Bizarre event, very thankful no harm

I don't want this to sound like a whine, but I do seem to be in the habit of having unusual things happen. Thankfully no real harm so I am very thankful.

I took my Kia Soul for servicing and tire rotation after work, (I work 4 nine hour days and 1 four). I was debating either bike riding or grocery shopping afterwards, but the afternoon had other ideas for me.

Do you know what happens when the mechanic doesn't tighten the lugs on a tire properly? The wheel falls off :eek: :eek: Actually they told me this is a very rare occurrence for it to go this far, but they would likely say that.

Thankfully I started hearing strange noises as I pulled out on the street, so I made a U-turn at the first possible opportunity. As soon as I straightened out of the turn my front drivers tire fell off. Completely. I was still in front of the dealer, and that entire street has 4-5 locations owned by the same dealer, just different car "brands". I called the service number and they were with me in about 5 minutes. I initially thought that they had forgotten the lugs entirely, but they were all there.

There is body damage of course, hopefully the brake rotor is fine since THAT is steel, but we will see. They appear to be making every effort to take care of this properly. They gave me a Kia Sorento as a loaner for however long it takes them to fix my car, and they promised to do right by me on this. I've done business with this dealer for years now and have never known them to not do things right, so I will be satisfied if they simply take care of things and do the repair. They have a collision body shop right there.

I am unashamed to admit that this incident shook me a bit. I was on my way to the interstate to head to Whole Foods, and if I had been going any faster (or even on the interstate) when that wheel fell off... well, I am thankful that things weren't any worse. It seemed best to hold off on shopping until rush hour dies down, I don't want to risk getting stuck in it driving a larger and unfamiliar vehicle. I thought about going for a ride, but I am a bit too shaken for that. I will relax with book and soothing herbal tea and just be thankful. I do think I need to get out later though, I need to get around people and not spend all evening n my apartment thinking about this.

Holy Cow!!!:eek: That would be scary--glad to hear you are ok. Keep us posted on the car, and how this all comes to a conclusion.

We almost had that happen a few years ago, but caught it before the wheel fell off.

&*it happens. Be thankful it wasn't worse and they're covering it, and move on - don't focus on that "what if's" - there are way too many of those. You know what? They didn't actually happen. Glad it wasn't worse.

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

We almost had that happen a few years ago, but caught it before the wheel fell off.

&*it happens. Be thankful it wasn't worse and they're covering it, and move on - don't focus on that "what if's" - there are way too many of those. You know what? They didn't actually happen. Glad it wasn't worse.

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Exactly - I am very thankful it wasn't worse and they appear to be taking care of things as they should. I am thinking about going to a movie tonight to get my mind off of it, perhaps go see Skyfall (which I want to do anyway).

Wow...Catrin...glad you OK.....good they asisted you right away!... hope you get your car fix soon. In the mean time...enjoy the SUV...

:eek: :eek: Oh man. So glad you're okay.

I would make sure they check for axle, hub and suspension damage. Maybe even the steering linkages. Body damage is just cosmetic. Definitely you want them to do an alignment. A lot of stuff could've gotten tweaked when the axle hit the ground, and a minor tweak could be the kind of thing that you might not notice right away, but that could set up weird wear patterns and potentially be expensive and/or dangerous down the road.

Thanks Oakleaf, I will remember your suggestions and ask them about that when they call me with an update. Right now we don't know how long they will have my car. They needed to get their own estimate and their person who does that was quite backed up when I was there. Thankfully I wasn't going much more than 1-mph when the impact happen, there weren't even any marks on the pavement. Of course that doesn't mean those things don't need checking, but it does make me a bit more hopeful.

I already miss my Soul, the Sorento is nice, just a little too large for my taste. Thankful to have something nice to drive that I don't have to pay for!

Jeez, Catrin, I'd be shaken up, too. But, don't focus on the "what-ifs." Go to the movie.
It must be the day for this kind of stuff. Not to take the attention off of you, but this morning, I whacked my head, near the temple, into the corner of the open door of my car, getting into it at a client's home. It started swelling so quickly, I was scared to death. I was supposed to go on a ride with Hirakukibou, but I called her about 5 seconds after it happened, and wisely cancelled. Did not want to stop for ice, so I drove the 13 miles home, where DH pronounced it "horrible." I've been icing it and using Arnica, but although it no longer looks like an egg, there's a dark, swollen bruise in the center, with some lovely blueish area around it. No other signs of TBI, but I did cancel the rest of my appointments and did paperwork from home. Of course, it's a beautifully sunny day, but the weekend is here and make up can cover a lot of the damage...

