2023 Ford Lightning, 4,000 miles - 5 out of 6 lug nuts and studs sheared off of the right front wheel!

[Garyl]

Go Back and read the OP post:
4000 mile's of driving with no tire manipulation
Only 1 stud unaffected by the time OP reached Dealership
"The studs had sheared off, not just missing lug nuts."
"There was no damage to the wheel to indicate loose lug nuts"

The studs failed. Most likely explanation was Over Torqued. The other potential fail point would be under hardened studs which could be a big Ford problem.

And I wouldn't expect much more information from the OP after reading the comments from others here.

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[bhelms]

This sounds like a potential factory issue to me. I think they over torqued them during construction.

I have 16,000 miles on mine with regular tire rotations and I re-torque to spec with a torque wrench 100 miles after every rotation. They’ve always been to spec and I’ve never had any issues.

 

[TMND]

And I wouldn't expect much more information from the OP after reading the comments from others here.

That is a real problem here. There are a few members here that seem to enjoy putting others down. Don’t give any benefit of the doubt and only assume that the OP is an uninformed, unobservational tool.

I can guarantee there are way more lurkers here than there are posters due to that exact fact, I myself going back to lurk mode.

 

[mr.Magoo]

[Edit]

If the STUDS snap off its really bad and nothing the owner could have done to prevent it.

 

[Duke_239]

I've actually lost one lugnut and I have no idea how it happened, but I'm kind if baffled that you lose two and the first reaction is to drive to the dealer during which you lose two more (which means they're on the last thread) rather than checking up what's going on.

Having lost one forbthe first time in 30 years I'm overly paranoid and the breaker-bar with socket is still in the backseat two months after swapping to winters for a quick reassurance that everything is buttoned up right.

I mean, even if you're not mechanically inclined, you could at least touch them and see that they're about to fall off and in that case call roadside assistance.

Then again, watching enough "just rolled in" and everything is a possibility.

Touching a lug nuts to see if it is tight counts as mechanicaly inclined. It is very difficult to get on the head of people who are not mechanically inclined.

 

[Grumpy2]

This isn't a lug nut issue, but a broken stud issue. As stated before it must be over torque problem. If it is a weak stud issue it would be in the forum already. Driver was very lucky to make it to the dealer with only one lug nut. I hope they watch the other wheels, as over-torque on right front may have happened on right rear too.

 

[mr.Magoo]

This isn't a lug nut issue, but a broken stud issue.

Ops, your right, sorry.

 

[TaxmanHog]

No indication? That condition was visible to your neighbor. Lesson to others (you have already learned) do the "circle of safety" around your vehicle at least once in the morning.

For the hell of it, I grabbed a 13/16" deep socket and a 1/2" drive torque wrench to confirm all mine are to spec, thank you Tasca Ford for the excellent service.

 

[jeff_h]

For the hell of it, I grabbed a 13/16" deep socket and a 1/2" drive torque wrench to confirm all mine are to spec, thank you Tasca Ford for the excellent service.

I didn't go that far, but when I saw this thread get started I walked out to the garage and took a look at all 4 wheels to see if "a couple lugnuts are missing" as the OP said his neighbors observed. Thankfully all of mine were fine, and I bet I wasn't the only one who walked out to give things a quick check!

 

[broncoaz]

With the now-gone Mach E and continuing with the Lightning, I carry around an old (REALLY old haha) Snap-On torque wrench precisely to torque wheel lug nuts to their high torque during wheel changes including after road mishaps. Carrying this old Snap-On torque wrench also allows me to check wheel lug torque after the dealership does some work on the vehicle.

I keep a $10 harbor freight torque wrench in my road box for the same reason. The HF cheapie torque wrenches are actually decent and their plastic case is smaller than other brands so it fits in my box. Here in the northeast where things rust I’ve found many a crusty steel spare wheel that got an extra full turn on the lug nuts with the torque wrench that seemed tight enough with the lug wrench.

I’m taking a technical course at the community college, the other night we were discussing torque wrenches. A couple of the 18 year old kids were suggesting a torque wrenches weren’t necessary when a couple ugga-duggas from the impact was fine and they’d never had a lug nut loosen or a wheel fall off. My reply was they were overtorquing and would eventually break a stud or warp brake rotors. One of them in particular was very defiant and stated I didn’t know what I was talking about. I’ve got at least 25 years on that kid and worked as a safety manager in the auto industry for decades. The instructor has probably 10 years on me and was confirming my statement. These kids are training to be outboard mechanics.

