Wheel bolt stripped
 

So, i got a nail in my tire the other day and i went in to go get it patched. The guys at the tire shop told me when they tried to get the lug off, the bolt was spinning with the lug and they couldnt get it off. Anybody have this issue before?

Fail....wrong section..IGNORE

Seen far, FAR more off topic posts!

Do you have the stock studs, or aftermarket? Stock wheels? Who was the last person to remove/install your wheels?

My guess is that the last person who installed your wheels hit the lug nuts HARD with a impact and spun your studs. I don't have experience with this, so I will just say good luck as I hate issues like this. I would google to try to find an ingenious solution. my guess is you will have to drill the lug nut off (hopefully without damaging the wheel) and then replace the stud.

I had toyota replace the stock rims with aftermarkets. All i know is they were the only ones to touch em since the swap so your guess makes sense. I have an appt tomorrow with the dealership to have them replace whatever they messed up. Damn rookies :mad:

i had this happen to my old speed 3, discount tire had made the mistake but sadly i was swapping over to my winter set up at home. discovered the issue, had to ride to discount tire on 4 of 5 studs nearly shitting myself the entire way (about a 30 minute drive). The manager who knew me apologized and went to work re-threading the stud. if that didn't work he was going to send me to a shop to get a new one put on thankfully i didn't have to go that far and he had me out in about 10 minutes. Toyota will fix this for you.

So wait, how did he manage to get the bolt off in the first place? Im just curious cuz my bolt is literally so stuck on there that they said they couldnt get it off unless they broke it off. I wouldnt have been opposed to that if they actually had replacement bolts tho

Well as i was removing the bolt, it felt like it was tight then entire time (needed to use a breaker bar) and then it spun freely not coming off. I managed to wiggle it off after much swearing and effort. in your situation i wouldn't mess with it, just bring to the dealer and let them deal with it.

Will do... I had no plans on messing with it. Just wanted to know if anyone else had this problem and how it was resolved. Thanks guys 👍

So i took it to the dealer and it turns out they stripped more than one bolt on the other wheels. Amazing isnt it?

Monkeys with impact guns...

This is somewhat a common issue with this car. I have had two drivers side studs snap. I carry two spares just in case now. I know others who have had the same issue with the stock studs.

Looks like just another issue to add to the list

Every toyota dealer (that my parents have taken their toyotas to) overtorques the lug nuts to at least 100-120.

Toyota cars = 12mx1.5.
I think this may make a difference. I don't think we have an issue at 80ftlbs of torque. Its super easy to reach without much force too so I can't imagine them doing a good job with their impacts.

Another possible failure mode:

Tech: "Hey boss? I can't get these wheels off. I've been cranking on it with the impact for twenty minutes!"

Boss: <walks over, looks at gun, switches it to reverse rotation, then turns and walks away, shaking his head>

Tech: "Thanks, Boss! Hey wait, they're still not coming off, just spinning in the hole"

Boss: <shakes his head some more> "Well, the good news is, you're going to be here all day, and you're only going to make a half-hour on flat rate. Hopefully this will be a painful enough le$$on for you to pay attention. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get bitched out by the customer"

I mean, i could see it lol i should be getting a call later today to pick up my car. Im should tell them to take the wheels off and put them back on just to make sure they didnt fuck it up again

I've broken six studs on this car. I always keep a few spare studs and lug nuts with me. Now I always use anti seize when I reinstall the lugs (despite the torque discrepancy) and I haven't had any problems since.

I should use some anti seize. Never have yet. These tires have been off the hundreds of times.

Some techs are just in a rush to get cars in and out that they aren't careful and DO NOT FOLLOW Toyota Specifications.

I've seen many techs not using the torque stick (which limits it to 70-80 ft/lbs) which causes them to torque lug nuts at 150 ft/lbs (impact gun with no stick straight socket). That's about double the specifications.

Although the techs can mess them up.....I've personally replaced 4 of mine and I don't use an impact gun and I hand start the lugs 3 complete turns. The thread pitch is just too small in my opinion. I'd be willing to bet I've installed more nuts/bolts than 90% of the worlds population and the only time I've destroyed wheel studs is on this car.

If any car has been in a shop or at a dealer and the wheels were removed the chances of lug nuts or studs stripping is increased as many over torque them. The torque limiting sticks are garbage. Once threads have been stressed by over torquing there is nothing that can be done. Also torque wrenches need to be calibrated every so often or you can even over torque a nut with those. The only time I have had a problem with 12x1.5 is after 2 or 3 times of a shop over torquing the lug nuts. All subaru's use 12x1.5. Also 1.5 is the standard thread pitch for a 12mm bolt, fine threads would be more of a 1.25.

Have you played with compensating for the anti-seize? I want to start doing this. Still 89 lb-ft?

I haven't broke a stud yet but threads like these scare me. I keep 3 spare studs in my track tool box lol!

I haven't done any compensation. Just 89 lb-ft, and I haven't had any issues with that.

Yeah, it's definitely a shitty problem to have, but if you're prepared then it's really more of an inconvenience than an issue.