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      03-21-2019, 10:36 PM   #1
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Been driving with missing lug-nut. Irresponsible & sloppy dealership to blame?

-- Long rant ahead -- Safety issue --
So I traded in my 2014 328ix for a 2016 435ix M Sport couple months back and last weekend when I was washing my car I found there was a lug-nut missing in the rear left wheel. I usually drive fast and I feel like it could have caused some serious damage. I was very frustrated and angry at that point, this should have been found in the safety check/inspection before the BMW dealer sold me the car.

I called the dealership as soon as I found out and wanted some answers, I was able to get hold of the manager and he wanted me to bring in the car so that they could install the missing lug-nut, I didn't want to drive 40 minutes on bad roads through a shady neighborhood just to get a lug-nut installed at the dealership on a Saturday afternoon and thankfully I was able to find the lug-nut and borrow a torque wrench from a local AutoZone two minutes away from me. The manager also acknowledged that this should have been found in the safety-check and asked for my details. Just to be safe I checked the torque on all lug-nuts and nothing seemed to have come loose.

I think the manager has forgotten about it by now and I don't think they care as it has been about 5-6 days. Now I don't feel confident about this car and I don't know what else they have missed in their so-called safety inspection.

Just hoping to get some advice over here, should I log a complaint with BMW NA? I don't know what to do about this. Maybe write a few reviews online?
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      03-21-2019, 10:51 PM   #2
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Well you put it back in, so what do you want from the dealer?

Technically you are supposed to tighten them after 50 miles after being installed, so it may be on you.
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      03-21-2019, 10:55 PM   #3
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Yikes, that's disturbing. I developed the habit of checking my lug nuts after my car goes in for service or I have had my tires rotated.
Don't ask me why.
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      03-22-2019, 05:58 AM   #4
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I drove for over 150 miles with just 4 lug nuts on front driver side wheel, it was fine. Not something that you would want to do for an extended period of time but 4 will hold the wheel fine as long as they are tightened properly.
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      03-22-2019, 06:44 AM   #5
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It would be hard to completely miss a lug nut. I'm leaning towards a tech didn't give it enough ugga uggas when installiing your wheels and it backed out while driving.
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      03-22-2019, 09:29 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blubaron79 View Post
Well you put it back in, so what do you want from the dealer?

Technically you are supposed to tighten them after 50 miles after being installed, so it may be on you.
I never installed or changed them, how is it on me?
What I expect is a proper safety check and assurance that nothing is missing or broken.
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      03-22-2019, 09:31 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fliplegend View Post
I drove for over 150 miles with just 4 lug nuts on front driver side wheel, it was fine. Not something that you would want to do for an extended period of time but 4 will hold the wheel fine as long as they are tightened properly.
I was driving for 2 months before I noticed it, I wonder if they even did any safety check before handing me the car.
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      03-22-2019, 09:32 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kern417 View Post
It would be hard to completely miss a lug nut. I'm leaning towards a tech didn't give it enough ugga uggas when installiing your wheels and it backed out while driving.
That is plausible, again sloppy and irresponsible tech
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      03-22-2019, 09:33 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frazervalley View Post
Yikes, that's disturbing. I developed the habit of checking my lug nuts after my car goes in for service or I have had my tires rotated.
Don't ask me why.
I'll be doing that every time from now onwards Learnt my lesson.
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      03-22-2019, 10:33 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blubaron79 View Post
Well you put it back in, so what do you want from the dealer?

Technically you are supposed to tighten them after 50 miles after being installed, so it may be on you.
Where do you see this?
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      03-22-2019, 10:52 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke View Post
I was driving for 2 months before I noticed it, I wonder if they even did any safety check before handing me the car.
You said you found it. How do you know it didn’t just fall off? It obviously wasn’t very far.
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      03-22-2019, 10:59 AM   #12
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Just had new tires installed and the tire shop said to come back in 100 km (about 60 miles) to have the wheel bolts checked and retightened.
I believe I have seen this noted in the BMW manual as well.
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      03-22-2019, 11:05 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Elvisfan View Post
You said you found it. How do you know it didn’t just fall off? It obviously wasn’t very far.
I found that the nut was missing, I didn't find the nut anywhere, yes it is plausible that it fell off but since I first got the car I had it at the dealer twice, once to fix iDrive and second time to fix a minor cosmetic issue, perhaps they should have checked it? I don't think they just fall off from new cars with new wheels installed?

