Ford Motor Company finds itself on the receiving end of a lawsuit concerning the simplest part of any car or truck: the lug nuts.
In this case, nuts that swell and delaminate not long after purchase, rendering the vehicle’s lug wrench useless in the event of a flat tire, or when the owners decide to swap their seasonal rubber. The lawsuit, filed by Hagens Berman Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, seeks class-action status. Hundreds of claimants have put their name to the suit.
Millions of Ford vehicles dating back to 2010, including the popular Fusion and F-150, feature two-piece lug nuts with a steel core and chrome, aluminum, or stainless cap for appearance purposes, the lawsuit claims. That outer cap can swell, potentially endangering owners’ lives and wallets.
Hagens Berman claims the issue impacts owners of Ford Fusion, Escape, Flex, Focus, F-150 and F-350 vehicles. In some cases, the issue isn’t discovered until the owner attempts to change a tire on the side of a road, only to find that the lug wrench won’t fit over the nut.
The suit also claims roadside assistance crews sometimes find the nuts impossible to remove, as the nuts don’t swell in a uniform manner. This means more costs saddled on the owner in the form of a tow to a service center.
“At best this defect leads to consumers paying more than $30 per wheel at a repair shop just to get their tire off, and then have to buy new lug nuts,” said drivers’ counsel Steve Berman in a statement. “At worst, Ford owners could quickly end up in an emergency situation on a busy roadway, stranded with a flat tire and no way to change it.”
Contained in the suit is an accusation of post-recession cost-cutting. Ford could have avoided the issue by choosing solid stainless steel nuts, but that would increase the cost of manufacturing the vehicle, Hagens Berman states. Still, the capped nuts initially looked nice when contrasted with alloy or chrome-plated wheels.
A quick search of online Ford message boards shows countless complaints relating to swollen nuts on post-2010 vehicles, especially the Fusion. Other complaints have found their way to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The suit, representing drivers in all 50 U.S. states, accuses Ford of violating state consumer protection laws. The claimants demand the automaker recoup them for individual costs associated with the swollen nuts.
Ford hasn’t commented on the suit.
[Image: victoras/Bigstock]
I have dealt with this many, many times over the years at my shop. The other thing that has happened is that even when the lugs are torqued to spec, they aren’t actually torqued properly. We have had cars come back with missing lugnuts that were 100% torqued correctly.
But how about Dodge? They’re much, much, much worse. Or Toyota? Actually, it’s pretty much any company with the decorative caps on lugnuts. What a stupid design.
Toyota and Honda don’t use 2 piece lug nuts. None of the 10+ Toyotas and 3 Hondas I’ve owned over the years had this problem, though I’ve encountered it numerous times while wrenching on domestic vehicles.
Camrys definitely do. Some Highlanders and RAV4’s, too. Depends on the trimline.
My shop probably services a minimum of fifteen Toyotas a week from those model lines and I’ve never seen this issue on a one of them. I haven’t seen it more than a few times on a Ford either, but I’ve seen it on countless Mopars.
Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic I’ve experienced the two piece nuts. Toyota and Honda definitely use these.
Areas with high corrosion conditions this is more prevalent.
This is not a domestic only or import only problem.
I’ve had issues with the OEM lug nuts (especially the locking ones requiring that stupid, useless key – stupid because if thieves want wheels, they’ll just break the lug nuts anyways) on at least 4 different makes of vehicles (two Japanese and two American) with the lug nuts breaking or shearing in half or 1/3 when switching from summer to winter tires.
Manufacturers all over are really cheapening out in many places, big and small, and many of the OEM lug nuts that break actually look like they are made of some MIM process and have a whitish, composite looking material inside when they shear or break.
It’s an absolute PITA to get the wheel off without having to pull and replace a wheel stud in the event these cheap OEM lug nuts shear off in a way whereby there’s not enough surface area for the 4-way lug to grab the lug nut surface (because the corners are missing).
