Toyota FJ 2014 lug nuts breaking

[marks]

Hello All-

so i was driving on the highway last week, and had a tire puncture. i then tried to replace my tire using the Toyota stock tire change equipment, and as i unscrewed each lug nut, each of them broke. i was down to the last 2 when i decided to call a tow truck. any idea why this happened? have changed many tires in the past, so am sure I didn't mess this part up. curious to hear if there is a possible explanation, so as to avoid a similar situation in the future.

thanks

 

[Frederic]

That’s definitely strange. My only suspicion would be that it was hugely overtightened in the past of a guy with a impact gun. (Doof Doof)...

[desertdude]

Yup agree with Fred surely a cheap tyre shop job where they have powerful impact guns and keep hammering it until it gives up.

Ratta-tat-tat-tat-phoooos.

Always also check your tyre pressure after you leave there. They have these big semi truck guages that start from 30psi.

Specially if they had sold you some tyres. They will overinflate old tyres to 50psi in order to hide flat spots or unevenness.

[Frederic]

Spray some WD40 or penetrating oil in the remaining wheels and see if you can gently loosen them up. All your wheels might have this issue.

[Gaurav]

I agree too with @Frederic 

[Barry]

WD40 won’t help. My guess is that they have been over tightened and the threads have been stretched.
 

What I would do is use a drift and give them a few hard smacks with a hammer before loosening. Sounds counterintuitive but sometimes with stuck nuts, it can help to tighten them a tiny bit more before loosening. The other option is acetylene but you are going to damage the finish on your wheels. 
 

Wheel studs don’t actually need to be as tight as most people think. Recommended tightening torque for FJ is only 112Nm. It’s worth investing in a cheap 1/2” torque wrench or a set of torque sticks and giving them a check every so often. 

[treks]

The only thing that will break non-Chinese OEM lug bolts is if they are over tightened. The thing to do now would be replace all th lug bolts with OEM bolts, since you will never know if the ones you buy from a scrap yard were also not over tightened at some point in their lives.