Quote:
Originally Posted by frazervalley View Post
Just had new tires installed and the tire shop said to come back in 100 km (about 60 miles) to have the wheel bolts checked and retightened.
I believe I have seen this noted in the BMW manual as well.
I didn't have any wheel work done on it, I feel like they should check all this before selling the car, I'm sure it doesn't just happen with new cars which have new wheels installed?
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      03-22-2019, 11:33 AM   #14
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Is it possible someone removed the lug nut? People steel wheels all the time.
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      03-22-2019, 12:54 PM   #15
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when the dealer said to bring it back you should of brought it back and asked them to do the FULL CHECK of everything all over again while you wait so you would be satisfied that all that should have been checked was.
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      03-22-2019, 01:11 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyline408 View Post
Is it possible someone removed the lug nut? People steel wheels all the time.
Maybe, but my car is always parked in safe places, we never know.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BMW11 View Post
when the dealer said to bring it back you should of brought it back and asked them to do the FULL CHECK of everything all over again while you wait so you would be satisfied that all that should have been checked was.
I know right, I did check all the lug-nuts myself when I installed the missing nut, I should have probably taken it back, I'll ask them to do all the checks next time I'm there.
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      03-22-2019, 01:29 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke View Post
Maybe, but my car is always parked in safe places, we never know.



I know right, I did check all the lug-nuts myself when I installed the missing nut, I should have probably taken it back, I'll ask them to do all the checks next time I'm there.
I guess that's the problem. It's been a few months since you bought the car, and none of us really know if the dealer was at fault or something else.

IMO, if my car was missing a lug nut, i'd probably notice it pretty quickly, but then again, I always look at my car after parking and I do a quick check before I leave a lot.
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      03-22-2019, 02:21 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyline408 View Post
I guess that's the problem. It's been a few months since you bought the car, and none of us really know if the dealer was at fault or something else.

IMO, if my car was missing a lug nut, i'd probably notice it pretty quickly, but then again, I always look at my car after parking and I do a quick check before I leave a lot.
I'm pretty sure nobody tried to steal anything, I work at a secure place and at night it's parked in my garage

The only place it was parked was at the dealership over a weekend when they were fixing the iDrive and some cosmetic stuff which is a different story

Also, I always do a quick check before leaving parking at stores and public places but I don't think I'd be checking for missing lug-nuts every time
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      03-22-2019, 02:45 PM   #19
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What’s a secure place? I park next to police cars and someone loosened my bolts. Didn’t know until I got on the freeway and felt the vibration. No clue who’s trying to kill me at that time. 😂
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      03-22-2019, 03:50 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke View Post
-- Long rant ahead -- Safety issue --
So I traded in my 2014 328ix for a 2016 435ix M Sport couple months back and last weekend when I was washing my car I found there was a lug-nut missing in the rear left wheel. I usually drive fast and I feel like it could have caused some serious damage. I was very frustrated and angry at that point, this should have been found in the safety check/inspection before the BMW dealer sold me the car.

I called the dealership as soon as I found out and wanted some answers, I was able to get hold of the manager and he wanted me to bring in the car so that they could install the missing lug-nut, I didn't want to drive 40 minutes on bad roads through a shady neighborhood just to get a lug-nut installed at the dealership on a Saturday afternoon and thankfully I was able to find the lug-nut and borrow a torque wrench from a local AutoZone two minutes away from me. The manager also acknowledged that this should have been found in the safety-check and asked for my details. Just to be safe I checked the torque on all lug-nuts and nothing seemed to have come loose.

I think the manager has forgotten about it by now and I don't think they care as it has been about 5-6 days. Now I don't feel confident about this car and I don't know what else they have missed in their so-called safety inspection.

Just hoping to get some advice over here, should I log a complaint with BMW NA? I don't know what to do about this. Maybe write a few reviews online?
You're making a mountain out of a molehill and likely shooting yourself in the foot as you'll probably need to interact with these folks in future for service matters.

$hit happens. Life goes on. Move on and enjoy your N55.
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      03-23-2019, 06:29 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chowser51 View Post
What’s a secure place? I park next to police cars and someone loosened my bolts. Didn’t know until I got on the freeway and felt the vibration. No clue who’s trying to kill me at that time. 😂
That's serious man! Probably some estranged girlfriend


Quote:
Originally Posted by EvenKeel View Post
You're making a mountain out of a molehill and likely shooting yourself in the foot as you'll probably need to interact with these folks in future for service matters.

$hit happens. Life goes on. Move on and enjoy your N55.
You are right, it was probably just in the heat of the moment, I'm over it now Although it could have caused an accident if other lug-nuts came loose because they had extra pressure to bear?
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      03-23-2019, 07:06 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thatBimmerBloke View Post

You are right, it was probably just in the heat of the moment, I'm over it now Although it could have caused an accident if other lug-nuts came loose because they had extra pressure to bear?
It's also possible that the dealership did a full and complete inspection on the car, and forgot to include the disclaimer that the wheels had been removed.

In that instance, you should've checked torque at 50 miles on the lug nuts, just like any tire change/rotation/brake job.

If this was the case, they might have been careless in not including the disclaimer, but maybe they were extra careful in inspecting everything including the brakes?
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