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[dave the builder]

Mr google said "Automobile clubs recommend checking the seating of the nuts after 50 to 100 kilometres and retightening them whenever necessary. The reason for this is that the wheel bolts can loosen over time, meaning the wheel is no longer seated as tightly as it should be."
did VW inform you of this ? is it in the small print on the receipt 

[Sir Tigger KC]

Jeez sounds like you were lucky not to perform a multiple pirouette down the autoroute!   

Hope you enjoyed your 'microwave' meals! 

[Entwood]

Check your paperwork before you start any legal proceedings .... 

I have just had all four tyres changed and it clearly says on the invoice, and it has been highlighted in luminous yellow marker .. "Check wheelnut torque after 50 miles" ...

If your paperwork has anything along those lines your claim will be dismissed instantly......  however ..... if there is nothing to tell you to check them, it reinforces your claim  ... 

[Nick W]

Check your paperwork before you start any legal proceedings .... 

I have just had all four tyres changed and it clearly says on the invoice, and it has been highlighted in luminous yellow marker .. "Check wheelnut torque after 50 miles" ...

If your paperwork has anything along those lines your claim will be dismissed instantly......  however ..... if there is nothing to tell you to check them, it reinforces your claim  ... 

Every business that removes wheels for any reason whatsoever will state on the invoice that you need to check the wheelnuts after x miles. Not that any customer ever does. And even if you did, how would you prove it?


However, this is one of the reasons to use a dealer, as you get to complain to both the franchise AND the manufacturer. Replacing the wheel with a grovelling apology is cheaper and better for their reputations than arguing. But that's only true when a crash isn't caused by the problem

[Entwood]

Check your paperwork before you start any legal proceedings .... 

I have just had all four tyres changed and it clearly says on the invoice, and it has been highlighted in luminous yellow marker .. "Check wheelnut torque after 50 miles" ...

If your paperwork has anything along those lines your claim will be dismissed instantly......  however ..... if there is nothing to tell you to check them, it reinforces your claim  ... 

Every business that removes wheels for any reason whatsoever will state on the invoice that you need to check the wheelnuts after x miles. Not that any customer ever does. And even if you did, how would you prove it?


However, this is one of the reasons to use a dealer, as you get to complain to both the franchise AND the manufacturer. Replacing the wheel with a grovelling apology is cheaper and better for their reputations than arguing. But that's only true when a crash isn't caused by the problem

Actually, I do, every time.... I also check the wheel nuts on the tin tent before each outing. A decent torque wrench lives in the boot and is well used.. a few seconds to check each wheel may save my life, is the way I look at it.

[Bigron]

I've never been told by any tyre company to check my wheel nuts after X miles - not even kwikshit, who will deny responsibility for anything. However, there is a tyre-cum-breakers near Wareham (Trents) who display large signs with big red letters advising tyre customers to bring the vehicle back after 50 miles to have the wheelnuts checked. This puts the onus on them and not the customer for the safety of the vehicle - which is exactly where it should lie.

Ron.

[LC0112G]

Check your paperwork before you start any legal proceedings .... 

I have just had all four tyres changed and it clearly says on the invoice, and it has been highlighted in luminous yellow marker .. "Check wheelnut torque after 50 miles" ...

If your paperwork has anything along those lines your claim will be dismissed instantly......  however ..... if there is nothing to tell you to check them, it reinforces your claim  ... 

Every business that removes wheels for any reason whatsoever will state on the invoice that you need to check the wheelnuts after x miles. Not that any customer ever does. And even if you did, how would you prove it?


However, this is one of the reasons to use a dealer, as you get to complain to both the franchise AND the manufacturer. Replacing the wheel with a grovelling apology is cheaper and better for their reputations than arguing. But that's only true when a crash isn't caused by the problem

Actually, I do, every time.... I also check the wheel nuts on the tin tent before each outing. A decent torque wrench lives in the boot and is well used.. a few seconds to check each wheel may save my life, is the way I look at it.

So do I. Only ever had one puncture when out and about, but what you really really don't want is to have a puncture and then find out the previous tyre fitters have windy-gunned the bolts up to a squillion Nm and you're on the hard shoulder of a motorway in the dark and pi55ing down with rain trying to get the wretched bolts undone.

