Part of the benefit of buying tires at the shop is free lifetime rotation.

Last September I had all the wheels off the car so that I could do a brake fluid flush. I had no problem torquing the tires to the correct spec.

Just took the car to the tire place for my free rotation and they completed the job. When I went to the front desk to get my keys the guys said, " we had a problem. The one lug on the rear wheel wouldn't torque to 102. Hey torqued it to 93 or 83 but no worry about it coming off."

WTH! I'm a 98% DIY car owner and why does it seem that the few times I let someone else get their mit's on my vehicles there is always a problem when I go to pick up the car?

They were nice enough to supply a $500 quote sheet to replace the rear left bearing.

I just went out with my torque wrench and the one lug in question could be turned with my fingers. So just for my inspection I set my wrench at 102 and tried to torque the other nuts. Wrench clicked off. Set it to 105 -- wrench clicked off. Set it to 110 - wrench clicked off. Set it to 115 - wrench clicked off. I stopped and was satisfied that they have my lugs over torqued.

I called and told the shop what I found and they said they will install a new bearing and I can use my wrench to set the lugs.

Sorry guys but I know for a fact that the lug was not that way when I did the brake fluid job in September.

 

This is why whenever I go to a shop I tell them the torque setting and double-check with them that they are using torque sticks, not just a straight gun set to "whatever". Also think about if you got stranded with a flat and had to remove the wheel, not good.

 

One thing to remember is if you go to "check" the torque on a fastener, it will always read higher than the actual torque it is at, due to "breakaway" drag.

 

I had a big go-around with the service department where we bought our Camry. Twice, they used an impact on the lug nuts and afterwards, my torque wrench broke over at it's maximum setting of 150 ft.lbs. And these are professional technicians.
My wife had a flat with the car and there would have been absolutely no way to get those nuts off on the side of the road had they still been overtorqued.

 

My dad dealt with the same years ago at a Cadillac dealer. Needless to say, always specify the torque you want put to the lugs, or they'll use the gun without a torque stick.

 

Yes I had already considered what you mentioned.

But the tires had been run for two miles and I would have thought that the lug bolt (screw) would have turned tighter at 120 pounds but they didn't. I wasn't in removal mode on my torque wrench, I was in tightening mode.

I also try to figure out the engineering reason for lug bolts opposed to lug nuts. I find that the Volvo not having the threaded lugs coming out of the hub, sitting the tire on it is not easy. On cars that use lug bolts, you also have to play the move the tire around game....trying to line up the holes.