Wheel Falls Off Car On Highway

A tire and the rim comes off of a car while it is driving on the highway. I-71 South between Columbus and Cincinnati. 06-11-2007. About a mile before this, the hub cap popped off but the video didn't show it well. It seems as though the lug nuts were removed.

ADDITIONAL INFO added Dec 11, 2009 - For all of those people think that this was due to poor maintenance: I would like to point out that I stopped to help the woman after the tire fell off and looked closely at the bolts. The threads were not stripped at all. It is my OPINION that the lug nuts were intentionally removed because the odds of all of the nuts falling off at the same time are astronomical. That said, if the wheel had been driven for any length of time (days or weeks) with loose nuts, the rim would have damaged the threads, NO SUCH DAMAGE WAS FOUND.

I had been driving behind her for several miles and while I did see the hubcap come off about 1 mile before the wheel, I did not see any lug nuts bouncing down the road and yes, I do believe that I would not have missed them even though they are small. Remember, real life has a bit more clarity than a grainy YouTube video.

She said that she had not had the car worked on recently, I suspect foul play but our conversation never went that far. She was not injured and used her cell phone to call a family member.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Car
• Accident
• Wheel
• Tire
• Highway
• Fell
• Off
• I-71
• Ohio
• Columbus
• Cincinnati
• Lug
• Nut
• Nuts
• Removed
• Sabotage

[EVLGTR]

why didnt you help her before the damage done? a lose hub cap is an indication of what catastrophic things to come. Reason why is because hub caps are generally bolted on to the steel wheel with the nut. So that indicates the nut has come off then the hub cap comes up, lastly, wheels are next.....

[wwwE5150com]

@EVLGTR What would you have had me do as we were driving down the highway at 70MPH? Should I have gotten out and ran up next to her car and held the wheel on with my fingers?

[CorollaLvr2000]

The thing that impresses me the most about this is that the driver actually made a pretty decent pull over and stop on the side of the road. This could have ended VERY badly for the other cars around it.

[tomtomh5]

@EVLGTR the hub is normally holds the shaft inby a nut, and the wheel held onto the hub. The hub is held on by the suspension strut, lower arm, and any other form of suspension arms the car may have fitted...

[themaxeatsfood]

Had this happen to me today, but I was only going about 5mph so my bumper didn't even scrape, just landed on the brake drum.

[ProjectM97]

My driver side front wheel fell off my car on the highway at 60mph as well. It was just after I left from the mechanic who changed my brakes. He used a pneumatic air gun with very little PSI to close the wheel bolts.

[Schorschi6134]

A few days ago, it happend the same to me. I lost the front left wheel on the highway at about 100kph (60mph). I coult drive to the puncture strip. But the wheel flew into the opposite lane. That was the most shocking part, but no one was hurt!

[mrmsteck]

I knew the Cavaliers were shit, but I gave them more credit than that

[lanegjones]

@EVLGTR Your crazy every car ive owned the nuts went on sfter the wheel.So just because you see a hubcap fly off doesnt mean the wheel is next!

[MrSirosis1]

@EVLGTR No they generally are not. Some are, but most are held on by tension on the inside of the rim from either metal fingers that hook the rim, or a wire hoop applying tension to metal/plastic fingers. 90% of the time a hubcap dislodges it's self from the rim because the dope who put it on last (usually recently) didn't get it on all the way or evenly seated.

[dadavemyster]

Hubcaps are generally clipped in along the outside lip of the wheel... clips getting damaged from taking off and putting on the hubcap is common.. and so are hubcaps falling off because of damage clips.. if a hubcap falls off a car it USUALLY (9/10 times) has nothing to do with a wheel..

If you don't give the optimal torque to the wheel sometimes they'll loosen up. Whether its to a faulty air gun or, some people put the lugs nuts on by hand and forget to torque them later, also common mistakes

[flamesmasher]

@wwwE5150com or just get them to pull over ? common sense ? i think so.

[pastorgeorgem]

@xgtmg LOL