Stripped lug nut

Just damn.
Ditch the dealer dude, seriously and permanently.

The stud and lug combined are worth around $5 bucks, give or take a dollar.
To pull the caliper, knock out the stud and pull a new one in is around a ten minute job.

This is the dealer from which the stereotype comes.

 

They asked me to leave dealership the other day cause I told this tech to FUCK OFF

 

I don't understand the tech's claim that it came from the factory that way and as such is not a warranty thing...? Wtf? That's exactly what the warranty is intended to cover. Manufacturing defects from the factory.

 

Or antifreeze in the windshield washer fluid

 

I don’t think there’s any possible way it came from the factory that way. Those assemblers have calibrated tools or torque sticks that make it all but impossible to screw up. Too easy of a process to control for Toyota to turn a blind eye to a potential failure point.

 

Even if it happened at the factory those idiot should’ve fixed under warranty.

 

It does happen in isolated cases due to incorrectly calibrated tools. There was a recall on 2016 Tacos because the knee airbag bolts weren't torqued correctly. However, as @Hooper89 pointed out, factory defects are exactly what the warranty is intended for.

 

With the truck in the air, the wheel off and air tools standing by, this would have been a TEN MINUTE fix for the dealer to retain a customer.
That said, sadly I'm not the least surprised the dealer sent him home with a stripped stud on the truck and lug nut in his pocket.

Neither of my last two vehicles have been to the dealer for any of the complementary services.
I'm not willing to trade a free oil change for four hours of my time, a stripped wheel stud, lug nut and probable door ding.

 

This. I broke a wheel stud in 2019 (because the crappy

Capri Tools 31103 1/2" Drive Torque Wrench, 30-250 Foot Pounds, Diamond Ergonomic Grip

Capri torque wrench didn't click if I cranked on it slowly). It's easy to replace on the Taco because there's enough space behind the hub flange for the stud to drop out. Bought a box of Dorman studs and did a replacement in 10 minutes in my driveway, no special tools required.

 

I call bullshit on the dealer story.

How long did they have the truck? If the stud was stripped from the factory they would have known the moment they pulled the wheel. They then should have said something. If the lug nut was stripped they should not have touched it at all and shown you the damage before any repair work was to occur.

The fact of approaching you AFTER the service was complete is suspicious. Releasing the truck on 5 lugs out of 6 is potentially a huge liability issue for them since they knew of a safety issue that affected the truck and sent you on your way anyways.

Get another dealer. These people are without scruples.

 

So this is the lug nug and the stud in question! And i emailed the owner will let you know how i make out

 

That thing got cross-threaded with an impact. Over-torquing leaves material from the nut all over the stud. The only damage I’m seeing is where the two begin to thread together, I.e. when the tech was reinstalling.

 

This!
Perfect example of why you should start any threaded connection by hand, before using a tool. Just judging by the pic, the depth of the damage looks like it was hit by high speed initially,,, I could be wrong though.

As mentioned, it's doubtful it happened at the factory, the tools they use get calibrated and are very precise. Even if the damage did happen at the factory, that is precisely why the dealer network is there,,, to support. I mean what the hell are you supposed to do, drive down to Mexico missing a lug nut and pull her around back of the plant?!

 

This is what happens when rushing a job like alot of flat rate techs do to do as many jobs as humanly possible and yes i agree this wouldn’t have happened if the lug was hand started, then feeling the lug not thread on easy they could of corrected it and i work at a john deere dealership and if we broke or damaged a customers tractor we will fix it before it leaves this is why my boss has owned this buisness for almost 60 yrs! Shit happens we are only humans just be honest

 

Yep that's installer error. The mechanic goofed up and didn't want to eat his mistake. Toyota wouldn't have accepted a warranty claim on that.

Both the lugnut and wheel stud are common across multiple Toyota models (even cookie-cutter cars like the Corolla) so every dealer should have a few in stock. Inexcusable.

End of the day, look at this experience positively, now you know to avoid this dealer, before they f*ck you over something more expensive.

 

Definitely, installer error.

Nuts don't strip the first thread only.

 

Like others have said, the dealer tech caused that. If it was like that from the factory the thread damage would be deeper on the nut and the stud.

 

Looks to me like the lugnut had previously been in contact with the wheel so you can probably rule out a factory mistake. If it had cross threaded going on, it would not have sat tight against the wheel and you can see clearly where the washer touched. Looks to me like a lazy tech didn't start the nuts by hand and probably blasted it down.

The question is who did it? An honest tech when he finds something like that points out right way so there is no question that it wasn't him. He should stop and go no further. By no means should they continue working and let you know after the fact. It opens up suspicion. Looking at how chewed up that nut is, I wouldn't be entirely convinced that it wasn't already like that because it doesn't look fresh.

In the big scheme of things, it isn't a big deal. It is probably $10 in parts and 30 mins of labor. If it was my shop, I would just swapped it and wrote it off as good will.

 

It's disappointing the tech didn't own up to it,,,, even more disappointing? The F'n service writer tried to help him! Most any service writer has seen it all, or even was a wrench-bender at some point.
Come on man

 

Dealer should have remedied that. Given how they've behaved, I’d be hesitant to trust them with the fix, even one as simple as this. Good luck OP.