Wheels issues make up roughly 3% of all Ford owner complaints. The majority of the issues have been reported by Explorer owners.
The complaint we hear about most often is wheel bearing failure in the 2002 Explorer.
Most lug nuts are one piece of hardened steel, but Ford chose a design that puts an aluminum cap over a steel core. The cap is notorious for swelling and delaminating when it gets hot, and it’s also a great place to trap moisture and promot…
Continue reading article "Swollen and Stuck Lug Nuts"
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Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.
181 complaints
130 complaints
81 complaints
53 complaints
22 complaints
20 complaints
19 complaints
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The cap is notorious for swelling and delaminating when it gets hot. It’s also a great place to trap moisture and encourage corrosion. The end result? A lug nut that’s either too big for a standard wrench or fused so tight you need a drill, welding torch, and 7 Hail Marys to remove it.
A 2017 class-action lawsuit accused Ford of cost-cutting when switching to the two-piece design. It also said the automaker is aware of the problems, but won’t honor its warranty by denying any lug nut related claims.…
keep reading article "The Swollen Lug Nuts Lawsuit Against Ford Has Been Dismissed"Ford also says the plaintiffs talk about swollen lug nuts as if the lug nuts should be indestructible and the warranties should last forever, then wrongly "attempt to cast their product-defect allegations as warranty, fraud and unjust-enrichment claims."
Should lug nuts last forever? Of course not. But they also shouldn't fuse into something harder than a diamond after 10,000 miles on the road.…
keep reading article "Lug Nut Lawsuit is Baseless According to Ford Attorneys"When exposed to the elements, the cap swells in the heat, cracks and delaminates, and corrodes from moisture. This leaves owners and lessees who get flat tires often stranded on the roads without the ability for even tow truck drivers to remove the swollen lug nuts. This means a tow to the shop just to have the lug nuts removed and the tire replaced.
The two-piece capped lug nuts are cheaper than a one-piece stainless plug, but they look nice because of the cap. Most owners never think twice about the lug nut when buying a vehicle, only to be met with this headache down the road.
keep reading article "Ford Sued for Using Two-Piece Lug Nuts That Swell"The investigation was opened in May 2015 after an owner complained their wheel split and sent the car off the road.
"NHTSA determined the Ford Edge wheel failed because a severe impact caused a crack in the wheel that eventually expanded around the wheel. Based on the evidence, investigators saw a rough appearance that showed a rapid stress fracture but no abnormalities or unique features associated with the site of the fracture."
NHTSA did say it will continue to monitor complaints, so if you've had similar issues tell us about it here.
keep reading article "2014 Ford Edge Cracked Alloy Wheels Investigation Closed"