Wheel Bolts Problems of Ford Explorer - part 1

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 75 mph, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. The contact drove the vehicle to the side of the road and performed an inspection of the vehicle. The contact noticed that 3 of the 4 lug nuts were fractured on the driver's side rear tire. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with detached lug nuts. The contact was informed that the lug nuts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had occurred four times within the year. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

See all problems of the 2020 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to the dealer for service, he was made aware that the lug nuts were deformed and were unable to be removed without permanently damaging the lug nuts. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

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The contact owns a 2003 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25-35 mph around a curb, the driver thought that the tire was flat. The contact pulled off the road and noticed that three of the wheel studs on the driver’s side rear wheel had sheared off. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and it was confirmed that the studs had sheared off and that there was also a fractured wheel stud on the passenger’s side rear wheel. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.

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Tl the contact owns a 2005 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a stop light, the rear driver's side wheel detached from the vehicle and rolled away from the vehicle into oncoming traffic. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined that four of five wheels studs had sheared off. The wheel studs were replaced however, while driving later the failure recurred. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 165,000.

See all problems of the 2005 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Explorer. While driving 55 mph, the lug nuts became detached from the rear passenger wheel, which caused the vehicle to shake violently. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and waited for a tow truck. The contact stated that the failure occurred on more than one occasion and included all of the wheels. The contact previously replaced the lug nuts on all of the wheels. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 140,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear wheels shook and detached from the vehicle. The contact replaced the wheel bearings, but the failure still occurred. The lug nuts were tightened twice by the dealer, but the lug nuts on the rear wheels were still loose. The dealer stated that they did not have a repair for the failure. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 129,000.

2008 Ford Explorer. Consumer writes in regards to lug nuts and wheel issues. The consumer stated his son was driving, when the vehicle suddenly began to shimmy uncontrollably. Upon stopping, another motorist informed him, the right rear wheel was wobbling. The consumers son noticed two of the lugs had broken off. Further inspection revealed, only one lug nut was somewhat tight and the remaining lugs were stripped.

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The contact owns a 2008 Ford Explorer. While the vehicle was coming to a complete stop, a loud noise emitted from the rear end of the vehicle. The vehicle was merged to the side of the road, where the contact noticed that the rear driver side tire detached because two lug nuts fractured. The failure also recurred with the front passenger side tire. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the lug nuts were replaced each time. The mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage and VIN were unavailable.

The contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. While driving approximately 10 mph, the contact noticed that the rear passenger side tire rode roughly. The contact noticed that three of the wheel studs were sheared off. The failure occurred four times with the remaining wheel studs. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

See all problems of the 2002 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The contact was driving less than 10 mph and approaching an intersection to attempt a left turn. Suddenly, the front end of the vehicle collapsed and the front passenger wheel fractured from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer yet the technician was unable to locate the problem. The manufacturer referred the contact to an independent mechanic for further investigation. The vehicle was repaired for the front end damages and the technician was unable to provide an explanation to the cause of the failure. Through research, the contact discovered the failure was a common occurrence with this model, as a result of defective wheel lug bolts. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the lug bolts were replaced on the four wheels. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

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The driver owns a 2004 Ford Explorer. The driver stated that four of the studs on the right rear rotor broke off and that the wheel almost fell off. He heard a loud noise while driving approximately 25 mph. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop. A local mechanic informed him that the studs broke and replaced all five studs. The contact neither took the vehicle to the dealership nor spoke with the manufacturer to-date. The current mileage was approximately 80,000. The failure mileage was approximately 79,950.

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Explorer which was purchased in September 2007. While driving 25 mph and making a right turn, the rear driver's side wheel came off of the vehicle. The vehicle hit the ground and would not move any further. The lug nuts and bolts sheared off of the wheel assembly. The vehicle was towed to a local service center where they replaced the lug nuts and bolts. On a separate occasion, while driving at speeds of less than 30 mph going through an intersection, she heard a loud noise. She then maneuvered the vehicle to the side of the road where she found the bolts had sheared off into the wheel cover and caused the lug nuts to come off of the passenger's side rear tire. There were no recalls for the failure. The contact was awaiting repairs a second time. The failure mileage was 39,000 and the current was 56,000. The VIN was not available.

On the way home from work yesterday I noticed an unusual vibration from the front driver's side wheel of my Explorer ? almost felt like a flat spot on the tire. Also heard some squeaking /squealing which was much worse in turns. When I got home I checked and found: - one wheel stud and nut completely missing - one wheel stud loose/broken (tried to tighten nut but it kept spinning freely) - one loose lug nut. The remaining two lug nuts were tight. By tightening the one loose nut it allowed me to drive on car without the vibration ? at that point had only three functional lug nuts. Took it to the dealer today and they claim corrosion caused the failure, but only on that wheel. Replacement of the entire hub was required as you cannot replace individual studs. It would have cost $400, but because of my extended warranty it only cost me the $50 deductible. My feeling is I should not have even had to pay for that, this appears to me to be a defect or design failure. Found many similar complaints & reports on mycarstats. Com.

