I’m very diligent about maintenance on my truck. Well, mostly diligent as there are a couple of things I’ve missed, but none of the essentials.

Last week I noticed that I was about 300 miles away from the 5,000 mile increment for oil changes. I NEVER miss an oil change, so I called my nearby local shop and made an appointment for this morning for the oil change and a tire rotation.

I showed up at the appointed time, checked in, and gave the keys to the office manager.

I then went outside to finish my coffee and have a morning cigar. I sat there reading, drinking, smoking, and saying hello to people passing by. Not a care in the world, as they say.

About forty minutes later the young man who was doing the work pulled my truck out of the garage and then backed into a parking spot. Or started to when the fun began.

As he backed up, I saw the right front tire detach itself from the vehicle while the five lug nuts rolled merrily down the slight incline. The tire’s bid for freedom was thwarted when the the right front of the truck fell on it.

Hmm. I sat there for a minute watching to see what was going to happen next. The young man got out of the truck, walked around the front and looked at the situation.

He then did the logical thing which was to get a floor jack from the garage and jack up the truck. At which point the shop foreman came over and started looking at the situation. I meandered over and he told me that the inner fender well was broken and he would order a new one. Okay, sounded reasonable. I went inside to talk to the office manager who had been out in the boss’s officer discussing something else and missed the excitement. He reassured me that they would fix everything, which is pretty much what I expected him to say.

He also told me that the young man who did the work had been with them for two years and they had not had any issues with his work. I said, stuff happens, and I hope he learned a lesson. The office manager laughed and said yes. He’s a hard worker and I felt a bit bad for him because he must have been embarrassed with this happening in front of the customer.

I’m sure he’ll be fine and next time be sure to torque the lug nuts on all four wheels.

Experience is indeed a harsh teacher. It gives the exam first and then the lesson.

After about 30 minutes the foreman came in and told me that the wheel was back on, but he didn’t like the way the studs looked. Unfortunately (for them) you can’t just replace broken or bunged up threads. No, you have to buy a new four wheel drive hub. Thanks Toyota.

Note that when engineers design parts they have to meet two criteria. First, the part has to be fit for purpose and not fail prematurely. Second, they have to be quick and easy to assemble while the vehicle is being built.

Note that “being easy to repair” is not a criteria.

There is a Toyota V-6 engine that has a great reputation for reliability. Which is good because the starter motor is mounted INSIDE the engine. Imagine how much fun it is to have to remove the top end of a internal combustion engine to replace the starter.

He had already ordered the hub, which the dealer had in stock. I assume they got it from the dealer and not some aftermarket part. He told me that it would be a few hours and offered to have someone drive me home.

Okay, kind of messed up my day as I had some errands to do and now that would have to wait. Still, they were doing the appropriate thing here and not trying to dodge responsibility. I’m going to presume that even if I hadn’t been sitting there watching the event, they would.

About 4:00PM the shop called and told me the truck was ready for me to pick it up. I asked if someone could come to pick ME up and bring me back to the shop, which they did.

I got back and walked in fully prepared to pay for the oil change and tire rotation. The officer manager prepared the invoice, handed it to me, and said “No charge.” I offered to pay because they had done the work and were absorbing the cost of the repairs, but he refused.

I thanked him and left.

Nice people and of course I’ll return again.

The only downside is that by the time I left the shop “rush hour” in my rapidly outgrowing the road system had started. It took much longer to get to the stores I needed to visit and then home than it would have if all had gone according to plan.

When does that ever happen?

Note that the picture with this post is not my truck, but that’s pretty much what it looked like when the tire came off.