PSA: A buddy told me to skip the torque wrench on lug nuts, blew a wheel off on the highway

My buddy Mike, who's been turning wrenches for 20 years, said I didn't need a torque wrench for passenger car lug nuts, just tighten 'em by feel. I did that on my 2015 Civic two months ago, and yesterday the rear driver's wheel came loose going 65 on I-35 near Austin. I caught it shaking before it fully came off, but I was a second away from a real crash. Anyone else had a close call because someone's old advice was total garbage?

3 comments

3 Comments

eric72321d ago

So what's his advice for removing your leg from the dashboard after the crash?

kelly38520d ago

Haha "removing your leg from the dashboard" - I've been there man, except it was my knee jammed under the steering column after I hit a pole trying to parallel park. I figure the trick is to just panic flail until something pops loose, but that's pretty much how I ended up stuck in the first place. My buddy said I should've just cut my pants leg off and slid out, but I was too worried about ruining my good jeans to listen. Honestly, I think the real advice should be "don't crash your car with your legs in a pretzel position," but that ship sailed for me years ago.

nancy47520d ago

@eric723 honestly the best advice is just accept your fate and wait for the fire department lol. I tried the panic flail method too and all I got was a bruised shin and a ripped seatbelt. Cutting your jeans is smart though, wish I'd thought of that before I trashed my favorite pair. At least you got a good story out of it, mine's just me screaming at a steering wheel for ten minutes.