Near disaster!

[ew1usnr]

I took my car to a shop yesterday to have the oil changed and the tires rotated. While I was driving the car this morning I heard some odd sounds and noticed a shimmy while making made a right turn. I took the car home and looked underneath. The suspension looked fine. I pulled the wheel cover off the left rear wheel and .......

.... found loose lug nuts.

3999

The other wheels look OK, but this one was a shade away from being a major problem.

4000

I used my bumper jack to lift the car up to re-position and tighten down the wheel, and didn't take me long to decide that the bumper jack is completely useless. It wobbles so much on its base that the least bit of ground angle causes it to lean and collapse. I left it out of the trunk and replaced it with a scissor jack that I had bought.

[Jeff W]

I'm glad you knew the clunks and groans of your car enough to notice an unusual sound, and then did some immediate exploration to find the source.

I just brought my Honda to the shop for some A/C work and in talking with the mechanic about how much more complex modern cars are compared to those of just a few years ago, the topic of carburetors came up. He said he doesn't understand them and has never worked on one... and he is a Honda Certified Technician.

My point is, not every mechanic can be an expert at every system, but you certainly expect them to know how to tighten a nut. Sounds like it may be time to find a new shop or at least find out who did the work so you can be sure to brig it in on his/her day off.

[redfalken]

[AGREE]Time for a new mechanic! If I ever have someone work on my car (classic or modern) I almost always loosen and use a torque wrench to put the lug nuts to spec when I get home.

Especially with disc brakes. I've heard those pneumatic wrenches can distort the disc if overtightened.