Swollen lug nuts?
 

At mavis tire here in Atlanta getting a tire patched/plugged and they bring out my lug nuts in hand saying they are swollen and need to be replaced. Is this a thing? Max has 147k now so quite a few changes under its belt. Wondering if this is legit or just a fluid flush upsell tactic. Thanks.

It’s a real thing. A similar thing happened to me last year. I took my car to my mechanic for an Oil change and tire rotation. He told me that I had to replace my lug nuts (at $6 a piece) because the were damaged. He said it is because they were cheep aftermarket ones. Needless to say I was not happy but he explained that he could not get any of my tires off without destroying the lug nuts. Check out the article below.

https://agradetools.com/swollen-lug-nuts-fix/

OEM lugnuts or aftermarket?

It’s typically kinda both … it’s a real thing and it’s an up sell or at least a lack of effort or insight on the part of the repair facility, IMO anyway.

This, when it happens, typically happens with the two-piece nuts. Meaning those nuts with the chromed or polished outer casing or skin. The skin becomes malformed, separates from the true nut and becomes difficult to remove or install since the tool (lug wrench or socket) doesn’t quite fit anymore or, if it does, the casing just spins on the true nut.

Simply removing the outer skin/casing from the nut leaves a not-so-pretty, but fully functional and useable ‘unpolished’ nut. But, this takes a little more time and effort than a shop is usually willing to put forth, especially when over there in the corner they’ve got a big box of brand new lug nuts to sell and use.

My thinking exactly. I have a 17 SL, and I could swear those lug nuts are one-piece. I've had trouble with my 86 Monte Carlo SS and again with my 2007 C6 Vette. Both have those danged 2-pc lug nuts. Then, as it probably is now, the OEM supplier to GM vacuum press-fit a thin stainless steel outer sleeve over the base steel lug nut. I messed up the outer sleeve of one lug nut on each car when I used the wrong size socket on my pneumatic wrench. Boogered it up so that the softer stainless steel shell was sorta twisted and ballooned up. Made it very difficult to use the correct socket on it until I put the danged nut in a vice and pressed the 6-sided stainless shell back tight against the base steel nut. Problem corrected but not very pretty. I think it is very possible that other mechanics in the past, may have ballooned your lug nuts, although I find it odd that all of them would be messed up unless an ape was set loose on your wheels. Finally, I don't understand the term "ballooned" because this implies that the outer thin shell is larger than the nut. I understand "twisted" and malformed" description but "ballooned"? I'd love to see a close-up photo.

If I were the author I would look for solid aftermarket lugs.

i cant stand those two piece lug nuts, really really horrible. they are literally like hub caps but for each of the individual lugnuts, newer mustangs have em

Not uncommon. My 2012 Jag XKR did this too. Fix was to use a Toyota set of nuts. By the way, the nuts come in different configurations - some with a tapered end based on the wheel (not rim) used.

OEM Wheel Lug Nuts

Both my wife and I own 2016 Maxima. She has 36K on hers, mine has 40K. When I rotated my tires, I noticed that the 21mm deep socket no longer fits the chrome lug nuts on the wheels, as they are deformed from use. Her car was almost as bad as mine was.

Nissan uses a 2 piece lug nut, with a chrome cover. With use, and over time, the outer chrome covering becomes deformed, causing the socket not to fit.

I checked at the dealer for OEM wheel lug nuts, and learned that they were in the $15.00 each price range. I found an on-line Nissan dealer that sold them for $10.00 each, plus shipping. I have McGard wheel locks, so I needed 16 new lug nuts.

The parts counter person was kind enough to tell me to look for Dorman Products, as they make a 1 piece lug nut for this application.

The Dorman part number is 611-294, the best price I found was Amazon Prime, a box of 10 for $39.39 and free shipping. I ordered 2 boxes.

I installed the lug nuts yesterday, and as advertised, they fit perfectly and look exactly like the OEM. I ordered 2 boxes for her car too.

You would be forced to call roadside assistance if you needed to change a tire on the road, as the OEM lug nuts become oversized with repeated use.

I sleep better at night now.

Great info Rick. Thanks.

Put some frozen peas on them... :D:tardsmash

i think swollen is the wrong terminology to be used
the lugnuts get deformed from an impact wrench hammering them off and on
want to lengthen your nuts lifespan ?,,use a hand wrench on them and hand twist your nuts.:smash:

oem

Thanks everyone. As always, love the comments and feedback. Looks like I’m buying some dorman sets off Amazon! ;)

If you’re looking for/asking for recommendations.

Here’s mine.

https://www.gorilla-auto.com/lug-nuts

… available through Amazon, if that’s a must.

I’ve used the Dorman sets and honestly, with repeated use (I rotate my own tires ~ every 4K miles), they show the use and wear.

The Gorilla sets, however, appear pretty much rock hard and a bit indestructible.

are those one piece

I don’t remember but they’re cheap enough that you can replace them every couple of years if need be.

Also try https://maxima.org/forums/8th-genera...your-nuts.html

Got these about a month ago...so good!...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/154855082208