Wheel Off: Your are "At Risk"?
by TOM HELMERS
Wheel Off: The Insurance Dilemma The following statement both defines and warns about a serious trend affecting the entire automotive industry. Loose and missing lug nuts have resulted in terrible car wrecks, severe injuries, fatalities, bad publicity and expensive litigation. The phenomenon is called Wheel off. It represents the single greatest automotive insurance repair problem in the country today. It can also be fatal. The basic issue is dangerously loose lug nuts. But, the real cause is not as apparent as some believe. Wheel off: What��s the Real Problem? Many who are aware of the issue still believe that the major problem with Wheel off is the failure of technicians or automotive repair shops that do not have adequate management systems in place to guarantee proper lug nut ��tightening�� procedures (properly torqued lug nuts). Even insurance companies still believe this is the number one problem needing correction. Quite frankly, it isn��t the real problem. If an automotive technician didn��t properly tighten the lug nut(s) on your wheel, the car would have an immediate problem. It usually can��t get out of the repair shop without showing wheel instability. Three decades experience in looking at problems like this inside the auto industry has convinced me that the issue is far less apparent. It is a little deceptive and it takes a skilled automotive technician to see it. The problem is this: Because few American drivers schedule regular tire rotation every 5000 miles, corrosion (such as that caused by salt on roads during winter months) eats away the aluminum between the surface of the wheel and the hub. If not checked regularly, corrosion creates improper mating of these wheel parts. No matter that the lug nuts were once tightened properly. If this corrosion continues because the wheels have not been inspected regularly, those lug nuts can work their way loose because the metal holding them corrodes away. The rest is tragedy. Our service center has been so concerned about this for many years that we offer customers a tire rotation service for a nominal fee just so people will get it done. In short, wheel off is a tragically increasing phenomenon because motorists aren��t scheduling regular tire rotation on their cars every 5000 miles, therefore allowing corrosion build up for any one of a number of reasons over time. Suddenly the lug nuts pop, or a stud breaks, a wheel flies off and lives are imperiled. Wheel off Warning System: Tire Care Checklist 1.Wheel off has grown progressively throughout the entire automotive industry in the years since the advent of aluminum wheels. We saw the phenomenon begin years before there was the formal term for the problem. Why? It��s a simple scientific fact that aluminum is very vulnerable to the effects of corrosion. We always mandate a wheel off prevention check for all clients due to the simple fact that the corrosive effects on your vehicle wheels are usually not apparent until its ��too late.�� That��s the reason for the insurance company��s dilemma. It certainly wouldn��t hurt to find out (and I prefer to stress the word ��immediately��) if your aluminum wheels are secure from the corrosion generating difficulties leading to Wheel Off. It certainly can be more than just ��trouble�� if your aluminum wheel and tire care for all four wheels is not in order. 2.Studs, wheel, and tire should be inspected for bead, sidewall and damage to the tread. This is to be accomplished anyway, whether or not there is preventative maintenance taken for a potential Wheel off problem. This is standard for effective tire care.
3.Wheel off prevention and effective tire care is put into action when every automotive shop management system supplies its technicians with the most up to date manufacturer��s specifications concerning ��lug nut torque�� for the car or truck��s original equipment, wheels (aluminum or otherwise), specialty wheels, custom wheels and also the automotive aftermarket.
4.Make sure that your repair service checks the manufacturer��s specifications, making certain the tires are the proper size for your car. This too is standard tire care.
5.Well, you knew I was going to say this. But, you must make the time to get regularly scheduled maintenance for your car. This is the critical issue for tire care in general and wheel off prevention in particular, so do schedule regular tire rotation every 5000 miles. Of course, your vehicle needs to be checked for loose front end parts, abnormal tire wear, and/or balance, and properly set air pressures on the tires.
6.But, here��s the difference. Many shops refuse to give wheel off proper concern. Yes. Many have heard about it. And they will ��tell�� you they ��work hard�� to make sure wheel off doesn��t occur to your car. They all promise effective and safe tire care. But, few shops take the actual time to implement the checklist prevention systems and standards being called for by the automotive insurance industry. Fewer still check for wheel off corrosion conditions. Wheel off continues to be a major problem. If they do not take the time, you �C or someone dear to you �C will pay far more than for just a tire change.