I replace all my lug nuts now with high-wuality stainless steel aftermarket lug nuts, now, to avoid this BULlSH*T.
VW uses a plastic cap over the top of their lug nuts for cosmetic purposes. Problem solved, and probably a cheaper solution than these 2-piece disasters.
The little hook to take them off is kinda cute, too
Was going to comment the same, Dodge is lousy and Toyota isn’t far behind either.
IMO Honda has the best lugs and studs in the business.
Years ago GM used the same crappy lug with a stainless cap as well with the same problem.
If you look you can find metric 1/2 size flip sockets that help address the problem (18.5 / 19.5 – 22.0 / 22.5) which I’m guessing came about because of the jackassses at Ford, Dodge and whomever else uses them ( although oddly you don’t see a 21mm half size )
In the case of Toyota and it’s 21mm lugs I’ll like a 22mm socket up with the hex on the lug proper and drive it on to the lug and follow up with a 21mm socket.
It does the job and I’ve never had an issue with lugs backing off when torqued.
The answer is just a cheap set of one piece nuts. You can get them at most auto parts store. Just make sure you match up the correct seat for the lug.
GM has the worst lug nuts I have ever seen on their large alloys like on the Impala and Malibu. They have a “chrome” jacket over steel that swells after a couple years and you pretty much have to sacrifice a socket per lug nut by hammering it on. I have never seen garbage lug nuts like that on a Toyota.
Fords are garbage coated garbage with garbage fillings, but years in the business have shown Mopars to be by far the fiercest contenders in the swollen nuts derby. Odd. Usually the reason Ford trucks with flats get towed in is because the wheels have welded themselves to the hubs due to galvanic corrosion. The lug nuts come off, but the wheels don’t.
Curious, what makes Ford’s aluminum wheel and cast iron hub/rotor more problematic than the others?
I’m not sure. Maybe they use different alloys of steel and of aluminum, or they don’t coat anything, or use a protective grease, or have the right torque specs to keep the wheels from moving on the hubs initially and abrading the mating surfaces? Could be anything, but I’ve never seen a tech hanging from the axle of any other vehicle on a lift while trying to kick a wheel loose with both legs.
Having been in the industry for 42 yrs, I can confirm you don’t get many bonus points for serviceability if it adds cost. But it sounds like Ford is a real outlier on this aspect.
I had a flat on my 2010 F-150 two years ago. I had to loosen the nuts on the right front a little bit then drive around for a minute until I felt the wheel let go from the hub. It was NOT coming off otherwise.
Dodge had a problem with older dualies. I remember beating on a wheel with a mallet for 45 minutes trying to get the wheel to break loose.
Ended up using a 10-ton porta-power to break the wheels loose on the rear.
Fortunately it was just one generation of Dodge dualie pick-up.
I’ve never run into a vehicle outside of that where I couldn’t persuade a wheel off with a large rubber mallet or a good kick.
Speaking of lug nuts though my peeve has to be the asshole ( and that’s about as nice as I can put it ) that runs a set of lugs down with an impact wrench and blows right past the point where the gun stops on full power and as my friend puts it ” gives it about three more ugga duggas ” just to be sure they don’t come off.
Usually it is someone removing the grease that the factory applied and failure to add a little fresh grease as instructed.
And what makes you say Fords are garbage? And pray tell, what brands are good?
I first encountered this problem with my 1979 Buick Skyhawk, with styled road wheels and chrome lug nuts. Back then, cars with exposed lug nuts were rare, so this wasn’t that common of a problem.
Fortunately, I discovered this in my shop, where I had the tools to get the lug nuts off. Stainless steel lug nuts were also not too common back then, so I replaced them with ordinary steel lug nuts. Not too slightly, but it made it possible to change the tires, which I wound up doing fairly often with that car.
It came with an inflatable spare tire, and a CO2 canister. Once inflated, the spare could not be deflated enough to fit back in the tire well. Plus, you had to buy another canister. I took to carrying a regular wheel and tire in the back of the car, taking up almost all the trunk room.