Mercury is in retrograde. Just sayin.'

Catrin, glad you are okay. The dealer knows you could sue, so hopefully they will do right by you in a big way. That's a failure if quality control that is inexcusable in my book. Go to the movie and enjoy your weekend. Whew!

Oh yikes Crankin, hope you don't suffer any ill effects and that your head heals quick!

Praying that the blueish area that has inched down near my eye is somewhat gone tomorrow. The bigger bruise is somewhat under my bangs. I don't have a black eye, but it looks scary. And, I feel a little like I did after my car accident last summer; the other side of my body, that always feels impact is, well, hurting, like whiplash. But, that goes away. So far, no effects on my mental processing :). DH is afraid that when we go out, he's going to be questioned!

Eeek, take care of that Crankin!

Tulip - I agree. I thought I could see visions of lawsuits dancing in their brains when I got back to the service center. It was no less than a dangerous failure of quality control and I bet they don't do that again!

I've not been to the movies in something like 2 years, so I am going tonight. I decided to pay the $4 upcharge for IMAX, it is a bit of a splurge but I have got to get my mind off of this and back on track. Scavenging my kitchen now for something that looks like food since I didn't do my Friday afternoon shopping, but will do that early tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by tulip

Mercury is in retrograde. Just sayin.'

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Well, thanks to y'all, I'm just going to hunker down and be careful!

Wow!! That would shake me up really bad!!

Mine was bit different. About 30 years ago, I owned a Toyota Tercel wagon. Loved the thing. Reliable, practical easy to drive. Took it in for a scheduled servicing and had the wheels rotated. Months down the road. One of the tires went flat at the office. I tried to take the lug nuts off and change the tire but the nuts would not budge. Of course guys were more than willing to give it their try and they did. Managed to break off the two of the four bolts. At which point, I called a tow truck and took it to a nearest tire place and had all the bolts replaced.

I was told by the owner of the tire shop that who ever did the tire rotation used an impact wrench and overtightened all the bolts... They could break off without warning and watch one of the tire go rolling off. :eek:

Yours came off!! :eek: OMG!! I would be too shaken up to be driving for the day!!

I did have to go home for a few hours Smilingcat to chill, there is a reason why there is no food in the house that isn't frozen! I did make it to the movies though, and I am glad I went. I enjoyed it and it got my mind off of stuff.

Some years ago I wound up with a very old Geo Metro, it had electrical issues but I it was all I could afford. It came from a friend and the price was right. As it turned out, there was an issue with a rear bearing, and I had my shop at that time fix it. I picked it up, drove all the way across Indy. On the way home very strange noises started happening, and the car started shimming and shaking. I didn't have the money for a tow truck, and no cell phone. I had no idea what was going on so I kept driving it. I managed to get it all of the way back to the shop, and in that last block the car REALLY started doing bizarre stuff. It was indeed a huge problem with the bearing and the wheel was very crooked by that point. It never came off though...and they fixed it right the second time. I never went back to that shop...

Ok, time to go to bed now...

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Exactly - I am very thankful it wasn't worse and they appear to be taking care of things as they should. I am thinking about going to a movie tonight to get my mind off of it, perhaps go see Skyfall (which I want to do anyway).

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Yikes! How very scary, I'd be shook up too. You're so lucky that nothing serious happened. BTW, I went to see Skyfall tonight too. Great James Bond movie as always.

Crankin! Yikes to you too. Mend soon and keep a watch on that.

Ohmygod...I'm having new tires put on my car today....I should not have read this!:eek:

On a bicycle note - On another forum there was a thread about unusual things happening while out riding and two different people told about having car tires that had come off moving cars go whizzing in front of them.

I'm glad your ok Catrin, and good thing it happened right in front of the dealership.

