DaveofDurham Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 Has anyone had any luck getting compensation for Ford for swollen lug nuts? I had some very minor service done yesterday at my Ford dealer on my 2013 C-Max (108,000 miles). The tech noted "swollen lug nuts due to age". I looked this up. Read about the unsuccessful lawsuit. Then I tried my 3/4 lug wrench socket (which is a bit larger than the specified 19mm socket). I could not get it on any of the 20 lug nuts. Tomorrow I am replacing all the swollen nuts. This sure seems like a manufacturing defect (poor material selection) to me. At least I found out about it before I had a flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 You can get replacement solid ones for $20 on eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/20-Wheel-Lug-Nuts-Bulge-Acorn-12x1-5-Chrome-For-Ford-Fusion-Focus-Escape-Probe/264493890843?hash=item3d95107d1b:g:aygAAOSwTO9dnsoB I put them on 3 years ago, no problems. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveofDurham Posted January 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 10 hours ago, ptjones said: You can get replacement solid ones for $20 on eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/20-Wheel-Lug-Nuts-Bulge-Acorn-12x1-5-Chrome-For-Ford-Fusion-Focus-Escape-Probe/264493890843?hash=item3d95107d1b:g:aygAAOSwTO9dnsoB I put them on 3 years ago, no problems. Paul Already done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxJaxon Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 I had this problem on one wheel right after I bought mine new in Oct 2012. I checked the torque with a socket by hand on all the wheels, and all five on the rear passenger were swollen. I had them replaced under warranty sometime later when I had the dealer rotate at the same time. This is definitely not a problem that is always caused by aging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveofDurham Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 "Aging" is a bs way of saying it took a while to happen. Big surprise. This should never happen and it would not happen if the bad idea of using two metals had not been adopted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 For some reason it must of been cheaper to do it that way. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 (edited) Maybe cosmetic as plaintiff claimed. Ford claimed the linked lugnut lawsuit was “non-sensical”. Judge evidently agreed. https://www.autonews.com/regulation-safety/judge-dismisses-proposed-class-action-lawsuit-against-ford-over-lug-nuts Edited January 27, 2020 by Plus 3 Golfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Just to throw a (lug nut) wrench into the discussion... I traded my C-Max in with the original lug nuts. They were perfectly fine. I suspect the reason was that they'd never seen an uncalibrated impact wrench. I do my changes by hand, and my mechanic uses torque rods with impact wrenchs. The only problem I ever had doing my biannual tire swap was a tight center hole. I'd have to loosen lug nuts, then drive around the cul de sac to get them off. Steel wheels were worse, but they had rust at the center hole where the paint had been scraped off. And I'll wager I had far higher corrosion rates than most of you... front rotors dissolved and plenty of surface rust. But lug nuts still fit the wrench. Who changes your tires? HAve fun, Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 For some reason it must of been cheaper to do it that way. For $20 to solve a potential problem it seems to me a no brainer to change them, mine got smashed after a few rotations at the Dealers. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacienega Posted January 29, 2020 Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 On 1/27/2020 at 1:52 PM, fbov said: Just to throw a (lug nut) wrench into the discussion... I traded my C-Max in with the original lug nuts. They were perfectly fine. I suspect the reason was that they'd never seen an uncalibrated impact wrench. I do my changes by hand, and my mechanic uses torque rods with impact wrenchs. The only problem I ever had doing my biannual tire swap was a tight center hole. I'd have to loosen lug nuts, then drive around the cul de sac to get them off. Steel wheels were worse, but they had rust at the center hole where the paint had been scraped off. And I'll wager I had far higher corrosion rates than most of you... front rotors dissolved and plenty of surface rust. But lug nuts still fit the wrench. Who changes your tires? HAve fun, Frank I agree with you, I have a feeling the lug nuts get screwed up by using impact wrenches. For sure it's not a problem with water swelling them, I live in CA and the car is always garaged. The only time it gets wet is when it gets washed.? I understand they are always very busy and don't have time to torque the lug nuts. I had a flat tire and needed to get towed when I found out about it. Can't even change my brake pads now. I will need new tires soon and might get it from the dealer...let's see if they still can get the wheels off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grege Posted May 15, 2022 Report Share Posted May 15, 2022 Just replaced all the swollen lug nuts on our 2018 cmax and need to do the same on our 2017 cmax. Ridiculous. Standard 19mm/3/4" lug wrenches don't fit anymore, so I purchased a 19.5mm socket to remove the swollen lugs. Two piece lug nuts suck !!! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grege Posted May 27, 2022 Report Share Posted May 27, 2022 Happy to report the 19.5mm lug socket worked perfectly. There were still 3 lug nuts that were almost too swollen, but a little patience and voila, all lug nuts replaced. POS ford nuts no more. Greg Lacienega 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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