At least it was a 2 door, rear wheel drive sport coupe, with a 200 HP V6 engine.
Bob
https://autopolis.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/1979-1980-buick-skyhawk-road-hawk-the-rarest-of-h-body-birds/
How did you get one with a 200 hp V6? The standard Corvette V8 (L48) didn’t make 200 hp in 1979.
The good-old-days look better the farther away they were. It had 115 HP, and would hit 60 in 10.4 seconds, with a theoretical top speed of 113 MPH.
Not bad for the times, though. It also came with a 4 speed manual, and of course, an 3-speed automatic transmission which added 1.1 seconds to the 0-60 time.
1979 Buick Skyhawk Road Hawk 5-speed
Buick Skyhawk Road Hawk 5-speed, model year 1979, version for North America U.S. (up to October)
3-door coupe body type
RWD (rear-wheel drive), manual 5-speed gearbox
petrol (gasoline) engine with displacement: 3791 cm3 / 231.4 cui, advertised power: 86 kW / 115 hp / 117 PS ( SAE net ), torque: 258 Nm / 190 lb-ft
characteristic dimensions: outside length: 4554 mm / 179.3 in, wheelbase: 2464 mm / 97 in
reference weights: shipping weight 1243 kg / 2740 lbs base curb weight: 1295 kg / 2855 lbs
how fast is this car ? top speed: 186 km/h (116 mph) (theoretical);
accelerations: 0- 60 mph 10.4 s; 0- 100 km/h 11 s (simulation ©automobile-catalog.com); 1/4 mile drag time (402 m) 17.7 s (simulation ©automobile-catalog.com)
fuel consumption and mileage: 22 mpg (U.S.), 10.7 l/100km, 26.4 mpg (imp.), 9.4 km/l EPA combined ratings; average estimated by a-c: 12.3 l/100km / 23 mpg (imp.) / 19.1 mpg (U.S.) / 8.1 km/l
Pretty sure my Father bought one of the rarest V6 Skyhawk’s. Its exterior colour was Orange. Must have been a screaming deal for a Catholic Northern Irishman to buy an Orange car
The trick with those old collapsible spares was to drain them down and hold the air hose at a right angle to the stem. The resulting stream of air would pull a vacuum in the tire neatly collapsing the spare back down into it’s original folded state.
Mercedes used them on a few cars and they were pretty good about going back into shape when drained but it might have been be cause they were newer.
My brother’s Challenger has the same problem. When he switches from summer tires to winter tires and vice versa they usually have to cut them off with a power chisel, which often damages the studs. Heaven knows what he would do if he got a flat on a country road.
Sounds ugly, and surprised the aftermarket hasn’t jumped in with better parts.
This is the last-chance method (power chisel) that has to be used regarding my post above.
This is an industry-wide issue affecting many manufacturers, and even on some high end vehicles. They’re probably saving 80 cents per lug nut by sourcing some Chinese-made garbage for their factory lug nut supply.
It’s incredible and I’ve had to get sheared/cracked lug nuts air-chiseled off on 3 occasions, and one time, had to have a stud removed because the locking lug nut fused to the stud thread, which was apparent after it cracked.
Many or most of these problematic OEM lug nuts are absolutely MIM fabricated, with an interior that looks like a plastic mixed with metal-type material mixture.
Maybe I’m weird, but I put just a bit of spark plug anti-seize grease on my wheel studs. I figure it will keep the lug nut and stud threads in pristine shape longer. I tend to rotate the tires fairly regularly, and keep my cars for a long time.
Take it all back apart and clean the stud and nut threads with brake cleaner. They are supposed to go on dry. Lubing them might let them back off. Then you will lose a wheel and possibly your life.