As far as fasteners not getting properly tightened ... my first motorcycle, the assembly robot was miscalibrated and the crankshaft nut was improperly torqued. The issue started showing up pretty quickly in their race bikes, but the manufacturer never bothered to issue a service bulletin, and even though I'd had my bike to the dealer for scheduled maintenance several times, they never re-torqued mine. By the time my crankshaft started eating itself up after the nut came loose, the bike was out of warranty, and the manufacturer wouldn't warranty the service in spite of everything. So I got a new bottom end entirely at my own expense. :eek: The silver lining was that while we had the engine apart, we bored out the cylinders - turned that bike into a rocket ship - and we did the assembly at home, which was a really great learning experience.

As far as Mercury in retrograde ... last night DH was walking around the living room playing his guitar, and *on purpose* stepped onto my foam roller that was lying by the sofa - with predictable results. Thank goodness he, his guitar and everything he hit on the way down are all okay. It was very scary (and loud)!

Hope everyone is feeling better this morning.

I actually got to sleep without stressing over everything - so I must be improving a bit in the learning how to let things go department :) I think the movie was a brilliant idea, even if I really hadn't planned it in my weekly budget. I really liked the movie, and it was my first time to an opening night movie in YEARS. It was worth it - though it took them some time to get the movie started. I guess IMAX film can be challenging to get going. Guess the gerbils running the IMAX projectors were on strike for better food than theater popcorn!

I've a list of things to make certain they check before I accept my car back. Hopefully it won't take TOO long. The Sorento is nice, but I feel like a shrimp in the thing. It is a brand new 2013 model with only 2K miles on it - it costs twice what my Soul does. The interesting thing is my Soul has a couple of features that the Sorento doesn't - though of course the Sorento has a lot that my Soul doesn't.

Crankin, I hope you are feeling better today!

Planning to finally get a ride in later today after I do my grocery shopping. It will be windier later today, but I've got to get some food in the house before I ride. I don't think bacon is the best post-ride snack for me...

OK, well my initial injury, the huge lump and most of the big bruise are gone. Still swollen and sore. All of the blueish stuff on the side of my eye is gone.
But, I woke up with a nice black eye under my eye and on the lid. However, 2 applications of ice and some Arnica, and it's receding. I just want it to fade a bit, so I can put some make up on it. I wish I had slept with ice underneath my eye!
It's kind of hard to type, while wearing glasses, and hold the ice pack on my face! I'm fine. No other symptoms.

Crankin, just tell everyone, "yah, but you should see the other guy!"

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Originally Posted by tulip

Mercury is in retrograde. Just sayin.'

Catrin, glad you are okay. The dealer knows you could sue, so hopefully they will do right by you in a big way. That's a failure if quality control that is inexcusable in my book. Go to the movie and enjoy your weekend. Whew!

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Tulip, can you let us know when Mercury goes back to where it belongs, and it is safe to go back out again?? ;) I had TWO close calls this week, one today that was scary.

Catrin: hole...eeee...crap.... :eek:

The lump on my forehead is receding quite nicely, as is the bruised area around it. However, my eye looks awful. I can take having a blue lid, but the large purple trail underneath it is just evil. I tried using my under eye cover stick as well as some professional type "disguise" that goes under the cover stick, but it didn't really help, as after a short time, it wears off. I went to the grocery store and it was fairly well covered, but when I went out to dinner last night, not much helped. Thankfully, we were at a very noisy and busy pub/bar, where people were more interested in the BC football game. I decided to hike on my neighborhood trail in the afternoon, as I thought my helmet might really be uncomfortable on my head. But, we are going on a 35 mile ride today, so I am going to have to deal.

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Originally Posted by AppleTree

Tulip, can you let us know when Mercury goes back to where it belongs, and it is safe to go back out again?? ;) I had TWO close calls this week, one today that was scary.

Catrin: hole...eeee...crap.... :eek:

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November 26 or thereabouts.

A friend of mine had a wheel come off when he was driving on a freeway.

He was in an old Mini Cooper (think low box on wheels) with his girlfriend and her dad. Some bright spark had decided to play a prank on my friend and loosened his bolts on one wheel.

So he's driving along at almost 100km/hr when he sees a wheel rolling past him. Suddenly the back corner of the car starts wobbling and he manages to pull over and stop. Gets out and sees he's missing a wheel. Luckily it was the corner that no one was sitting at so the three of them managed to "balance" the car out.

And infront of his girlsfriend's Dad as well!

