Getting your tires rotated is a necessity when owning a car. Experts advise that one should rotate their tires every 5,000 to 8,000 miles—and if you don’t, you might experience uneven tire wear and a host of other issues, leading to inadequate handling, a lowered lifespan for your tires, poor fuel efficiency, and more.
However, issues can also arise if you get your tires rotated by an unprofessional shop.
One internet user claimed that, after getting tire work done, he heard a rattling sound and found that two of the studs of his wheel had completely broken off. An auto shop also warned against certain tire service providers after they had a client come in complaining that it felt like her wheel was coming off.
Now, a user on TikTok has sparked discussion after claiming that a bad tire rotation led to a life-threatening experience.
A tire rotation and a lost wheel
In a clip with over 503,000 views, TikTok user Sierra (@officialtinysierra) shows herself sitting in her car.
“I just went to a tire place to get my tires rotated, and look what just happened to me,” she starts.
She then leaves the vehicle and walks to its opposite side. There, she shows that the front left tire has been completely disconnected from the vehicle, leaving her with a handful of lugs.
“My tire went flying off,” she states. She later add, “I’m about to sue these motherf***ers.”
Legal liability may be difficult to determine depending on how far Sierra has driven the car following her tire rotation.
Many auto shops note that “lug nuts must be torqued to the manufacturer’s recommended values, and they must be re-torqued to those values after driving approximately 50 to 100 miles on your new tires after the tire service,” per Bauer Built. If Sierra has driven more than 50 miles and failed to do this, the auto shop could make an argument that she did not follow their instructions and thus holds some liability.
However, if Sierra has only recently left the shop, it is possible that blame for the incident lies primarily on the shop, and she may be able to take them to court for damages.
@officialtinysierra I can’t believe this happend!!!!!🤬
♬ original sound – officialtinysierra
Commenters share their own experiences with tire service
In the comments section, several users offered similar stories to Sierra, with many saying they were able to get financial recourse for the issue.
“Oh yes happened to me also!” said a user. “worst experience ever but I got a cool 30k after attorney fees.”
“That happened to a coworker of mine and Walmart had to buy her a brand new car!” added another. “She got a bronco lol.”
“Ngl this happened to me as the mechanic. Coworker turned down my impact gun so the tires didn’t torque down. I replaced the rotor out of pocket on my own time I felt so bad,” recalled a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Sierra via email.
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