Dealer over-torked lug nuts - warped rotors now! Advice please...

Ok, here is my problem. About 17 months ago, I went to Huntclub Honda
in Ottawa, Ontario Canada to get the 50K scheduled maintenance done on
my 2001 Honda Prelude SE. So, they did their things and that was that.
The next day, I decided to put snow tires on my car (all four wheels).
If I'd been smart, I would have just brought them to the dealer and
told them to change them when they had the wheels off checking the
breaks etc, but I was in a rush and didn't have time to organize.

Anyhow, there I am in my driveway the very next day and I start with
the first wheel. I'm using a lug wrench to get the lug nuts off
(duh!?!) and I am finding it close to impossible to get them off. The
first one alone, I am standing on the lug wrench bouncing up and down,
trying to get it to budge. I weigh about 185 pounds. So, there I am,
jumping up and down on the lug wrench and the nut finally starts to
budge. Now, I know coming-off torque is supposed to be greater than
going-on torque, but the next day after they were removed/reinstalled?
And to that extent???!

So then get this.... I pull out a gauged torque wrench which tops out
at 220 foot pounds. I literally am off the scale pulling with the next
lug nut, so that the needle is buried at the end of the scale. So here
I am wailing on the torque wrench and, you're not going to believe
this, the male part of torque stick comes off the bar and stays in the
socket which is still on the lug nut on the rim??!! I flipped it over
(double sided) and tried a few more nuts (I didn't go past 220 foot
pounds this time) just to see and none of them would budge. I then
removed every one of them with the lug wrench, each one of them with me
standing on the wrench, bouncing up and down trying to get them to come
off. It took about an hour and a half.

In the end, I went back to the dealer the next day and told them my
story. They gave me a free oil change and noted on the computer file
that my lug nuts had been over tightened.

I posted this tale of woe to the Usenet and many people responded that
one of the problems I'd have to worry about is warped rotors. Well,
about 6 months after I brought it in, they were doing some more
maintenance and the mechanic said that my rotors were warped and that
they should be changed. As soon as I brought up this whole story and
involved a manager, the story became that the warping wasn't severe
and I could probably get away with not getting it done and that really
the warping was only on the front rotors and if it had been because of
over-torking the lug nuts on all wheels, then all the rotors would have
been warped, not just the front. I didn't have the time or
inclination to fight with them, so I just decided to leave it and fight
the battle later.

Here is my question; I am thinking I need break work done. Do I have
any case to get the rotors partially paid for by the dealership? Any
approaches I should take? Advice? Thanks,

Rob

 

Your warped BRAKE rotors are not likely due to overtitghened lug nuts.
http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf100326.htm

 

Tegger is right... over-tightening the lug nuts didn't cause your
warped rotors. It was most likely caused by overheating the rotors or
by a thermal shock. I remember in my younger days after driving a car
hard (and braking hard) I pulled up to the house and washed the car.
The cold water on the very hot rotors warped them like you wouldn't
believe...

Professor
www.telstar-electronics.com

 

Big time problem...The Honda dealer bough me a new set of rotors, because he
did follow
the Honda torque of around 80lbs . Most definitely they can warp rotors.

Ask for a new set

worked for me

 

As soon as I brought up this whole story and

Bull shit. The front brakes do most of the braking, so they get most of
the heat and are most likely to warp. They are trying to pull a fast one
on you.

 

The dealer should eat all or most of the rotor charges. Overtightening
definitely can cause warpage. Even worse is uneven torque among the
various studs.

I had the same thing happen to my I30t. I actually broke the 4-way
lug wrench getting them off. The center weld failed.

You got it documented, you were smart. Now, make them pay up.

And now, inspect your alloy wheels very carefully. The bolt holes may
have cracked too.