave no warning before it happened. Maybe only seconds but not enough time to understand something was wrong ( the suspension probably isolated the vibration from the body). It was twenty something years ago in my mothers Lincoln Mark V after she just had a brake job done.

The nuts were not tightened enough and about 30-40 miles of mostly highway driving they came off. The car veered to the left and went about 1/3 of the way into the lane next to us before I got it back into the lane we were in, then onto the shoulder. The tire went flying past us bouncing as we slowed not hitting anything. On one was injured and the only damage was the wheel, lugs and the rear quarter panel that got bent as it briefly rode over the tire. I recovered the nuts from the road to use with the spare tire but found one bent lug that prevented the spare from being mounted and required a tow to the mechanic. The nuts were not stripped which showed they were not over tightened but were loose. The mechanic was very glade to fix everything as he quickly realized how lucky he was also.

Anyway you should feel very lucky nothing bad happened before you got the car stopped. I think the dealer will charge you for the fix as it probably has nothing to do with them. But you should give the bill the professional wheel installers and expect it to be reimbursed. Lug nuts either to tight or to loose it is probably their fault from the information you gave.

Good luck with the fix and glade to hear no one was injured.

 

Sounds like install error.

 

Wheels have been on for almost 2 months now, I don't think it would take that long for them to loosen up...

 

Talked to the dealer.

Car needs a new hub, new bearing and new wheel studs. Total cost plus labor is about $560.
Oh and I need a new Devotion wheel
Root cause: Improperly mounted wheel. Wheel shop better pay for this.

 

Uh oh...thats not good. How are you gonna get another Devotion wheel?

 

Spoke with the wheel shop, they will pay for the repair and wheel replacement. Although Ron discountinued the 3-piece devotions, he can still get parts made, so the wheel can be replaced/repaired.

 

Happy to see you found out what caused it and the wheel shop will pay, and best of all you didn't have an accident.

 

That's why I put mine on myself...they put the tires on the wheels and I put the wheels on the car.

At least the wheel shop is doing the right thing. How long do you have to wait for the new wheel?

 

I'm getting scared to death here... I have taken my wheels off a few times and just tightened the lug nuts by hand. I had always heard that if you hand tighten lug nuts with the tool to where it's hard to tighten them any more but not overdoing it, that is correct.... is this dangerous???

 

Just use a torque wrench set at 80 ft-lbs. You can pick one up pretty cheap at Pep Boys or Auto Zone.

 

Car is all done and the dealer saved some money, not that it matters as I won't be paying for it. The only downside is the work I have to go through to get the Devotion replaced, but Ron has been helpful in that task. I definetly will be changing my wheels myself from now on.

 

Good luck with everything man, hope you had a good visit to Mil-town

 

can we drive with only 4 lugs on? I have the same problem, but It seems that I just need the wheel hub and bearing and maybe studs. I hope it doesn't comes out to alot. should I just drive with 4 lugs.? I messed up my own lugs.. for some reason when taking them apart.. one just snap.

 

so what exactly did the wheel/tire shop do wrong when mounting?

 

Probably overtorqued and/or didn't follow a star-pattern.

 

I can't specifically remember, but I could swear they took the wheel off cause they didn't fit the center cap on properly. So when they remounted it, I think they forgot to torque the wheels.

 

Where would one find the specs for such a thing as the setting for the torque wrench? Thanks.

 

Usually, a service manaul is your best bet. It lists the torque specs for just about every bolt in the car.

Otherwise, search the forum. For most common bolts, you should be able to find the specs here on the board.