Wheels Fall off after Sears tire rotation for 2nd time

[kshimizu]

I just got a call from my dad saying they just had the tires rotated on my moms Durango this morning and they drove around and he said 100 miles later it felt like maybe one of the tires lost their weights and went out of balance. He said the vibration got so bad that they had to finally pull over. When they pulled over he found that there were only 2 lug nuts left and they were coming loose also and was unable to tighten them up. This is not the first time they've had a problem with the Sears in Victorville, CA. My dad had them do shocks and brake job on his 93 3/4 ton work truck last summer, and on his way to work the wheel flew off and bounced across I-15 luckily not hitting anyone. Sears claim that they didn't take the wheel off that fell off. I guess my dad was so busy at the time that he never really followed through and made them pay for anything but now this is the second time that a vehicle has had a wheel fall off within a 100 miles of them working on it. What the Sears manager told him today was that there is now way they could've drove around for over a 100 miles before that wheel and the lugs came loose on them today, it should've flown off earlier. My mom's car has the factory alloy wheels on it, which their paperwork says all custom and alloy wheels she have lugnuts retorqued in 25 miles. How many of you actually go back in 25 miles later to have this done? Does it sound like there is any sort of legal action that can be taken seeing as how this is the second time they've had a wheel fall off from Sears. I got my tires through Discount or America's Tires and they go around and zip on the lugs with a wrench when rotating tires but they then go back and hit each one by hand with a torque wrench. Sears I have no clue what they do to tighten down lugs. Well that's the story, if anyone else has had anything like this happen to them and what they did about it let me know.

 

[illflem]

I've heard many complaints about folks' wheels falling off after a visit to the tire shop and have always thought , how lame they can't even tighten the nuts right. Truth of the matter is that they overtighten them and end up either stripping the threads or breaking the studs. Most times this isn't apparent till you drive a bit. Easy to prove in small claims court if the tire dealer won't stand behind their work.