GM roadside assistance/lug nuts

[jwalcik]

warning, long post.this morning i was out and about running errands. as i was leaving my last stop, i walked out to my vibe to find the rear passenger tire totally flat. after exchanging a few four letter words with the limp sack of rubber, i dug the spare, jack, and lug wrench out of the back of my car so that i could get to work. then i discovered a lovely little surprise GM had decided to leave for me when i picked my car up a year and a half ago.they gave me the wrong lug wrench.it was close, but not quite large enough to fit over the stock lug nuts. this discovery led to the use of some more four letter words, and a phone call to GM roadside assistance. contrary to several of the negative reviews i've read of the service here and elsewhere, they were incredibly responsive. when the local service company was late arriving, they even handled calling them to find out what was going on (the GM service automatically called me at the time the local service company had promised to arrive to verify that i was being assisted). a quick trip to discount tire netted a patched tire and my original wheel back on the car (both for free) as well as an appropriate lug wrench for $17. i was very impressed with the GM service program, and, as always, with discount tire. i also wanted to post this as a warning to anyone who hasn't yet had a flat. you might want to go check your lug wrench before you get stuck in a place not quite as convenient for service as the one i was in...

[tcam]

wow, I would have been furious with GM if that had happened to me. You're lucky that you weren't in a big hurry or in a place that was far away from assistance.I took your advice to go check my lug wrench, and since I also just recently bought some lug nuts, I decided just to try pulling out a few of the lugs just for the heck of it. But to my surprise, I couldn't get those things to budge one bit. I prectically broke my back trying. lol. I put my all into those things, and not one started to come out.sry to go off topic, but it just makes me mad that the mechanics would torque my lug nuts so dang tight.

[northvibe]

oh man yea i should check mine.. thanks for the heads up!Glad GM was so good to ya

[Atomb]

wow, that would have really got my blood boiling too!glad to hear it was handled properly.on a side note: to loosen tight lug nuts, give the wrench a sharp hit with something (i prefer my foot) as you need an impact to 'break the seal' so to speak....that's why they call the equipment in the garage an 'impact wrench'. It'll save your back from pulling/pushing as hard as you can.

[tcam]

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »on a side note: to loosen tight lug nuts, give the wrench a sharp hit with something (i prefer my foot) as you need an impact to 'break the seal' so to speak....that's why they call the equipment in the garage an 'impact wrench'. It'll save your back from pulling/pushing as hard as you can.lol, r u serious???!!! I had no idea. God I feel like an idiot now. Thnx for the good help Atomb

[Mavrik]

Our Vibe lugs are a 21mm I believe, at least for the steel rims they are. Most standard size is 19mm but I have not checked mine... because if I do have the wrong wrench, my locking wheel lugs have their own 19mm lugs.

[ToolGuy]

My 2003 wrench fits and I used to use it for tire rotations... I used to work at GM Roadside Assistance Center back in 1997. The service was very different when I started and then eventually GM used AAA to do the services. I was there for almost two years before transferring to another account. Not sure who GM used now but it was switched to AAA for cost savings.The old way or when I started we used to have to cold call services to go and help people. It was hard sometimes to find people to go help such as at night, weekends or holidays but the service was paid well and the people jumped on the calls. Same with locksmiths, try fining one after the bars are closed to go help the drunks that locked their keys in the car! LOL!!!We used to get calls from people that had aftermarket rims and lugs. They wondered why their wrench did not fit! I always used to ask the first. The other call was on locking lug nuts. Used cars would have no keys or the lugs stripped out while using the key. In both cases it resulted in a tow and the lugs drilled, cut or sometimes a socket could be hammered over the lug and it would turn. Thus ruining the socket. I have so many stories from that job! At any rate, glad the service was good for you!

[new05vibeowner]

As soon as I get the Vibe back, I'm going to check. It's bad enough to get a flat, but I cannot imagine the utter disgust whey you discover that the lug wrench doesn't fit! Arrrrgggghhhhh!

[MRCN RCE]

hey i never thought to check mine. i have an 05 gt too, so i might have the same problem. i'ma walk out to the car n check right now. thanks for the heads up, good lookin out

[ColonelPanic]

Why'd they make you pay for a new lug wrench though? It's their screw-up, the people at the factory ruined that for you...I can't recall but doesn't the jack need the OEM lug wrench to work? Will the new one you have work?

[tcam]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Why'd they make you pay for a new lug wrench though? It's their screw-up, the people at the factory ruined that for you...I definately agree on that one.

[tcam]

Alright, I have tried everything to get my flippin lug nuts off. I kicked the wrench with my foot as hard as I could, and even tried taking a hammer to it. The lugs didn't budge at all! Then, with nothing left to try, I stood on top of the wrench and began jumping up and down on it. Still nothing! At this point I was shaking my Vibe heavily and I could hear the gasoline splahing around down below.At this point, I am just going to take it to the mechanic and tell him to take th lug nuts off for me and then to install the new ones that I recieved from Bluecrush. Then I'll ask for no charge because he is the one that made 'em so d*** tight in the first place.I'm really just venting right now, but I am pretty mad about the whole thing. Who torques lug nuts to 100 bajillion pounds??!!!!Side note: I am far from a weak person. And I also way 150 lbs.

[ToolGuy]

The factory lugs should only be tightend to 76 Lbs ft. Have the tech use a torque stick for that. Your issues are one reason why a torque stick should be used!

[Cougar Vibe]

Having had a similar experience, I bought one of those cheesey $20 battery-operated impact wrences and stuck it in my emergency kit. I wouldn't use one to rotate my tires on a regular basis, but for emergencies it beats waiting on roadside assistance or AAA.I just wish there was a little more storage room in the floor of the cargo area for a light-duty floor jack. The thought of using the one that came with the car is scary...

[tcam]

hmmm.... what's a torque stick? i just assumed that the mechanics used those air tool tighteners or something

[Atomb]

Quote, originally posted by tcam »Alright, I have tried everything to get my flippin lug nuts off. ...wow, it's a good thing you haven't had a flat in the middle of nowhere in the recent past!!that's amazingly tight...insane!

[tcam]

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »wow, it's a good thing you haven't had a flat in the middle of nowhere in the recent past!!that's amazingly tight...insane!i know! that's what I was thinking. I'm gonna go try to get 'em off again soon. Once I'm ready for a good workout. This time I'm gonna bounce on the wrench as hard as i possibly can. They have to give at some point. At least I hope

[tcam]

yessssss!!!!! I finally got my old lugs off and the new ones put on. All it took was bouncing up and down on the lug wrench like a frickin kangaroo. Also, there quite afew lugs that were either tighter or loser than others. The tightest one happened to be the one that I had tried first. And that is why I was so ticked off. However, i still can't figure out why they were put on so tight?.........whatever, now I got chrome lugs and the problem is behind me.