I do most of my own work, and have been using anti-seize compound on the lug nut/wheel bolts (threads and under the head) for decades without any problems. The face of the mounting flange and the pilot boss also get coated. I keep my cars for a L_o_o_oooong time, and they generally go to the wrecker running and roadworthy with over 200,000 miles. I prefer the Euro arrangement using bolts to the stud/nut setup because the threads are protected from exposure to road salt. If you don’t lube the threads there is a risk of wearing the threads in the wheel flange. I also have experience with fasteners on industrial equipment where we always specify anti-seize and these don’t come loose either, if properly torqued. Many times I find that auto service shops moderately or grossly over-torque the wheel bolts. They give it a shot with the impact gun, then make a show of checking with the torque wrench. If it clics, it’s OK to them, even though the torque could be 2 to 3 times specification. You don’t know until you try to take the wheel off.
This discussion could be carried on for pro/con. Years ago there was an extended discussion in the Letters section of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers magazine in the UK about the merits of using right hand threads on one side and left hand treads on the other side of the car’s lug nuts (Chrysler did this after everyone else dropped the practice). The other thread was about how good steam rail engines would be if the technology had progressed, but I digress.
I am interested if there is anyone who has experience contrary to mine, not just repeating what they have been told by others.
Nope, not anywhere with road salt. Anti seize on the threads, not on the angled face, and no problems in 35 years of driving.
They are not supposed to be greased, but anti seize will never by itself allow something but go loose if properly torqued. What it will do is lubricate it to the point where the torque will be higher than intended.
Yep, Bostik recommends anywhere between 15% up to 41% reduction in torque depending on type of compound compared to dry fasteners.
Also many don’t realize the importance of pasting the bolt cap. It actually contributes to more friction than the threads do (assuming clean threads).
We went through this on the wife’s 08 Merc Mountaineer as well. The first time I was rotating tires when I got bit by one, the 2nd was doing a brake job and they all got changed at that time. If I hadn’t had the luxury of this happening in my garage I wouldn’t have been able to get either one off.
[Here’s the lob] Which nuts?
Where’s Dead Weight when you need him? I’m sure he can find a way to blame this on General Motors.
Don’t worry. I’m here.
And yes, one if the vehicles I’ve seen experience this problem was a friend’s daughter’s Chevy Cruze.
It had the type of Chinese-made MIM garbage lug nuts from the factory, and he had to take her car to a specialty wheel shop to remove a stud because the tire shop sheared off a garbage MIM OEM lug nut in the normal course of simply trying to get a wheel off to replace a tire, and they could not get the then-fused plastic-metal flake broken lug nut off as it had fused to the stud thread.
And, from personal experience, if you took your GM vehicle to a dealer, and complained about the lug nuts…
The first thing the GM dealer would do is look at the new GM cars on the lot for the same problem and say, “No problem. It is a characteristic of the model.”
If not that… then the dealer would refer to a lengthy GM procedure that would inevitably show that the lug nuts are a maintenance item. So premature failure is now just called ‘maintenance.’
Or they would not write it up to avoid the 3-times a problem Lemon Law.
And if all that doesn’t work…
They will keep your car for a week till they can get to it, because they are so busy, and don’t have techs, and can’t cause the problem, and ….
I knew you could do it.
I have this exact issue with my 2014 MKZ. I replaced the nuts with solid, one-piece ones. Problem solved.
Gee, I’m utterly shocked that Hagens Berman is behind this.
Weird. I thought Ford lost their nuts about the tie Big Al came in and ran it into the ground. Job #1 at Ford is emasculation.
I recently had the problem on my 2015 F150 when I took it to Discount Tire for a rotation.
Apparently is common for these two piece lug nuts, both for Ford and Dodge, from what the tech told me.
Each time you torque them, they get worse and worse, to the point when you need new lugs.
This really isn’t news, as this has been ongoing for years. However, thanks for letting us know. I guess the class action lawsuit brought it to light again. In other news, Ford Owners Recommend Dodge. j/k.
“In other news, Ford Owners Recommend Dodge. j/k.”
I actually hear this more than you’d think, but it is generally due to Ford not being able to figure out the diesel market. Their Superduty platform is generally pretty dang good.
