Missing Lug Nut on Silverado 1500

[Scott]

Hi Guys,

I took my Silverado 1500 into the dealership a few weeks ago to get its regular service. They rotated the tires and replaced the rear brakes as well. About a week later I saw a tire was low and went to put air in it. To my surprise the TPMS showed the air pressure went up in a different tire. They had forgotten to reset the tire's location. No big deal. I went there last Monday and they reset them for me.

We are going camping this weekend and I noticed last night when putting air in the tires that one of the 6 lug nuts on my front passenger wheel is missing! I can only think of 3 ways this could have happened. They don't just come off on their own.
1. The mechanic forgot to put it back on.
2. The mechanic did not put it back on tight enough.
3. Someone stole it.

Since I keep my truck in the garage at home, the chance of someone stealing a lug nut is very remote. I think the most likely fault lies with the dealer.

I'm really concerned because I've put 1500 miles on the truck since the service was done, over 1000 of which was towing my TT. Not only could their negligence have seriously hurt or killed me and my family or someone else on the road.

I'm also worried that damage has been done to that part of the truck since towing a heavy trailer puts lots of extra stress on it. I think I want it inspected to make sure it is safe to drive, but I don't think I trust that dealer to do the inspection. What kind of inspection would even be done? I don't know if a visual inspection would notice any structural deficiencies due to this missing lug nut. I also want this documented in case some damage/failure happens in the future.

Has this ever happened to any of you? Was there any damage? How did you resolve it? Am I overreacting?

Thank you all in advance for your advice. You are the smartest guys I know when it comes to this kind of stuff.

[CAG]

One lug will not make a difference unless the others are loose. Check the torque on all the others.

[Cavie]

Originally Posted by CAG

One lug will not make a difference unless the others are loose. Check the torque on all the others.

You are not driving a NASCAR race car. Or an Indy race car. Go to an auto store and buy a lug nut and then go have a beer. Put a tork wrench on all the other wheels.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Cavie

You are not driving a NASCAR race car. Or an Indy race car. Go to an auto store and buy a lug nut and then go have a beer. Put a tork wrench on all the other wheels.

But if he was driving NASCAR, one missing lug nut would be a $10,000 penalty!

[Riverman]

Lug nut.... NAPA

Go camping...

[sturgissteele]

My local tire shop and mechanic have on their paperwork verbage that states you are to check your lug nuts after xxx miles. Suppose this covers their arse if someone loses a wheel going down the road.

Be sure to look up what your torque rating is for your vehicle. Being six lug, I would guess in the 100-110# range, but you would want to know for sure. And, you probably know, don't over torque. That can stretch threads and cause other issues.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Scott

Hi Guys,

I took my Silverado 1500 into the dealership a few weeks ago to get its regular service. They rotated the tires and replaced the rear brakes as well. About a week later I saw a tire was low and went to put air in it. To my surprise the TPMS showed the air pressure went up in a different tire. They had forgotten to reset the tire's location. No big deal. I went there last Monday and they reset them for me.

We are going camping this weekend and I noticed last night when putting air in the tires that one of the 6 lug nuts on my front passenger wheel is missing! I can only think of 3 ways this could have happened. They don't just come off on their own.
1. The mechanic forgot to put it back on.
2. The mechanic did not put it back on tight enough.
3. Someone stole it.

Since I keep my truck in the garage at home, the chance of someone stealing a lug nut is very remote. I think the most likely fault lies with the dealer.

I'm really concerned because I've put 1500 miles on the truck since the service was done, over 1000 of which was towing my TT. Not only could their negligence have seriously hurt or killed me and my family or someone else on the road.

I'm also worried that damage has been done to that part of the truck since towing a heavy trailer puts lots of extra stress on it. I think I want it inspected to make sure it is safe to drive, but I don't think I trust that dealer to do the inspection. What kind of inspection would even be done? I don't know if a visual inspection would notice any structural deficiencies due to this missing lug nut. I also want this documented in case some damage/failure happens in the future.

Has this ever happened to any of you? Was there any damage? How did you resolve it? Am I overreacting?

