Soliciting Advice

[Lambda13]

So I guess I'll start this story from the beginning and see what kind of advice I get from everyone here.

In order to keep from bringing negative attention to any company or anyone I'm going to omit some information.

So long story short, last week I went and had my all season tires stripped from my wheels and had my snow tires installed. During this time I spoke with one of the guys at the desk, mentioned I had 5mm spacers and that they didn't need to be reinstalled with the snow tires and that I would like to make sure the hub rings do get re-installed as well. Just before he walks off I also request that they be careful NOT to over-torque my lug nuts. He assures me that they use torque wrenches and that I have nothing to worry about. I ask how long I should expect to wait, he says 90 minutes. I say ok, thinking to myself 90 minutes to strip tires and install and balance snow tires? Seemed excessive but whatever.

About 60 minutes goes by and my phone battery decides its a good time to give up on me and leave me with nothing to entertain myself with. So I start wandering around the place and happen to notice my car on the security camera behind the desk, I think to myself well that's pretty cool, I'll watch while they work on my car. I go back to pacing about and glancing at my car. I actually commented to myself that the tech seemed to be spending an excessive amount of time working on my driver's side front wheel. No big deal, they don't always line up right away and can be a little finicky. Back to pacing. It took the tech about 2 minutes to reinstall the driver's side wheel. So after the about 90 minutes I was quoted and $40 some-odd dollars later I am on my way with my snow tires installed. Yay, they ride better and grip great.

Fast-forward to last night. In this time I drove from the tire place to my house and parked. Hadn't moved since then. I get in my car, driver's side wheel is making a squealing noise. Thought it was odd, maybe due to the cold, spray some wd40 on it. Drive a bit, gets a little less and then I hit a pothole and the noise disappears. I thought this was weird. Anyhow, I was on my way to a warm garage (parent's house) for dinner and to make adjustments to my suspension.

I take the driver's side front wheel off first to try and locate the source of the squeaking. Upon attempting to remove the wheel I find it EXTREMELY difficult to remove. I had to really lay on my breaker bar and even after it was broken free they didn't spin freely. It seems that the lugs are cross-threaded. (I have taken my wheels on and off at least a dozen times since I last had anyone else touch my car, always hand turn them in and out before applying any amount of heavy force.) I finish with that wheel. Go to the rear. 2 of the lugs take almost ALL of my bodyweight and strength on the end of my breaker bar to break free. I estimate WELL in excess of 200 lbs of torque on the lug nut. I notice that it has warped the socket on my breaker bar. I then go through the rest of the lugs and find several UNDER torqued and several take as much if not MORE force to break free. To further explain just how much force was used I SNAPPED the socket end off my breaker bar AND the adapter bit.

To top all of this off, they also added a scratch to my rims.

I am going to go over there and complain and demand some type of compensation/fix for the broken tools and cross threaded lug nuts. Do you think this is a fair course of action or would you do something else?

TL:DR version.

Went to tire store to have snow tires installed, they cross threaded my lug nuts on the driver's side front wheel, over torqued or under torqued all of my lug nuts, caused me to break a solid steel breaker bar and 1/2" drive to 3/8" adapter.

This is the breaker bar.

[blbroo]

I've snapped a couple of cheap breaker bars, but even a cheap one should be able to remove wheel lugs without issue. I'm not sure what compensation you can get, unless the cross threaded bolt caused damage. You would almost have to be trying to cross thread a lug. I've had mine off and on over 20 times and have never mis-threaded one, they always go in clean.

All that said, I'd still go by there and talk to them about it.

[Project Quattro]

Dude, I'm guessing I know where you went... just stop using that company. Absolutely go back for compensation. Several of my coworkers and I have all had horrific experiences there and they've been compensated for damage (mine was more from a customer service standpoint). I pay the dealer to do everything wheel and tire related now... Expensive but it's done right.


Sent from the Pedal Responce Emergency Bat Phone

[adamazing]

It's tricky for me personally, because I know to never take my wheels anywhere other than a performance shop that I trust (TAG Motorsports in my case). I've learned plenty of lessons over the past 10-15 years when dealing with chain stores and hole in the wall tire shops.

What happened to you, is exactly what I would expect from a place like Discount Tire, Costco, Walmart, Evans, etc. I know you haven't laid out the company name, but I'm almost certain it falls into that category.

