[richardsnotes]

So my wife, as I mentioned, took her Sienna in for an oil change at a dealership. There she was advised ‘all’ of the lug nuts had to be replaced at a cost of $80.00 total. I was nowhere near the area and it was made to sound. . .the situation was possibly dangerous if they weren’t all replaced. So being out of touch I told her to go ahead and get new ones. Is it just me or swollen lug nuts or even striped lug nuts isn’t that poor engineering on the manufacturer’s part. Like I said I have a 22 year old Ford Expedition and that we have had since day one with the same lug nuts. 235,000 miles on it. In fact on any vehicle I’ve ever owned I have never heard of replacing lug nuts! Only a Toyota. Sorry poor engineering. Really poor. And never leave a Sienna out so the doors ice up in winter. A rear hatch replacement of the motor, shocks and arms was over a $1,500.00 this past January. That was after I had removed the snow and ice build up off all the doors before attempting to open any of them.

Again poor engineering.

Richard

 

[floridanative]

Not unique to Toyota. While the class action suit against Ford was ultimately dismissed, they clearly have/had the exact same issue:

Swollen Lug Nuts Are Costing Ford Drivers Time and Money, Lawsuit Claims

The suit alleges Ford designed lug nuts that swell and delaminate after changes in temperature and exposure to moisture. Read the news at Car and Driver.

www.caranddriver.com

-Mike

 

[ericreyn]

The stock lug nuts are fine as long as they are not over tightened by an impact.
They are a softer material and can be easily rounded off enough that the original socket won't fit anymore. A tire store destroyed mine by using a impact on them. If you torque them to spec. And use an impact to take them off only it is a non issue. I do not think there is any danger of them stripping.

 

[jseyfert3]

If you torque them to spec. And use an impact to take them off only it is a non issue.

If you torque lug nuts to spec you don’t need an impact to take them off either. One of the reasons I love Discount tire is they have ALWAYS used a torque wrench on the lug nuts of all the vehicles and trailers I’ve brought them to tighten the lug nuts, unlike previous places I’ve been too.

 

[goldenpiggy]

Would like to add that I had 2 lug nuts crack at the bolt head due to corrosion. One was not visible due to the washer. The van is nearing 15 years old and almost 250K miles.

It's one of those overlooked things especially if you don't rotate tires yourself. These days I inspect the lug nuts every oil change.

They are cheap enough that one should replace them on an older, very high-mileage vehicle IMO.