Thank you all in advance for your advice. You are the smartest guys I know when it comes to this kind of stuff.

I had one front passenger lug nut stolen. The day before it went missing, I had rotated the tires. How I tighten up the lug nuts using a star pattern, there is no way I could have forgotten about it.

Only reason I found the missing lug nut that day, was because I dropped something next to the wheel and saw the missing lug nut when I picked up the item. No damage was done, but to my wallet.

Another time, I had a horrible road noise, sounded like a helicopter (tire failure??), it was late at night somewhere in the hills of KY, on a narrow windy road with no shoulders, finally found a safe place to pull over, I found all my lug nuts on one rear TV tire where loose. I had the tires rotated two days earlier. I suspect they did not torque them down. Aluminum rims, no apparent damage.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Lug nut.... NAPA

Go camping...

X2.

[curver900]

if you have a good rapport with your dealer, mention it to them so they are aware... a good dealer will say, oh bring it in and we can put on a new one and check out the torque on all the wheels.. a so so one will say, oh sorry to hear about that and move on ...

a bad dealer will ignore you...

if you had brake work done and tire rotation and they didn't reset the TPMS the missing lug nut likely resides with them.. don't accuse just let them know.. they should know so they can fix the issue....

just be respectful... don't blame

[FPM III]

Reprogramming the tire locations isn’t a big deal. The procedure should be explained in your owners manual.

[paul_ottawa]

I ended up driving over 100 miles with 4 of my 5 lug nuts finger tight on my Tundra (drivers side front tire) while towing my trailer at highway speeds.

After around 80 miles I could feel the steering wheel shake, but of course we had to get to the ferry to cross to PEI. I stopped and checked everything else EXCEPT the lug nuts on the truck. Spent the whole ferry ride trying calling my mechanic, and trying to find a mechanic on the island. After getting off the ferry, I decided to check them, and sure enough they were loose.

The ONLY one that wasn't loose was my locking lug not. Co-incidence? We were staying in a busy campground and had been parked in downtown Halifax for most of the previous day. Not sure if someone tried to take it off, but I know I had checked them all on the truck 3 days prior after we had 50+ miles on a very bumpy road (I check the trailer lug nuts every time we pack up).

When we got home (after another ~1000 miles, with me adding checking the truck lug nuts every time we packed up), I had my mechanic take a look at the lug nuts and studs, and didn't find anything wrong.

Since O was OK after that, I wouldn't think that 1 missing lug nut (while somewhat concerning) make a difference.

[curver900]

lug nutz must be expensive!!!! that's just nuts...
sadly all the new battery operated stuff makes it easier to be a thief... funny unless you are stealing said battery powered impact wrench why not just buy lug nuts.. or steal just one from each tire? I bet they wanted the tire couldn't get the lock nut off (surprises me) or their jack failed and they wanted the whole wheel.. it's crazy out there!

I recall the days when locking gas caps were popular not for stealing gas but from %holes putting sugar etc.. in the gas tank..

[Scott]

Originally Posted by curver900

if you have a good rapport with your dealer, mention it to them so they are aware... a good dealer will say, oh bring it in and we can put on a new one and check out the torque on all the wheels.. a so so one will say, oh sorry to hear about that and move on ...

a bad dealer will ignore you...

if you had brake work done and tire rotation and they didn't reset the TPMS the missing lug nut likely resides with them.. don't accuse just let them know.. they should know so they can fix the issue....

just be respectful... don't blame

Thank you everyone for the advice. I knew I could count on you all!

I'm going to do as curver900 suggested, and let the dealer know what happened so they are aware, and ask for a new nut for my tire. Glad to hear the chance of significant damage is minimal.

[kblast523]

Originally Posted by Scott

Hi Guys,

I took my Silverado 1500 into the dealership a few weeks ago to get its regular service. They rotated the tires and replaced the rear brakes as well. About a week later I saw a tire was low and went to put air in it. To my surprise the TPMS showed the air pressure went up in a different tire. They had forgotten to reset the tire's location. No big deal. I went there last Monday and they reset them for me.

