A little background: I've been changing tires for 50 years (where's that picture of the curmudgeon when you need it). I admit I had a problem with the lug nuts seizing to the studs on the rear right wheel of my '72 Country squire wagon, bent a perfectly good star tire wrench (or T-wrench - 4 different sized ends in a cross) and broke a socket on that one before snapping the stud. Those studs seemed to tighten right up, probably because I drove way too fast almost all the time (times were different in the '70s). I mostly solved the problem by using an impact socket, a long breaker bar and a 6' steel pipe as a snipe; the studs were pretty solid.
The seized lug nut problem went away for decades, but returned when I went to take the winter tires off my new 2015 Mazda 3 (bought new in 2016) in the spring of 2017. Two nuts and studs were just turning in the hub on the back passenger side wheel. I chocked it up to the tire shop over-tightening the lug nuts, and went on with life. I change the tires myself twice a year (spring and fall), and use a torque wrench and I adjusted by setting it at near the low end of the torque range specified in the owner's manual. The only other party to touch the tires has been the local Mazda dealerships (one in North bay and one in Sudbury). It happened three more times: to me in the fall getting the summer tires off last year, at the dealership this summer when they did an oil-change brake check, and this fall to me doing my change over. When it happens to me it's always the rear wheel, but it changes sides.
I am very careful not to over-torque the lug nuts or damage the threads when changing the tires. It (studs turning in the hub) doesn't happen when I change my wife's tires. It doesn't happen when I change my son's tires. It doesn't happen when I change my daughter's tires (all twice a year, most years). It never happened to me with Chevys, Pontiacs, Volkswagens, Toyotas, Kias, other Mazdas, nor any of my other Fords. WTF. The only thing in common is the Mazda service, or maybe I have specially designed weak studs on that Mazda 3.
What do you think is the cause?
Should I add some anti-seize compound to my change over routine, and stay away from the dealership?
The seized lug nut problem went away for decades, but returned when I went to take the winter tires off my new 2015 Mazda 3 (bought new in 2016) in the spring of 2017. Two nuts and studs were just turning in the hub on the back passenger side wheel. I chocked it up to the tire shop over-tightening the lug nuts, and went on with life. I change the tires myself twice a year (spring and fall), and use a torque wrench and I adjusted by setting it at near the low end of the torque range specified in the owner's manual. The only other party to touch the tires has been the local Mazda dealerships (one in North bay and one in Sudbury). It happened three more times: to me in the fall getting the summer tires off last year, at the dealership this summer when they did an oil-change brake check, and this fall to me doing my change over. When it happens to me it's always the rear wheel, but it changes sides.
I am very careful not to over-torque the lug nuts or damage the threads when changing the tires. It (studs turning in the hub) doesn't happen when I change my wife's tires. It doesn't happen when I change my son's tires. It doesn't happen when I change my daughter's tires (all twice a year, most years). It never happened to me with Chevys, Pontiacs, Volkswagens, Toyotas, Kias, other Mazdas, nor any of my other Fords. WTF. The only thing in common is the Mazda service, or maybe I have specially designed weak studs on that Mazda 3.
What do you think is the cause?
Should I add some anti-seize compound to my change over routine, and stay away from the dealership?