Went through this with my ’01 Range Rover. So aggravating. Ended up just replacing them with solid lugnuts. My ’95 Discovery has the same design but they are all perfect. Go figure. One thing I have heard is to NEVER use an impact rachet on these style lugnuts, which I have no doubt tire shops cheerfully ignore.
Just a stupid design.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! If I’ve learned anything in years of watching car shows on basic cable, it’s that the two keys to quality work on a vehicle are throwing sparks with a grinder and using using an impact ratchet on lugnuts.
I have been in the tire business for 38 years. I can assure everyone that this is not a new or isolated issue. Mopars are by far the worst about doing this. For a long time. I had to chip one off just yesterday.
But any manufacturer that puts a tin cap on top of a steel lug nut core is at fault. This goes clear back to the 60’s.
They should be forced to make solid, one-piece lug nuts.
I also hate the plastic “beauty” caps on certain models. Just make a black lug nut, for crying out loud.
….They should be forced to make solid, one-piece lug nuts…..
Not in this new world order. But hey, maybe Ford will be pardoned for this defect.
I just replaced them on my 2014 Fusion. I had no idea until I tried to rotate tires. All 20 were swollen. I bought new set from Rock auto for $79 and also bought 19.5 mm socket and cheap nut removal tool. 19.5 mm still did not fit and 20mm was too large. Removal tool did not work but good ones cost $$. So I brought car to Ford dealership. They of course knew this issue intimately and replaced all 20 nuts for $29 total for labour with nuts I provided. So I spent $110 on this repair not counting wasted time. BTW dealership told me that they would not even sell me OEM parts. And I think I know why.
BTW issue is caused by real nut rusting under cap and can be made worse by over-torquing.
I had this issue with a 2010 LR4 a while back. I believe JLR was owned by Ford when this vehicle was designed. I was lucky because the dealership found 20 good nuts in their odds and ends drawer and replaced them for me for free. Good thing because they were about 25.00 each
No, they have been using these miserable things since at least ’95, which was the BMW era. When the replaced ones go bad, you can get solid ones for about $150/set.
I haven’t run into this issue on our Toyotas and Kias. My 2013 Tacoma has alloys installed by the distributor (Gulf States Toyota), and are aftermarket acorn cone seat, rather than the integrated washer type uses on OEM alloys. The ’08 Sienna has steelies with plastic wheel covers, so uses plain steel cone seat nuts. The Kias (Forte Koups with factory alloys) use chrome plated steel cone seat nuts. My only complaint about the Kia nuts is that the chrome plating is kinda cheap.
I’m not familiar with MIM, so I looked it up:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_injection_molding
It sounds like it might actually work for some parts, but the debinding process (removing the binder and sintering the metal) doesn’t sound like it’s been perfected.
Of course if you’re using cheap Chinese-made garbage, all bets are off. If I was going to buy aftermarket nuts, I’d go with McGard. They make all kinds of nuts, in the USA.
Just curious… what kind of lug nuts do the Chinese Buicks have?
How can they get cheaper? Made in Burma? Cambodia?
General Motors will soon have their parts made in North Korea, Nigeria and Burma when even Chinese garbage is considered too expensive for their bean’counter bottom line.
I wonder if part of the problem is because of an odd lug size. I know on my Challenger the correct socket size is an unusual 22mm. I had to buy one for my impact wrench. A much more common 7/8 will work but it’s a sloppy fit, which those stainless caps will not tolerate for long.
22mm is pretty weird; most 1/2″ drive sets skip 22mm. My Toyota and Kias use 21mm nuts, which is pretty common. My last American vehicle (’95 F-150) was 13/16″.
GM uses a 22mm lug across a few models. It’s not that uncommon anymore and they have been using a 22mm lug for awhile on thier trucks going back to the 90’s.
You have to be careful though since GM uses three different torque specs 140, 110, and 100 ft/lbs with a 22mm lug. Some are identified by light blue dye on the lug.
