Do dealers re-torque lugs during PDI?

[Sport-Tech]

Originally Posted by littlefoot

I read the PDI sheet for the FRS today it's two pages long and has what seemed to be at least two dozen items on it to check and torquing the lugs was not one of them. The list was very comprehensive.

Do you work at a a dealership? I currently have a no-wash request on my BoS to avoid scratches, but have now heard that it can be a bugger getting the sticky residue off the car left behind by the vinyl protective sheeting used for shipping. Dealership washes by hand but still... dirty wash mitts etc can take their toll on the paint.

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by Scion FR-S

Do you work at a a delaership? I currently have a no-wash request on my BoS to avoid scratches, but have now heard that it can be a bugger getting the sticky residue off the car left behind by the vinyl protective sheeting used for shipping. Dealership washes by hand but still... dirty wash mitts etc can take their toll on the paint.

One bad wash won't leave your paint permanently damaged. If they do scratch through the clear coat, they will have to fix it. But swirls from a bad wash can be taken care of by a good cleaner wax.

[Brian S]

Originally Posted by Scion FR-S

Anyone with first-hand knowledge on this? They probably need some adjustment after shipping.

Some do and some dont depending on how the PDI's are set-up. Sometimes the laziest tech in the shop performs PDI's only or they are distributed out to the whole shop so most techs assume it to be already torqued down. They require you to pull one-front and one-rear during the PDI so thats about the only chance of that actually happening, so there you go, most cars get two wheels torqued after the PDI.

[Midship Runabout]

I can say as a current service tech at a dealer, no your wheels are not retorqued for a pdi. There is no need to. Also, every tech I have ever seen put on a wheel has used a torque stick or wrench. I'm not saying I torque every single nut and bolt I touch, but with a $20 dollar calibrated torque stick, it takes no longer time than just using a regular socket and impact... (screw hand torquing 20 lug nuts. Shit gets tiring)

[demby123]

Originally Posted by Scion FR-S

One solution: only allow the dealer to do the wheel change if they allow you to watch while the tech manually torques the wheels, and require that he shows you the wrench setting. (I've read that torque sticks on impacts are not very accurate.)

Torque sticks are fine, the only time they're inaccurate is if you're using them with a weak gun. Any quality gun like an IR titanium or snap on products will torque them just fine with the stick. I still hand torque lugs if i torque them with my electric impact due to the fact that it can't torque them with the stick.

Hand torquing takes time, and to most techs, time is money. You'll stop hand torquing things and following every unnecessary unwritten rule once your check comes back inadequate. That or people start complaining about how you're not as fast as jiffy lubes 10 minute services (or however fast these other guys advertise these days).