Does the thought of your tire falling off while driving ever come to your mind? You are not overthinking. It happens. More often than not, tires have been known to come off automobiles in motion, and in the best-case scenario, no one gets hurt. Worst case? Casualties abound. Fortunately, the issues that can make tires fall off while driving is totally preventable. In this article, we’ll explain the potential causes of a wheel flying out in motion and how to prevent it.
The main reasons why a wheel can come off while driving includes lug nuts not properly tightened, ball joint failure, and broken wheel studs.
The good news is that you can prevent these issues through regular maintenance. These problems don’t just happen overnight as they usually start as small problems before they escalate into bigger problems. But if you are the type that inspects your vehicle regularly, you’d be able to detect these problems early and fix them.
Issues That Can Make Your Tire Fall Off In Motion
There are two main reasons why tires may fall off during motion and these are usually due to lug nuts not properly tightened or over-tightened and ball joints failing.
Lug Nuts Not Properly Tightened
Lug nuts are essentially fasteners that secure wheels to threaded wheel studs. And for your wheels to remain secure in motion, the lug nuts have to be properly tightened. Even properly tightened lug nuts will become loose over time due to the heavy stress the tires are subjected to. Depending on your driving conditions, the lug nuts can loosen faster than usual.
This is why many mechanics recommend that lug nuts be assessed every 50 to 100 km and be re-tightened as needed. If not, the lug nuts will become progressively loose until the point where the wheels can fall off in motion although you’ll get some warning signs.
When it comes to tightening the lug nuts, you should be careful not to over-tighten the nuts so the threads may become damaged or stripped. When this happens, there’s the chance that the wheels may come into motion.
You need a torque wrench to tighten your lug nuts to the stipulated value. Consult the owner’s manual of your vehicle to find the stipulated value of your tires. When you know the value, set the value on the torque wrench and tighten the nuts until you hear a clear click in the wrench.
Ball Joint Failure
Many drivers or car owners may not even know about the ball joint since it’s not a part that fails or has issues regularly. In fact, the most likely cause of ball joint failure is years of driving on bad roads and even this may not be enough to damage or completely wreck the ball joint.
Early signs of a broken ball joint include mysterious clunking sounds when driving or drift steering. If the issue isn’t addressed early, it will progress into a more significant one and ultimately affect the suspension of the vehicle as well as the steering.
Total failure of a ball joint can make the wheel fall off a vehicle during motion, and in a dramatic fashion no less. And this is because ball joints perform the crucial task of connecting the control arm of the vehicle to the steering knuckles. It’s thanks to the ball joint that the suspension of a car can move smoothly.
Broken Wheel Studs
Wheel studs work alongside lug nuts to securely attach the wheels to the vehicle. However, wheel studs are often overlooked by many people who have no idea what function they perform. But wheel studs play a crucial role in securing your wheels and are essentially large bolts that attach your wheel to your vehicle.
If you notice any wheel stud missing, you should endeavor to have it replaced. In truth, wheel studs rarely break or get damaged. They are designed to be incredibly durable but may wear out due to incorrect installation or over-torquing of lug nuts. Normal wear and tear also happen to wheel studs and they may start to degrade over time.
Luckily, wheel studs rarely just get completely broken and there are a number of warning signs you’ll see when your wheel studs start having issues. One such sign is when a wheel is loose or wobbling. Missing or broken studs are another indication that you need to replace your wheel studs.
Wheel studs aren’t supposed to turn whenever you are fastening the lug nuts. When this happens, it’s a sign that there’s something wrong with the wheel studs and you have to consider changing them.
Blown Tire
Blown tires can also make the affected tires fall off while driving although this rarely happens. A blown tire is every car owner’s worst nightmare. One minute, you are cruising with your vehicle and the next thing you hear is a loud pop and the vehicle starts to slow down while wobbling left or right. And depending on the situation, the affected tire can fall off although this doesn’t happen very often.
No one can be adequately prepared for a blown tire and the most important thing is to take steps that will minimize the chances of a blown tire occurring. This includes rotating your tires occasionally and ensuring that they are properly inflated. Tires that are either underinflated or overinflated are more prone to blowing up.
Should you ever have a blown tire, it’s important you don’t panic and stay calm, something that’s a lot easier said than done. But you are bound to make mistakes when you are panicked, so it’s important to try to stay calm.
The reaction of many people to a blown tire is to apply the brakes and try to stop the vehicle as soon as possible. But doing this will only increase the chances of you losing control of your vehicle. Instead, try to bring the vehicle to a natural stop and safety pull at the side of the road. Again, all these are easier said than done and you literally need nerves of steel to pull this off.
