Major Service Mishap

[Rineland]

So this happened today. The truck was in for a routine oil change and for the underbody insulator recall. As I was pulling out of the dealer lot the front wheel came off and rolled out into the ditch. The front quarter panel landed on the tire and got a bent up into the A-pillar which nicked the paint. The wheel sustained some damage from the bolt at the bottom of the lower control arm so that is getting replaced along with the lower control arm (which you can see ground into the pavement) and the quarter panel. As they pulled it into the garage the rear wheel was also ejecting lug nuts onto the floor, so those weren't tightened either. Aside from the rim, lower control arm, and quarter panel, is there anything else I should be concerned with and have replaced? Are the wheels hub or lug centric? I'm wondering if any damage was sustained to the rear wheel while it wasn't tight and potentially caused issues with it that will result in excessive vibration later on. If hub centric, maybe not a big deal.

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[Djlee1592]

holy smokes. that sucks, Hopefully they take care of you

 

[Mouse51180]

That sucks. Sorry to see that.

 

[Rineland]

Thanks guys. It definitely sucks, the truck was mint before the mishap. Fortunately it was a slow speed and on a side road without any other traffic involved. Could’ve been a lot worse had I made it to the main drag. The dealership is taking care of the damage, I just want to make sure everything is addressed so I’m not chasing gremlins a few thousand miles down the road. It’s only got 14k miles on it so I suppose I still have quite a bit of bumper to bumper coverage left, but would like to avoid relying on that process if something crops up.

 

[MJ Heat]

Unfortunately the maintenance techs are usually those with the least experience. I had my left side mirror broken with a lift, an oily spot left on my console from the techs elbow backing the truck out of the bay, & yet another mechanic leave the old rubber seal/o-ring from an oil filter on the engine block, that ultimately caused oil to spray all over the motor, just over the last few years at a very large Ford dealership. I cringe when they offer me free oil changes, even though they have readily taken responsibility for all these things when they occurred.

Good Luck OP! I sincerely hope & expect that the dealer will take care of you.

 

[tony72cutlass's']

they say all publicity is good publicity, not in the context of this photo with that dealer's name in the background!!!

 

[Zengineer]

Just be glad you weren't in for heart surgery.

I hate damage to newish stuff. Sorry you are going through this and hopefully they are better at paint than they are with lugnuts.

 

[Pedaldude]

Classic rookie mistake that I’ve also seen old timers make. I even knew an owner of a tire shop that would go out and check every wheel himself with a lug wrench and have the managers do the same when he wasn’t there.

I’d also take a look at the threads on the wheel studs and make sure that they weren’t marred, pulled or stripped in any way.

I’ve bent wheels before and you pretty much know immediately. Still it wouldn’t hurt to have them throw it on the tire balancer to see if there’s any runout from the pavement excursion.

I also always torque my own wheels after anyone else touched them, though it’s more because they usually over-tighten them and I don’t want to be on the side of the road changing a flat with the shitty emergency tools loosening lug nuts welded down with a pneumatic impact wrench running WOT.

Good luck!

 

[JerseyGlock]

 

[Henfield]

You barely made it 20 yards out of the dealership before the wheels fell off.

 

[Je1279]

As Ron White once said, apparently the technician missed lug nut day of tire college. Glad that you are ok and they are taking care of the damages for you.

 

[sbi]

New disk brakes.

Try go get a free one year bumper to bumper warranty/coverage in case something else pops out months from now.

 

[powerboatr]

WHOLLY BAT TURDS
concur all the lugnut studs need inspecting and chasing or replacing. the wheel could have ripped or damaged the threads and the oil change guy needs a swift kick in the rear area. guess nobody has a final guy to walk around after work. LIKE THE SERVICE desk writers or the service manager.
crazy stuff right there. lucky you weren't at highway speed

 

[Tomatoboy]

My father had this happen more than once over the years, he did a lot of driving in company cars, and after years of burning through cars I guess the statistics weren’t on his side. One of the few times I’ve seen shops immediately fess up and act super concerned rather than passing the buck, I guess because is so obviously their boneheaded mistake. He took to checking the nuts before driving after the second time.

Personally, having seen what it did, I would want to see under the truck before I signed off on the final repairs, but not all shops will afford you that opportunity on a lift, so at least check on the ground. I’d also check that whole side of the truck under the hood and inside the wheel well for any other flexing damage, and for any other pavement debris dings that need addressing. I’d also want to know how much crud that caliper ingested if it’s not being replaced with the rotor. My biggest concern going forward would be that wheel bearing, since that’s a lot of lateral force it seems to have sustained.

 

[Snakebitten]

Wow.

I know I rag on the dealerships enough already, but this is why I won't even let them rotate my tires.

There's likely one or two fellas behind the veil (the service writers desk) that are true professionals. But they aren't going to be doing the maintenance type tasks, so.........

Simply amazing

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