On a ride from pa to vt our front passenger wheel suddenly came off our Ford Explorer. My husband located 2 of the studs that had broken off. Thankfully we were off the major interstate and not going more than 35 mi an hour. The ford dealership said they could not fix till the following monday (the incident happened on a Friday) but the tow truck driver offered to repair and we were on the road again in a couple hours. He also checked the other wheels and found the lug bolts loose on the rear driver side. Our front fender was pushed back into the door frame so that the door grinds when opened and we were advised not to open the hood until we got home. We purchased a breaker bar at the auto shop and checked every bolt every 2 hours just to be sure. I'm hoping to find out if this is a common problem and if Ford is aware of it. Never been so frightened! Its scary to think of what the scenario might have been had we been on the interstate. Insurance should take care of the damage to the car and the tow.

This could have been much worse. March 18, 2012, driving 50 mph, 3 sleeping children in the back seat and my front passager tire compleatly falls off. I was able to guide the car to the side of the road without causing an accident or damage to anyone or thing, but tire. Only one of the five studs was still intact, three were half their normal length and one was compleatly missing. We were very luck that the only damage to the car were the studs, lug nuts and a bint gaurd behind the roater. My question is this a commen thing for these cars? In Jan 2011 we had to replace 2 studs on the back passager side tire also, these were discovered before anything bad could happen.

While driving my 2008 Ford Explorer south on I-55 toward Cape Girardeau, MO the steering wheel started shaking very violently. Luckily, I was by an exit ramp when this happened. So I took the exit and at the top of the exit ramp the front left wheel/tire came completely off (accident occurred Wednesday March 14th around 11:00am). I gathered whatever damaged parts I could find. The Explorer was towed from Perryville, MO to Cape Girardeau. A Ford shop down there was able to repair it enough for me to drive it home to Kansas City, MO on Friday March 16th. My parents and I dropped it off at the dealership where it was purchased (Thoroughbred Ford: vehicle was purchased in June of 2010 & has ONLY been serviced at Thoroughbred) on Saturday March 17th at 11:00am. The Service Manager said they would take a look at it. He called at 6:00pm that evening and said he wanted to keep it so they could continue to investigate the situation on Monday. He called Monday March 19th and said the labor and parts had nothing to do with the accident (that same hub assembly was replaced in late August of 2011 & the tires were rotated in late January of 2012). He also said he wasn't having any luck contacting Ford to discuss the situation/see what they thought. On Tuesday March 20th my father and I went up to Thoroughbred to talk to the Service Manager. He said Thoroughbred Ford & Ford itself were not responsible. He said it was now an issue for myself and my insurance company to handle. We then spoke with the General Manager of Thoroughbred. He pretty much said the same thing: Ford is not responsible; it's an insurance issue for you do deal with. The Shop Foreman called me on Wednesday March 21st to say he had contacted Ford and was waiting to hear back from them. He called again to say he was still waiting to hear from Ford on Thursday March 22nd. My father and I went up to Thoroughbred again on Friday March 23rd. We talked with the Shop Foreman (who has been contacting Ford) and the owner's daughter. The Shop Foreman said he was still keeping in contact with Ford/trying to figure out what caused the accident (he said he sent them pictures of the Explorer & the damaged parts found). He also told us the same thing as the General Manager & the Service Manager: go talk to your insurance company. We went straight to our insurance company. An agent said she thought insurance might not cover it because there was no collision/no one injured. So my question is what do I need to do next?