Glad you are okay. This happened to my father when he was in his 80's. Luckily his tire fell off in town before he headed out on the freeway to go home! He was quite shaken up due somewhat to his age and I was livid. They did take care of it, but I was glad that I could intercede for my Dad cause he was having a hard time with this.

Dang. I can't believe how many people this has happened to. I'm starting to think I should start carrying a torque wrench in the car and checking the lug nuts myself every time they do a tire rotation ... same as you always check the tire pressure after a car's been serviced ...

I just spoke to my dealer, and the car is already in the body shop. Of course that doesn't mean that it will be ready tomorrow. Frankly I don't care how long it takes as long as it is addressed properly, and it appears to be. They are doing an alignment, and will check the axle/hub/brake caliper and other related parts. I do want to find out how this will be reported and what it might do to the value of my car. I intend on driving it until it falls apart, but it will be good to know.

The 2013 brand new Sorento is a nice ride, but I really miss my Soul - this will make me appreciate her more :)

Hope the repair goes well, Catrin. I can't imagine that happening.
I did a 33 mile ride yesterday, with no ill effects on my head. Even my helmet didn't hurt and my friends weren't too grossed out by my black eye. Today, I woke up with a burning stomach and feeling "off." All I could think of was that the blood was pooling in my brain! But, I went about my business, despite feeling off, and by noon I realized that I am sick, it has nothing to do with my injury. Not my usual sinus sick, but achy and maybe a little low grade fever. I'm not that hungry, either, although the stomach is feeling a little better. Because of the holiday, I saw all of my clients near my house beginning at 9:30 and I was home by 3. Took a Tylenol and I will be getting into bed after dinner. I did walk about 3-4 miles with my first 2 clients, so I did get some exercise, but even though it was about 70 degrees, there's no way I could have gone for a ride. Skipped boot camp, too. I think I just held it all in until after my exam!

My car is home after a week :) Body damage repaired, paint looks good. Alignment seems perfect and the car went through 3 different detailed inspections to make certain there was no further damage. I am thankful that it was SUCH a slow speed event. I was going so slow when the wheel fell off that it simply fell off the wheel and lay there - no bouncing or other tire movement. The dealer was fortunate the damage wasn't more than it was. I've been told the mechanic responsible "has been handled", I did not inquire further. They detailed my car before I picked it up - outside of the lovely aroma of paint it could be a new car.

Mistakes happen, what matters is how we deal with those mistakes. Outside of that initial panic call to the service department I chose to use honey rather than vinegar as they appeared to be trying to do things right. They thanked me for that, and frankly, I am impressed for the professional manner in which they handled everything. I know they had visions of lawsuits dancing in their heads - but that isn't my style as long as they handle things properly. I am thankful they did.

Cool. Glad your car's back and all fine!

+1. It's nice to hear of car dealers acting right (just like LBSs)
Woke up today with all aches and pains gone. My eye is healing nicely. Amazing how fast the body heals. Of course, I won't mention the flying fall I took while hiking on my neighborhood trail yesterday :eek:. Just a little bit of a sore knee, but I just got home from a 23 mile ride and it's fine. Gotta love those roots.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

+1. It's nice to hear of car dealers acting right (just like LBSs)
Woke up today with all aches and pains gone. My eye is healing nicely. Amazing how fast the body heals. Of course, I won't mention the flying fall I took while hiking on my neighborhood trail yesterday :eek:. Just a little bit of a sore knee, but I just got home from a 23 mile ride and it's fine. Gotta love those roots.

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I've been doing business with that dealership for most of the time I've been in Indy and they've never been anything other than above board with me. I've heard stories about some of their locations, but you know how stories go. All I can go by is my experience with them/

Glad to hear you are feeling better - sorry to hear you fell yesterday! I just got in from a ride that turned out to be much shorter than anticipated due to some rather severe chafing :eek: but I will take it. I think the chafing is from my chamois liner getting to large for me...which is good and bad at the same time.

Catrin,
Just read your post today. Glad you were okay etc. We had a wheel come off on our Isuzu trooper late at night on a lightly traveled road in rural San Diego county California, with 2 small kids and a heavily loaded vehicle with camping stuff etc. Luckily it did not happen on the Interstate on the way over.

BTW- my new women's cycling team is sponsored by the Kia dealership here- and is called Team Soul!