Wheel Rim problems of the 2004 Ford Explorer

I noticed an increasing noise coming from my front tires of my 2004 Ford Explorer 2wd eddie bauer on 8/18/05 - 8/19/05. I checked and discovered that 2 of the 5 right front wheel lugs nuts were broken off. When I further checked the tension of the 3 reamining lug nuts, I disoverd that 2 of them were also broken off but wedged in the rim. I had one lug nut holding the wheel on in place. Needless to say, this could have resulted in a terrible accident as I drive home from my employer aaa michigan at speeds of 55 mph. I rotated these tires 1,000 miles ago, just as I have rotated tires on 20 cars over the course of 35 years. I had hand tightened the lug nuts. Someone needs to check the quality of these lug nuts for potential defects.

The chrome on the wheels was chipping off and the consumer feels that he should not have to pay to get them fixed and that the cracking is a safety issue. The dealer says that the warranty expired and that they will not fix them for free. The manufacturer said that they will assist the consumer in paying for the problem but the consumer turned them down.