The other thing I see showing up more and more are 14mm studs and a serious torque spec. My GT350 calls for 150 ft/lbs cold and also has a hot torque spec.
These nuts are garbage, I will vouch for this. The first time the wheels were removed from my car, one of those caps distorted and became useless, needed a bit hammered on and off. I bought a new set of higher quality lug nuts because what Ford provided was of poor quality, and would be quite happy to be reimbursed for that.
Solid stainless steel forged lug nuts can be purchased for about $32 to $52 for all four wheels depending on vehicle and number of lugs required.
Both McGard and Gorilla make high-quality, solid stainless steel, forged lug nuts.
It’s the only way to fly given the absolute garbage most manufacturers are sourcing to try and save $25 per vehicle on lug nuts at the factory assembly stage.
Over the last 20 years Ive owned three Infinitis, one F250, one Nissan Titan, one VW Rabbit, one BMW and two VW sportwagens. The F250 is the only one that I had a problem with stuck lug nuts and/or wheels. Its pretty obvious who pays attention to the details and who doesnt care.
No swollen nuts. Lifetime guarantee.
http://www.mcgard.com/index.php/automotive-2/lug-nutslug-bolts
Dear Editor- Nice pun, but it would have been really useful to show examples of the lug nut styles involved or not. Or is at all of them?
I agree with a few other posters, a dab of anti-seize on the threads solves this issue.
The problem is not with the lug seizing on the threads. The outside swells or changes shape if damaged such that you cannot easily get a socket on it. Anti-seize will do nothing here.
Not living in the rust belt I have never seen this in all my years of working on vehicles professionally. What I’ve seen many times is the cap coming off and a socket not fitting because it is too small and not a standard size.
For the record this type of nut has been in use since the 70’s at Ford and GM and the cap is always stainless, never aluminum or chrome. Personally I’ve switched vehicles to them over the aftermarket nuts that always rust after a couple of years.
In my case, the cap rotated slightly on the nut when a tech at a local shop did a bad job zapping them back on with an impact. No rust.
All of my previous cars have had one-piece nuts or bolts so I don’t know if this is normal, but it’s obvious holding even a new one that the caps are thin, and not well secured.
’93 Camry here. The lug nuts have a thin stainless cap over what appears to be a normal machined steel core. I have probably had to replace at least 15 lug nuts over the years. For the last 10+ years I have lived up North and therefore installed/removed snow tires twice a year, so that’s a pretty fair amount of off-on. I keep a bag of new lug nuts handy so when one or two of them get very difficult to put the wrench over, I replace them, and then go order some new ones. I suppose I could hunt down some one piece nuts, but with a Toyota dealer about 2 miles from the house, I just get them there.
This problem has nothing to do with rust seizing lug nuts to the studs, or brake drums or wheels rusting to the hub. Both of these are effectively prevented by applying anti-seize to the threads of the studs and the center pilot of the hub. With the snow tire regimen the semi-annual tire change is of course an ideal time to do this. But even before that, I have been doing this for about 30 years. Because I know how to tighten a nut or bolt, I never have any trouble with the lug nuts coming loose. Not even the tiniest bit. As far as trying to apply anti-sieze to the threads but not to the tapers, that’s a fool’s errand; as soon as you do any significant braking or the weather turns hot, the stuff is going to flow and wick wherever it darn well pleases. I just spooge it over the stud and declare victory. No problems yet, in 30+ years.
Oh, by the way I don’t think the problem is that corrosion swells the steel inner core but rather that the cap being of thin material gets peened thinner – thus larger diameter – over many cycles of installation/removal.
I do have to question how one could make a lawsuit out of this. I can’t see any way that there’s personal hazard, the problem is that the lug nuts are too hard to get off, not that they come off too easily. And the cost to any individual owner of an incident is probably limited to half an hour extra labor and the cost of a couple of lug nuts.
pffttt been that way since the 1970’s @ all us automakers get a trained journalist and an informed copy ed. .
There’s nothing worse than swollen nuts.