Dealer Didn't Tighten Wheel Nuts

[adi2tai]

Hi,

I collected my 2008 LS460 SE-L from the Lexus dealership last week. A few days later a soft thump-thump-thump noise develops, only when coasting - it vanishes when accelerating. The noise gradually worsened until today when I had a some vibration on the steering at 70mph, a loud noise that didn't quite vanish when under power and then the the whole car lurched to the left at about 50mph before settling. Pulled off onto the hard shoulder of the M25, had a look round, couldn't find anything so continued to my workplace. RAC came out to have a look and discovered that the nearside rear wheel was almost off the car: the locking nut and other nuts were completely loose! One of the mounting bolts for the wheel had actually sheared right off the hub - there were only 4 bolts left! I've used it for a week from work to home and back mainly, and have done some trips with my wife and kids in the car. I'm horrified that this might have killed us all - imagine if the wheel had come off at speed on the motorway! I suspect the dealer's service area forgot to tighten the nuts on that wheel after the prep for sale - the rest were fine. Any advice or suggestions? What should I do?

All best,

Adi

[simontaylor]

Get a written report off the RAC, then contact trading standards...... their advise is free and VERY good normally.

initially I would inform the dealer, but if you think this is a major safety issue, you should contact Lexus GB HQ too.

[Asi]

i would do as above

[spacenase]

I agree about getting an RAC report then talking to the dealer. It's probably just an oversight by the technician that prepared it.

I'd be looking for the dealer to fix any issues it's caused including the sheared off bolt, and get them to check that the bolt holes in the wheel haven't become elongated, I did the same thing on a Talbot Sunbeam years ago and ended up with oval bolt holes. If this has happened, they should replace the wheel.

Personally, I'd only go to Lexus or Trading Standards if the dealer doesn't take responsibility...

KEITH

[ALAN MCK]

I'm a vehicle builder (buses) and all vehicles leaving out factory before VOSA inspection must have a sticker attached confirming that all wheels have been torqued properly.

I would be very surprised if there wasn't a similar system in place at the dealership to avoid things like this. If thety have a system and it's not been adhered to in this safety

critical area then someone is gonna get a bollocking.

[adi2tai]

Thanks for the input. I contacted Trading Standards, who said that supplying a vehicle like that breached the Sale of Goods Act! Anyway, I've written to them and am waiting for a reply. I'm concerned that there might be knock-on issues from the wheel thumping abuot, or other things they've missed. I wonder if they'd extend the warranty? Is it reasonable to ask?

Cheers,

Adi

[Bazza]

lexus will probably say that it was the after effect of someone trying to steal your wheels !

have you thought of the possibility of that it might be true

[adi2tai]

lexus will probably say that it was the after effect of someone trying to steal your wheels !

have you thought of the possibility of that it might be true

Yep, exactly what they said. I've considered it and it seems vanishingly unlikely: I live down a very small private road between two little villages. It's odd that it happened within a few days of picking it up - I got the car on Tuesday and heard the noise on Saturday. But Lexus says that's too long for loose wheel nuts to stay on if they (Lexus) hadn't done them up properly. Anyway, they're replacing the damaged hub, the damaged alloy and the dodgy spare tyre, and doing a full health check on it, too. I guess that's fair enough - they could have said no-go and left me to deal with my insurers. Or am I being too charitable?

[ALAN MCK]

Why would they fix the damage and not accept responsibility? Makes no sense.

[ManicMark]

I am glad its being sorted out for you & disaster was avoided, It would be difficult for lexus to admit to being at fault due to the time period (even if it was their fault they would not know) seems they are doing everything they can to make good & I doubt anouther car will leave their premises without double checking the wheel nuts.

If it was anouther dealer I doubt you would have got the same result ( a certain german prestiege manufacturer blamed bad British roads for wheels failing & charged their customers £1000s to replace them untill watchdog got involved).

Toyota & Lexus seem to be the best of the crop when it comes to customer service, IMHO anyway (thats why me & my family drive nothing else).

If I was in your shoes yes I would be miffed but at least you dont have to go down the court route or lay out money to get it sorted.

I hope it all works out fine for you & you can enjoy your car when you get it back Mark

[adi2tai]

I am glad its being sorted out for you & disaster was avoided, It would be difficult for lexus to admit to being at fault due to the time period (even if it was their fault they would not know) seems they are doing everything they can to make good & I doubt anouther car will leave their premises without double checking the wheel nuts.

If it was anouther dealer I doubt you would have got the same result ( a certain german prestiege manufacturer blamed bad British roads for wheels failing & charged their customers £1000s to replace them untill watchdog got involved).

Toyota & Lexus seem to be the best of the crop when it comes to customer service, IMHO anyway (thats why me & my family drive nothing else).

If I was in your shoes yes I would be miffed but at least you dont have to go down the court route or lay out money to get it sorted.

I hope it all works out fine for you & you can enjoy your car when you get it back Mark

That's really good advice. I am still a bit miffed as I'm certain it was their oversight, but I can see that they're trying to make it right with me. They're replacing the damaged hub and alloy, as well as putting a new tyre on the spare and giving it a full check-over again. I'm appeased, if not delighted, but I guess it's fair.

Thanks for the help, gang - much appreciated!

[Rory]

Why would they fix the damage and not accept responsibility? Makes no sense.

....because excellent service promotes good cutomer loyalty and in the long run, more money for the company

[ManicMark]

Why would they fix the damage and not accept responsibility? Makes no sense.

....because excellent service promotes good cutomer loyalty and in the long run, more money for the company

If only more companys worked on that principle hey.

[Rory]

a lot of companies have that intention, but the people that are in customer services are all human after all and you only have to get bad service from one person regardless of who they work for and the whole company starts to get a bad name

[runbly]

I had an Avensis a while ago and a day or two after a service I opened the bonnet to find a hose was loose and coolant had spilt into the engine bay etc. Dealer arranged a clean of the engine and I was given a bottle of wine as an apology. Suppose they could have argued I had been messing about in the engine bay but nothing was ever even suggested.

[adi2tai]

I had an Avensis a while ago and a day or two after a service I opened the bonnet to find a hose was loose and coolant had spilt into the engine bay etc. Dealer arranged a clean of the engine and I was given a bottle of wine as an apology. Suppose they could have argued I had been messing about in the engine bay but nothing was ever even suggested.

All sorted, I think, although the dealer seems not to have replaced the hub that had one of the mounting bolts ripped off... Car lovely and clean, new valet service, new alloy and tyre. Pretty happy at the end, i guess, although I'd rather this hadn't happened.