With that said, in the past, I've addressed some issues with the store manager with varying success. Definitely go back to discuss it, but don't go in there guns blazing. The majority of people working at tire shops are young and they get paid minimum wage... so get minimum wage attention to detail. I sure the manager will be willing to help replace studs and lugs, maybe you're breaker bar. The scratch on the wheel is going to be a tough sell depending how flagrant it is. If it's something that's small and considered a 'normal' hazard of the service in their company policy, you might be alone in that battle.

[AllroadCorbin]

Go there, ask for their manager and don't take bullshit. Those people are total morons and they owe you compensation. I would even go after them for the wheel scratches so you can get them resurfaced if you desire. Shops can not get away things like this and expect people to suck it up. As a customer, I'm a retailers worst nightmare but when you pay somebody to do something, you should have every expectation that they do it perfectly, and if not, they owe you.

I had a shop like the one you speak of scratch 3 of my 4 wheels on my old 9-3, and do a terrible job balancing my wheels. After being relentless with them, they offered to pay to have all 3 wheels resurfaced, and balanced it 4 times until it was right. It's possible. But most people who take their cars to places like that wont call them out on things because its cheap and they sort of expect it...or dont even notice. Maybe I'm just a dick haha

[Lambda13]

For something this simple I just wanted it done conveniently and quickly.

[AnTarbh]

I have recently had some bad experiences - it is always a shame with they happen. You probably shouldn't expect any monetary compensation, but you should absolutely expect them to correct all of the problems. If this is the first time they messed up, but not the first time you used them, let them make it right. If they don't make it right - switch providers, sometimes a new shop will work with you to fix other peoples mistakes in order to earn your loyalty.

[Alex1188]

I had a very similar situation from a Discount Tire... specifically went there to get some tire mounted and road force balanced and tape on weights. Well i sat around and watched them do my tires. And low and behold the tech took my wheels put them on a regular balancing machine, and started pounding hammer on weight on to my wheels...... I will NEVER go back to a discount tire... luckily i wasn't to mad due to the fact that they were my winter wheels but still in the same sense, it showed me what my summer could have been in store for.

Go back and explain the situation to the manager, i do not see why they wouldn't compensate you for the wheels studs.

[Audibot]

OP, seek recourse. If the hub requires replacement because of the cross-threading, I would seek that plus book value on installation. So I guess price of lugs, hubs, install, breaker bar, and adapter.

This is why if I go to a place to do any wheels/tires, I go to either a small mom and pop place, or the shop I trust to do work on my car. Never one of those. And for the mom and pop place, I tend to place the jack in the right spot, stand by my car while the work is done, and reinstall/retorque the lugs myself. Being a hawkeye helps in some cases.

[kdaffy]

sounds like a bad shop as PQ says....definitely go back and demand compensation. this should not happen...sounds like tech didnt know what they were doing and blatantly disregarded any guidance you gave...i would be pissed

[man n black]

Like these other doods said.

Side note...I HAVE had a problem with loose wheels bolts using spacers with my wheels, even when correctly torquing them down myself and re-checking torque after short drives..

Good luck!

Ch

sent from knee deep in snow

[Lambda13]

Like these other doods said.

Side note...I HAVE had a problem with loose wheels bolts using spacers with my wheels, even when correctly torquing them down myself and re-checking torque after short drives..

Good luck!

Ch

sent from knee deep in snow

I do not have the spacers on now, so the fact that some were lose and others were ball-buster tight is perplexing.

[B G 8er]

Might be sort of hard to prove since you removed the lugs. Maybe you should have taken the car back to them before you changed anything. However, buyer beware. I am also very particular about who works on my vehicles.

We have purchased tires for my Son's Subbie at a large national chain. So far no issues but literally, its a sweat shop with High School students doing the work. There's no way I'm taking my Audi there!

Find a custom performance shop that knows what they are doing. Also, scratches can happen with your wheels but take them to a shop that goes the extra mile to care as much about your car as you do.

[lettuce]

Is this our version of the S4 jiffy lube thread?

[doowopaudi]

Speaking of over torqueing the lugs... If i find that they have been over torqued, will loosening and torqueing back to spec resolve the issue?

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[B-Time]

Lambda13, did you try to thread the bolts while the wheel was off? To confirm the the threads are screwed up.

[doowopaudi]

By the way, I'm not trying to be facetious. I'm simply wondering whether mere over tightening causes unknown damage.

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