We are going camping this weekend and I noticed last night when putting air in the tires that one of the 6 lug nuts on my front passenger wheel is missing! I can only think of 3 ways this could have happened. They don't just come off on their own.
1. The mechanic forgot to put it back on.
2. The mechanic did not put it back on tight enough.
3. Someone stole it.

Since I keep my truck in the garage at home, the chance of someone stealing a lug nut is very remote. I think the most likely fault lies with the dealer.

I'm really concerned because I've put 1500 miles on the truck since the service was done, over 1000 of which was towing my TT. Not only could their negligence have seriously hurt or killed me and my family or someone else on the road.

I'm also worried that damage has been done to that part of the truck since towing a heavy trailer puts lots of extra stress on it. I think I want it inspected to make sure it is safe to drive, but I don't think I trust that dealer to do the inspection. What kind of inspection would even be done? I don't know if a visual inspection would notice any structural deficiencies due to this missing lug nut. I also want this documented in case some damage/failure happens in the future.

Has this ever happened to any of you? Was there any damage? How did you resolve it? Am I overreacting?

Thank you all in advance for your advice. You are the smartest guys I know when it comes to this kind of stuff.

Originally Posted by Cavie

You are not driving a NASCAR race car. Or an Indy race car. Go to an auto store and buy a lug nut and then go have a beer. Put a tork wrench on all the other wheels.

Originally Posted by RetiredOne

But if he was driving NASCAR, one missing lug nut would be a $10,000 penalty!

I would assess the penalty to the service department, see if they will provide replacement lug nut and be VERY WARY of ever going back. A neighbor in Nebraska got a new engine in a Subaru about 14 years ago when the dealer left the oil out of it after a "change". Dealers are NOT infallible.

[Scott]

Thank you for the advice yesterday. I went to the dealer and let them know what happened. They replaced the lug nut and checked the torque of all the other lugs without any complaints. They thanked me for letting them know and said they would talk to the tech about the two mistakes made on my truck. Not sure if I will continue to do business with them, as there is another Chevy dealer not too much further away, but at least I can go camping this weekend now.

[Lake Huron]

Good update and glad to see the dealer stepped up and took care of you.
IMO, I wouldnt hesitate to go back to them. Think about it,... will something like that ever happen again at that dealer??
Long story short, dealer I bought my truck from did some service work to it. They changed the oil and rotated the tires. It's a dually, you CANT rotate these wheels. They damaged them pretty good. I was WAY beyond pissed. We got things worked out and that was that. A few years gone by and I stopped back in at that same dealer looking at new SUV's. The GM came out and said hi and said he never thought he would see me back in his dealership again because of what happened. I told him when I buy my next vehicle I'll be buying it from them because we got the "bad experience" out of the way so all thats left is the good and better.

[Dbunke]

A good dealer is one that owns up to their mistake and takes care of it. Glad they took care of you.

[curver900]

Originally Posted by Scott

Thank you for the advice yesterday. I went to the dealer and let them know what happened. They replaced the lug nut and checked the torque of all the other lugs without any complaints. They thanked me for letting them know and said they would talk to the tech about the two mistakes made on my truck. Not sure if I will continue to do business with them, as there is another Chevy dealer not too much further away, but at least I can go camping this weekend now.

i disagree you now have a dealer who will pay attention to you... you are now a good customer... I would be more inclined to do business with someone who treated me this way... everyone makes mistakes... owning up to them and doing the right thing is what sets a good dealer apart from others...

[kblast523]

Originally Posted by curver900

i disagree you now have a dealer who will pay attention to you... you are now a good customer... I would be more inclined to do business with someone who treated me this way... everyone makes mistakes... owning up to them and doing the right thing is what sets a good dealer apart from others...

2X

[clutch]

We had a similar problem with my wifes Honda Pilot. We had the car serviced in Twin Falls Idaho on our way home from Az. They serviced the car and rotated the tires. Several hundred miles later in Baker City Or. we stopped for the night and noticed that two lug nuts were missing on the right front. I checked the torque on all the other nuts and they were tight so I robbed one from the rear and we continued on home.