Drive home from the tyre place, and then immediately crack off the bolts and re-torque to MY settings. Only takes a few minutes but should I ever have another puncture I then know I can deal with it. Then check the pressures and adjust to what I want. Takes a bit longer if I have to fire up the compressor.

[Varche]

Guilty. For years , the only petson to tighten wheels on our Omegas was me, ditto the Vitara. I even carry the torque wrench around with me.

My bad as do not carry it in the Golf, which doesnt even have a spare wheel or wrench or jack.

Have just asked the dealer for the old rim and wheel bolts. The crucial thing in my mind ( lay awake thinking about it) is was the locking wheel bolt the one that was tight? Will wait andsee how bland the paperwork “report” is. As said earlier, one dealer isnt going to shop another.

Re going back after fifty miles, I will scrutinise our paperwork but how many people have ever heard of a wheel coming loose on a modern car?  I might even translate and ask this dealer if I need to come back after 80km .

Hey ho.

PS microwave dinners can be cooked in a saucepan without causing the diners to be ill next day. My tip is to add a dash of wine to stop them drying out at simmering stage!

[Sir Tigger KC]

So do I. Only ever had one puncture when out and about, but what you really really don't want is to have a puncture and then find out the previous tyre fitters have windy-gunned the bolts up to a squillion Nm and you're on the hard shoulder of a motorway in the dark and pi55ing down with rain trying to get the wretched bolts undone.

Drive home from the tyre place, and then immediately crack off the bolts and re-torque to MY settings. Only takes a few minutes but should I ever have another puncture I then know I can deal with it. Then check the pressures and adjust to what I want. Takes a bit longer if I have to fire up the compressor.

I've just had this issue on the V70.    Bought new tyres last week and went to remove the front wheels at the weekend, got the nearside off with some effort, but was bending my 600mm bar on the other side.  The rear was much the same, so as I've snapped wheel bolts in the past I abandoned the attempt and took it back to the tyre shop yesterday.  He struggled to get them off and when he did looked at me like I was a pussy!   

I think that the threads on the wheel bolts are probably knackered from repeated over tightening, as when I did up the ones I did get off to 110nm they didn't feel tight so nipped them up a bit more.    The tyre shop guy said they do them up to 140nm, but I suspect while you're sat drinking the free coffee and chatting to the attractive young blonde behind the desk, it's windy gun FT! 

[Lizzie Zoom]

Guilty. For years , the only petson to tighten wheels on our Omegas was me, ditto the Vitara. I even carry the torque wrench around with me.

My bad as do not carry it in the Golf, which doesnt even have a spare wheel or wrench or jack.

Have just asked the dealer for the old rim and wheel bolts. The crucial thing in my mind ( lay awake thinking about it) is was the locking wheel bolt the one that was tight? Will wait andsee how bland the paperwork “report” is. As said earlier, one dealer isnt going to shop another.

Re going back after fifty miles, I will scrutinise our paperwork but how many people have ever heard of a wheel coming loose on a modern car?  I might even translate and ask this dealer if I need to come back after 80km .

Hey ho.

PS microwave dinners can be cooked in a saucepan without causing the diners to be ill next day. My tip is to add a dash of wine to stop them drying out at simmering stage!

After all I said about going down the legal route if the VW dealer does not respond satisfactorily within a reasonable time, PROVING that they were negligent and somebody else,like you, has not tampered with the wheel nuts could be a real legal challenge.   Now that would be  a graet challenge for me, but as I have considerable experience in these matters from both sides of the fence, I know the paperwork involved could be extensive and seemingly endless, and not everyones cup of tea, until 'The Win!'

[TheBoy]

I always take the piss out of that Gixer fella as once when working on my car, we both thought the other had torqued the bolts up, and I drove home like I'd stolen it. Only once in Brackley did it start making a funny noise


Varche - every tyre receipt I've had has always had a disclaimer about retorquing in a few miles, as its their get-out-of-jail-free card for just wanking it up on a windy gun

[Lizzie Zoom]

I always take the piss out of that Gixer fella as once when working on my car, we both thought the other had torqued the bolts up, and I drove home like I'd stolen it. Only once in Brackley did it start making a funny noise


Varche - every tyre receipt I've had has always had a disclaimer about retorquing in a few miles, as its their get-out-of-jail-free card for just wanking it up on a windy gun

Yep, and that would be the great legal challenge to overcome if Varche decided to make a claim.

