Urgent input needed for body/suspension shop in DC/Baltimore area. This is NOT a joke. On way home from breakfast this morning, left front wheel came off car at 60 mph. Vehicle is in driveway, no one was physically hurt, but vehicle sustained damage. Left front tire and wheel are toast, 4 lugs are missing, 2 pieces of trim over wheel arch are broken, and the suspension/steering arm/component I "coasted" on needs replacement. I don't know what the assembly name is but the brake cylinder and wheel hub are attached to it at the bottom. Wheels were rotated and balanced at a shop Friday and this happened today. I will not mention shop as it appears to have been a case of a tech not paying attention and I do not want to sling mud at the shop for a tech's bonehead mistake. Any input is appreciated as Geico only suggested Koon's Ford and they have not not been all that good on my wife's Mustang GT. Tate is the next option I know of, any input/endorsements for other shops would be appreciated. Thanks

*Edit - Was not going 60 mph at time of wheel falling off. Was actuallytraveling at 50 mph when vibration was noted, had slowed to 35 by the time wheel fell off. The insight of hindsight, I guess. I will be e-mailing MiniUSA to thank them for the suspension design I credit with making this much better than it could have been.

 

After a quick look at realoem.com it's appears to be the left wishbone, and the bolt and nut that were sheared off are part of the ball joint assembly. The wishbone is VERY scraped up where it rode on asphalt after the wheel fell off, unure if they'll replace entire wishbone assembly. Will know after adjuster sees car tomorrow.

 

OMG. that really sucks man. Would you consider PMing me the name of the shop? I can't believe that actually happens to people. And, to a 2006 AB/S like mine! AAAAAAAH! Well, good thing youre not hurt! Feel so bad for ya...

 

Glad to hear that no one was injured!

I certainly hope you let the tire shop know what happened so that they can compensate you for their ineptitude!

 

hey man, if you need a set of wheels to ride on for a little while before you an acquire a new set you can run on my 15" koseis and azenis. word.

i also have a full set of silver lugs you can gladly borrow for the time being.

 

That could have been so much worse if traffic had been involved. Thank goodness things are as they are.

This is one example of why I do the majority of my own work - especially on my motorcycles.

 

All, thanks for the well wishes it could have indeed been much worse. The offer of wheels is greatly appreciated, however, the bolt holding on the ball joint as well as its accompanying nut were sheared off when the wishbone hit the asphalt. As a result, I will not be driving the car. Thanks for the well wishes and kind offers. Back to the Silverado truck for the meantime.........

 

Glad your ok.

 

To get stuff replaced to factory spec, I'd take it to a Mini dealership. If you take it elsewhere, it's possible they'll miss something. I took my F150 to a suggested body shop after an accident, and 2 years later Lucky Dog found that the front swaybar was broken. Apparently nothing major, but how do you break a swaybar? A front end collision that torques the frame a bit will do it, and thats where it came from.

Then again, you could take it to LDG.

 

you broke a swaybar?!?! i hope it was just a mounting hole on the end.

 

I just got a tire put on this Saturday morning and I hope it wasn't the sears in Hunt Valley, because that's where I got the tire at.

 

Who knew Ron White was a prophet??????

I think the guy was sick on lug nut day.......at tire college I presume!

 

As I read this I can see in my mind's eye folks going out and snugging up their lugs. Not a bad idea. Keep in mind a overtightened stud is as bad as a loose one. It does not take all that much pressure to stress a lug stud.

For all of us going to the Dragon on newly fitted wheels - along the way pull out a torque wrinch and check the lugs while getting gas or eating lunch. Wheels can be tight when put on the car only to loosen up under use.

 

BTW, was not the Sears in Hunt Valley. Will be calling the shop tomorrow after car is towed to Tate. They seem to have a decent body shop reputation. Hopefully their suspension work is as good.

 

I'll have to look up the numbers, but can someone go ahead and post up the proper torque numbers for everyone?

 

Ron White came to mind when I read the first post.

I'm so glad no one was hurt - damn that's scary.

 

I have been using 85~90 ft/lbs.

 

I believe that 88 ft/lbs is what the lugs should be.

My family has an auto repair shop and have for the last 20 yrs. We tell all of our customers to return in 200-300 KM to have wheel lug torque checked, especially if you have alum. rims.

Just last week actually, one of my customers was in gettin some brake work done, and we saw some damage to his underbody. When we asked him about it, he just had tires done at the dealership with some warranty work. 800 KM after the change was done, he tire came off, and side swiped an oncoming car. He drives a Chev 2500, so not so small wheels. No one was seriously hurt either.

When he went to the dealership with the truck, they charged him over $800 to repair vehicle. They charged him for a new rim, tire, and some repair work. They took no responsibility for the incident. I don't think he will be back there anytime soon.

We also look up torque specs on Mitchell and hand torque every vehicle before it leaves the shop. In fact some of our customers come to us, just because they know we do this. Not many other shops in our small town hand torque wheels, calipers, tranny pans, etc.

Glad to hear that no one hurt in your ordeal.

 

Uncle Fester - you going to be able to make it to Dragon?

 

Krut, nope not this year. Too much going on at work to even entertain the idea. At least this incident didn't ruin any plans.....

 

Thanks.... and rats! my torque wrench only goes to 50 I think!

 

I've been told that it varies somewhat based upon which wheels you have, but it averages out around 90.

 

The owner's manuals for 1st gen say 88 and the R56 manual says 103. It probably goes by 12mm vs 14mm lug bolts. For the gray area (2006 1st gen with 14mm bolts) I suspect it should be 103.