My husband had just pulled away from a stop sign when he felt the vehicle crash to the ground and saw the rear passenger tire roll into someone's front yard. He exited the car to find the lugs broken in half. My three year old is very upset, keeps talking about being in an accident. We are uncertain as to the amount of damage to the truck, we have not heard back from the insurance adjustor yet. There is body damage that is visible, who knows what the underside of the truck looks like. I do have in my possession one of the lug nuts, there are two more at the body shop. We couldn't find the remaining two, who knows when they were lost. . Read more...

Right-rear wheel fell off while traveling 40 mph. Fortunately nobody was hurt this time. After reading other posts about problems with wheels falling off and with lug:nuts I decided to post our incident too.

Without warning the rear wheel of my 2004 Ford, Explorer broke off going 65 on the interstate. All five lugs snapped off. No one took responsibility. I had to pay for repairs. It was either a defect or negligence on the part of the dealer where I had it serviced.

- the contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle started vibrating and pulling to the right. A lug nut hit the windshield and the vehicle came to a sudden stop because the front passenger side tire was lodged underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to replace the new lug nut and stems and repair the damage to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 71,000. The current mileage was 81,000. This failure has occurred on tow occasions.

: the contact stated while driving 15mph the right rear wheel wobbled. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop for inspection. The mechanic determined that the lug nuts were broken which resulted in the loose rear wheel. The mechanic replaced the broken lug nuts.

2000 Ford Explorer front right tire separated from vehicle. The right front quarter panel was damaged. The right front hub cover was missing. The lug screws sheared off. The right front door buckled and the lug nuts were missing.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Wheels studs (lug nuts) keep breaking. I have replace 4 different wheels studs within the last year and a half. They either break when taking a tire off or while traveling. I replaced those wheel studs that I noticed missing or when having a tire repaired.

I was driving down county road branch, it felt like I was driving on a bumpy road (what it feels like when your tire goes flat) I turned on lateral b south, then it got worse, so I stopped and checked all tires, they were all okay, then I start driving 20 feet further then I stopped again, my oldest son took of the hub and discovered 3 out of 5 bolts with lug nuts were broke off in the right rear passenger hub.

I had 1 wheel stud break and ordered a replacement from dealer. Wheel studs only come in packs of 5. Wheel stud replaced and about 4 months later 2 more broke simultaneously.

Driver side trailer wheel sheared off while driving. The vehicle was towing a trailer. The left side trailer wheel sheared off while driving. Another vehicle struck the debris in the roadway. Upon inspection all the lug nuts were missing from the left side along with the tire. There was damage to the left side wheel on the trailer.

See all problems of the 1996 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Driver rear tire separated from vehicle. The failure was the result of the lug nut breaking. The vehicle sustained a dent hub cap, and light damage to the left rear bumper and panel.

Spare tire fell off vehicle. Fortunatly I was going slowly on a quiet street. What if I had been on a crowded highway?.

See all problems of the 1998 Ford Explorer 🔎.

While driving on the freeway doing 65 mph passanger side rear tire fell off due to lug bolts breaking. Vehicle almost rolled, but was brought under control before that hapened. Spoke with dealership and they are not willing to help and said it was not under warranty. Ford motor has also ben contacted and they are not willing to help either. (tiresize: 16 inch).

See all problems of the 2001 Ford Explorer 🔎.

On 8-10-01 I was driving a hertz car rental 2001 0r 2002 Ford Explorer on I-75 to the atlanta airport. I began noticing "shimming" in the steering wheel. Soon after the "shimmying " became worse and I experienced excessive "play" in the steering wheel. I pulled onto the shoulder without incident. Later, a tow truck driver discovered that 3 out of 5 lug nuts had been sheared off completely - - causing the right front wheel to "wobble" significantly when rotating. If the wheel had come off the vehicle, it could have resulted in very serious injury/dealth - - especially on busy truck lader I-75 just north of atlanta. Just want you to be aware of this serious matter.

On 8-10-01 I was driving a hertz car rental 2001 0r 2002 Ford Explorer on I-75 to the atlanta airport. I began noticing "shimming" in the steering wheel. Soon after the "shimmying " became worse and I experienced excessive "play" in the steering wheel. I pulled onto the shoulder without incident. Later, a tow truck driver discovered that 3 out of 5 lug nuts had been sheared off completely - - causing the right front wheel to "wobble" significantly when rotating. If the wheel had come off the vehicle, it could have resulted in very serious injury/dealth - - especially on busy truck lader I-75 just north of atlanta. Just want you to be aware of this serious matter.

Driver's front wheel w/hub commenced to come off while traveling at highway speed of 70 mph. Manufacturer contacted. Feel free to provide further details.

While driving the right rear wheel came off due to lugs: nuts and bolts breaking off. No injuries.

Lugs:nuts and bolts sheared off due to corrosion/rust.

While driving the lugs: nuts started to come off the tire, and the vehicle started to shimmy. Dealer has seen.

Lug nuts were stripped. Yh.

Wheel lug failed.

Lugs: nuts is wearing off from wheel which could eventually cause wheel to completley separate from vehicle.