[ronnyd]

I've never been told by any tyre company to check my wheel nuts after X miles - not even kwikshit, who will deny responsibility for anything. However, there is a tyre-cum-breakers near Wareham (Trents) who display large signs with big red letters advising tyre customers to bring the vehicle back after 50 miles to have the wheelnuts checked. This puts the onus on them and not the customer for the safety of the vehicle - which is exactly where it should lie.

Ron.

My local tyre fitter of choice has always had the advisory on the invoice to check the tightness of the nuts/bolts after a few miles and most of the guys also verbally remind the customers as well.

[Lizzie Zoom]

I've never been told by any tyre company to check my wheel nuts after X miles - not even kwikshit, who will deny responsibility for anything. However, there is a tyre-cum-breakers near Wareham (Trents) who display large signs with big red letters advising tyre customers to bring the vehicle back after 50 miles to have the wheelnuts checked. This puts the onus on them and not the customer for the safety of the vehicle - which is exactly where it should lie.

Ron.

My local tyre fitter of choice has always had the advisory on the invoice to check the tightness of the nuts/bolts after a few miles and most of the guys also verbally remind the customers as well.

But I would challenge the legality of that as it is not reasonable, or practical, to expect a member of the public to do that, or remember to get a garage to check them, when, if the tyre fitter was doing his job properly and tightening the bolts correctly for long term use, then it should never be necessary, as, I would submit in legal argument, wheels do not regularly fall off when most motorists never carryout that re-tightening procedure.  It is an unreasonable obligation being placed on the consumer as a "Get out Clause" to inhibit potential legal action against the tyre fitter if anything goes wrong.  Motorists drive regularly 1,000's of miles between tyre changes, often on business, let alone domestic use,  without re-checking those nuts, without any incident transpiring.  That can be evidenced with the testimonies of millions of drivers, but can it be proved that the non-re-tightening of wheel nuts if done after 50 miles, or higher mileages, causes such a massive loss of a wheel, if the tyre fitter did his job correctly in the first instance?  Can that actually be evidenced?

Just my thoughts, which may seem mad to some, but such practices by retailers and suppliers should be legally judged for their reasonableness, and questioned for their practical application, and not just an attempt to avoid legal action when they get it wrong.  In other words nothing should not be questioned in law.

[ronnyd]

I've never been told by any tyre company to check my wheel nuts after X miles - not even kwikshit, who will deny responsibility for anything. However, there is a tyre-cum-breakers near Wareham (Trents) who display large signs with big red letters advising tyre customers to bring the vehicle back after 50 miles to have the wheelnuts checked. This puts the onus on them and not the customer for the safety of the vehicle - which is exactly where it should lie.

Ron.

My local tyre fitter of choice has always had the advisory on the invoice to check the tightness of the nuts/bolts after a few miles and most of the guys also verbally remind the customers as well.

But I would challenge the legality of that as it is not reasonable, or practical, to expect a member of the public to do that, or remember to get a garage to check them, when, if the tyre fitter was doing his job properly and tightening the bolts correctly for long term use, then it should never be necessary, as, I would submit in legal argument, wheels do not regularly fall off when most motorists never carryout that re-tightening procedure.  It is an unreasonable obligation being placed on the consumer as a "Get out Clause" to inhibit potential legal action against the tyre fitter if anything goes wrong.  Motorists drive regularly 1,000's of miles between tyre changes, often on business, let alone domestic use,  without re-checking those nuts, without any incident transpiring.  That can be evidenced with the testimonies of millions of drivers, but can it be proved that the non-re-tightening of wheel nuts if done after 50 miles, or higher mileages, causes such a massive loss of a wheel, if the tyre fitter did his job correctly in the first instance?  Can that actually be evidenced?

Just my thoughts, which may seem mad to some, but such practices by retailers and suppliers should be legally judged for their reasonableness, and questioned for their practical application, and not just an attempt to avoid legal action when they get it wrong.  In other words nothing should not be questioned in law.

It,s surprising how many times that advisory or comments from MOT testers came up that wheel nuts were missing or loose. This was when i was looking for a car to replace the Desmond and was checking the history.