Bizarre event, very thankful no harm

[Catrin]

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 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.

[Trek-chick]

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

[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.

[Catrin]

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.

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).

[Giulianna23]

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...

[OakLeaf]

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.

[Catrin]

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!

[Bike Writer]

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).

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.

[missjean]

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

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.