 

[Skidrowe]

About 25 years ago when I was even dumber than I am now, I had a 1984 convertible 5.0 mustang. I rotated all my tires myself just before the end of a college semester. Then I drove the car 1200 miles to Reno NV. At some point well before the halfway point, I began hearing/feeling a rhythmic thumping when I'd make a right hand turn at speed. I stopped a time or two and walked around the car, but didn't know what to look for and didn't see anything amiss. Going down into Reno along I-80 from the east, I was doing 100 to 120 mph around those sweeping corners and hearing the thumping on every other corner.

It turned out to be that I had neglected to properly torque one of the front wheel's lug nuts. Those wheels only have a 4-bolt pattern. One nut had backed off the stud and two studs had sheared off. I effectively drove hundreds of miles on one lug nut/stud at very high speeds with significant g-force pushing on that wheel.

So all of you keyboard warriors who are certain that his truck wouldn't have made it around town on 1 lug nut shouldn't be so certain in your assertions of what you believe to be an impossibility.

 

[broncoaz]

About 25 years ago when I was even dumber than I am now, I had a 1984 convertible 5.0 mustang. I rotated all my tires myself just before the end of a college semester. Then I drove the car 1200 miles to Reno NV. At some point well before the halfway point, I began hearing/feeling a rhythmic thumping when I'd make a right hand turn at speed. I stopped a time or two and walked around the car, but didn't know what to look for and didn't see anything amiss. Going down into Reno along I-80 from the east, I was doing 100 to 120 mph around those sweeping corners and hearing the thumping on every other corner.

It turned out to be that I had neglected to properly torque one of the front wheel's lug nuts. Those wheels only have a 4-bolt pattern. One nut had backed off the stud and two studs had sheared off. I effectively drove hundreds of miles on one lug nut/stud at very high speeds with significant g-force pushing on that wheel.

So all of you keyboard warriors who are certain that his truck wouldn't have made it around town on 1 lug nut shouldn't be so certain in your assertions of what you believe to be an impossibility.

The OEM wheels on current Fords are hub centric. The lug nuts are simply clamping the wheel to the hub, not supporting the weight of the truck. I’m not surprised that a single lug nut could survive a short trip, but I still might buy a lottery ticket afterwards.

 

[jbrinker]

About 25 years ago when I was even dumber than I am now, I had a 1984 convertible 5.0 mustang. I rotated all my tires myself just before the end of a college semester. Then I drove the car 1200 miles to Reno NV. At some point well before the halfway point, I began hearing/feeling a rhythmic thumping when I'd make a right hand turn at speed. I stopped a time or two and walked around the car, but didn't know what to look for and didn't see anything amiss. Going down into Reno along I-80 from the east, I was doing 100 to 120 mph around those sweeping corners and hearing the thumping on every other corner.

It turned out to be that I had neglected to properly torque one of the front wheel's lug nuts. Those wheels only have a 4-bolt pattern. One nut had backed off the stud and two studs had sheared off. I effectively drove hundreds of miles on one lug nut/stud at very high speeds with significant g-force pushing on that wheel.

So all of you keyboard warriors who are certain that his truck wouldn't have made it around town on 1 lug nut shouldn't be so certain in your assertions of what you believe to be an impossibility.

I did something similar once. Had to drive 250 miles to my best buddy's bachelor party. My cars brakes were not that great, so the day before I slapped on new pads and rotors. Must have forgotten to torque lug nuts properly, and drove 200+ miles before I noticed a weird noise when getting back on the interstate. Thought it was the start of a bad wheel bearing so I kept going. Drove all the way to the hotel, and as I turned into the hotel it was loud and felt really weird through the steering. Stopped and realized I had lost 3 out of 4 lug nuts on the passenger front and the 4th was only on by about 1/2". I Front right wheel was rattling around, and I have no idea how it did not fall off. I checked the left side and all of them were very loose too but not like the right side.

I said a hail Mary, jacked it up, tightened up the remaining nuts, and stole one from each back wheel to put on the front, and drove it home 2 days later. Dummy me did not even stop at an auto parts store to buy new nuts until later. Ugh. Youth. I did buy a torque wrench after that though. And I ALWAYS check them after doing work or being in a shop now. Always.

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