Tyre Issues - Local tyre shop

[CJT]

I just thought I would share my experiences with the local tyre shop.

Went in last week to get a wheel alignment, balance and rotate. All went fine and car drove well.

Went 4wding in lots of soft sand the following weekend and broke the bead on one of the 255/55/18's so pulled up to change the tyre.

Went to undo the wheel nuts, eventually got the four normal ones of, but stripped the security nut and the socket for it. So as I was in the middle of nowhere all I could do was do the other nuts back up and take a very slow trip out of there back to atleast the gravel road.

Anyway, ended up destroying / distorting the tyre after driving around 10km on it flat, managed to get it to reseal and hold air to get me home.

Went to local tyre shop at beginning of week and made them undo every wheel nut by hand (that was amussing) and tighten normally with the socket and breaker bar I bought. Then spoke to the manager, told him the issue and they are replacing the destroyed tyre for free as a result of them overtightening the lug nuts and me not being able to remove it.

So surprisingly, they took responsibility for the issue and looked after me accordingly.

So one new Goodyear Wrangler 255/55/18 to be picked up on Thursday.

[crash]

And that is why I replaced all, except the spare tyre, security nuts with normal nuts. My security key was starting to get a bit shagged due to tyre repair shops using the rattle gun on it and did not want to end up in the same predicament as you.
Good to hear that customer service prevailed and hopefully you are satisfied with the out come.

[CJT]

Yes,

Satisfied with the service and new wheel nuts turn up tomorrow to replace the locking ones.

[DiscoDan]

As I have said in the past, it is how a business fixes its stuff ups.

Sorry to hear about you weekend, but I am glad to hear you had a good result with the tyre company.

[Shaker]

Tyre services are one of the reasons Nissans are losing wheels, they are irresponsible to use rattle guns to tension wheels, all wheels should be hand tensioned.

[Bigbjorn]

I spat the dummy on this issue years ago. I now take the 3/4" drive tension wrench along to the tyre fitter, ask them to undo their work with the wheel wrench carried on the car and then re-tighten using the torgue wrench to the recommended setting.

Don't some of them get grumpy over this, particularly when told that this should be standard practice.

[CJT]

Apparently they are meant to tighten them to a torque setting with the rattle gun, but it is around 170nm, they dont bother checking what individual vehicles are meant to be at. My alloys are only meant to be done to 140nm as far as I am aware.

It ended up taking two people from the tyre shop and a long handle to get the other rear locking nut of. I just wanted to prove a point and had them undo every one and retighten by hand.

Having said that, atleast they are replacing the ruined tyre.

[Shaker]

I spat the dummy on this issue years ago. I now take the 3/4" drive tension wrench along to the tyre fitter, ask them to undo their work with the wheel wrench carried on the car and then re-tighten using the torgue wrench to the recommended setting.

Don't some of them get grumpy over this, particularly when told that this should be standard practice.

I did the same thing a few years ago, took the vehicles wheel spanner in, asked who fitted the tyres & gave him the spanner & asked him to loosen the nuts ...... he couldn't budge any of them.
Would be fun in the middle of the bush!

[Fluids]

After reading a few of these locking wheel nut threads on AULRO I went out last week and bought 5x new wheel nuts and promptly removed ALL the locking ones ... even the spare ...

... and fitted them with the Disco wheel brace. Now even SWMBO can change a wheel! :)

[gazk]

After reading a few of these locking wheel nut threads on AULRO I went out last week and bought 5x new wheel nuts and promptly removed ALL the locking ones ... even the spare ...

... and fitted them with the Disco wheel brace. Now even SWMBO can change a wheel! :)

I did the same about a year ago but left the locking nut on the spare, always tighten them by hand so at least I know I can get them off, I doubt SWMBO would get them off but she rarely drives it.

[big guy]

Same reason I do not run lock nuts anymore.

Too easy to strip and than they really are locked.

[Graeme]

Before I replaced the locking nuts, I would remove all the locking nuts then not let the fitters have them, which required me to tighten all the nuts. I often had to sign a waiver, which was appropriate.

[Skiboy]

I run 2 sets of tyres - one on road and one off road - on my D2

So my tyres some on an off a lot - I use a rattle gun at home to put the nuts on an off but not to break them or do the final tighten.

I have a 3/4 inch drive breaker bar and extension with appropriate socket in my 2 4x4's (also in the competition Rangie Ute) to break and tighten the nuts - always done by hand.

I took this approach after not being able to remove some nuts after a service - we bent the factory bar bouncing on it with no movement - threw it away. I have also had a wheel come loose and I lost one front wheel completely after a service. Hence fanatical about checking nuts.

After it comes off the jack the 3/4 breaker bar goes around every nut.

Skiboy

[trev]

Couldn`t agree more with above comments,wasn`t able to remove nuts with a metre long bar.
this is dangerous,these cowboys can end up yielding the wheel studs with such high tightening torques.
Now always insist on hand-tightening with standard wheel brace whenever wheels are removed.

Trev.

[simonl8353]

Yep, done all that to, replaced wheel lock nuts with std nuts after the adaptor showed signs of splitting, lucky I was on my driveway.

As a word of caution, dont mix the spare wheel nuts with road nuts, they're different lengths. ie a road nut will bottom out too early if used to hold the spare on.
See pg 151 of your owners manual.

Markings on nut face for quick identification are:
A Spare Wheel Nut has a dome (convex)
A Wheel Lock Nut has a dimple (concave)
Standard Wheel Nut face is flat