Apparently this is really a thing.
I'm aware that the recall is for legal reasons, but still, how many people are going to bring this in to get done? I'm guessing it will be a non-zero number. I'd be in the camp of just torquing down the lugs nuts myself. It beats having to go to the dealership.
The real annoyance will appear when you try to sell the car and it's got an open recall because you torqued the lug nuts yourself.
Devils advocate: Most people do not own a torque wrench. Most people get their tires rotated every oil change, if at all. So the only reason they'd ever torque a lugnut is when they have a flat tire. I'd rather have the recall and have it done by a tiremonkey with a torque wrench rather than overtorquing.
In reply to mtn :
Devils advocate to your devilish advocacy:
The average tiremonkey doesn't use a torque wrench. Why would he when he could get them plenty tight with an impact gun instead?
Not only a non-zero number, but I think that if it were an expensive car it might be a majority.
Modern first-world society has raised a class of ultra-yuppies who know how to do very little beyond restructuring virtual asset portfolios or whatever practically useless obscure thing they do at work, and they pay people to do everything else. These people make up a large fraction of new car buyers, possibly even a majority.
I wish I could find it now but I've recently been seeing a TV ad for a service that delivers and installs replacement fridge filters in homes...because, according to the befuddled fridge owner in the ad, identifying and replacing a fridge filter is soooo hard 
JohnInKansas said:In reply to mtn :
Devils advocate to your devilish advocacy:
The average tiremonkey doesn't use a torque wrench. Why would he when he could get them plenty tight with an impact gun instead?
This, most vehicles are driving around with damn near 200ft-lbs of torque on their lugs.
In reply to GameboyRMH :
Classic Minis are a wonderful test of a tiremonkey. Usually they don't even know which one of the seven employees in the shop has a torque wrench, and if they can find it, almost invariably it's a 1/2inch drive Snap-on that starts reading 20 to 30 lb/ft higher than the recommended torque of 42.
At least it's easy to spot when they are run up with an impact gun. It will be the car with less than four wheels still attached. The 5/16-24 lug studs shear at around 85 lb/ft....
JohnInKansas said:In reply to mtn :
Devils advocate to your devilish advocacy:
The average tiremonkey doesn't use a torque wrench. Why would he when he could get them plenty tight with an impact gun instead?
Costco does. And that’s good enough for me.
Fueled by Caffeine said:JohnInKansas said:In reply to mtn :
Devils advocate to your devilish advocacy:
The average tiremonkey doesn't use a torque wrench. Why would he when he could get them plenty tight with an impact gun instead?
Costco does. And that’s good enough for me.
Bingo--Costco is our tire shop. But I guess that it negates this, as Costco isn't doing the recall work.
Does anyone seriously think that previous generations actually torqued their lug nuts down, or do you want to just think the world sucks because.
Very, very few friends or parents of friends did that that I recall. I know we were not an average family doing much of our own work.
Yeah, outside of my "car friends", I can probably count on one hand the number of people I have known who owned both a car and appropriate tools to effectively torque lug nuts. And that's going back to the late 80s/early 90s.
As silly as it seems, a recall is probably the most appropriate solution for this. It's a real safety problem, it's on the manufacturer to make sure it gets fixed, and this is the mechanism that exists for handling such problems.
Based on the manufacture dates of the cars involved I bet very few have reached their retail destinations.
It would be silly if it was a 15 year old car but for a new car I respect it. Legal reasons or not, I expect a car manufacturer to do their best to deliver a complete and properly assembled vehicle to the customer. Except for GM, I don't really expect it from them.
I'm not shopping for a new Mazda but if I were I'd appreciate being having the information.
I mean, Cadillac ATS got recalled when they were new because Cadillac forgot to bolt the seats to the floor. Not that they left the bolts loose, THEY NEVER PUT THEM IN
alfadriver said:Does anyone seriously think that previous generations actually torqued their lug nuts down, or do you want to just think the world sucks because.
Very, very few friends or parents of friends did that that I recall. I know we were not an average family doing much of our own work.
This. Also, I’m SURE they’ll use a torque wrench at Mazda...and not try to sell the owners a new cabin filter and wiper blades while the car is there for 4 hours.
Interesting that checking wheels is not part of the PDI process.
alfadriver said:Does anyone seriously think that previous generations actually torqued their lug nuts down, or do you want to just think the world sucks because.
Very, very few friends or parents of friends did that that I recall. I know we were not an average family doing much of our own work.
My father was a machinist and dedicated car guy and NEVER torqued lug nuts. He once laughed in a salesman’s face when the guy said that the car in question was so finely engineered that you had to torque the lug nuts to spec.
glueguy said:Interesting that checking wheels is not part of the PDI process.
I came here to state the same, but I also wonder whether a PDI still exists? Peel plastic, wash, put it on the lot, probably. I used to have to check toe on the 240 Volvos during pdi...
I saw them using torque wrenches at Discount Tire. I was pleasantly surprised.
Streetwiseguy said:glueguy said:Interesting that checking wheels is not part of the PDI process.
I came here to state the same, but I also wonder whether a PDI still exists? Peel plastic, wash, put it on the lot, probably. I used to have to check toe on the 240 Volvos during pdi...
x3, this should be caught on PDI. PDI still exists at my store. Peel plastic, insert storage fuse, road test to the gas station, set maintenance minders, check infotainment, check all lights, check windows and doors, check spare tire and tools, check all fluids, set tire pressures, battery test with printout, install locking lugs and torque all lugs. That's my process. Install block heater if it doesn't have one, route the cord if it does.
To everybody complaining that the world has gotten soft and people should torque them themselves...
You don’t go to the doctor when you need your blood drawn, do you? What, you don’t own a needle and whatever that blood container is called?? It’s only like a $20 tool! Society has gotten soft and young people are only good at Facebook! 
Just because we’re enthusiasts and can do this doesn’t mean it’s necessary or normal for everybody else to be able to. That stopped 70 years ago when cars went mainstream.
I still don't use a torque wrench on my lugs.
But I also tighten them with a wrench, and not an impact.
Tom Suddard said:Just because we’re enthusiasts and can do this doesn’t mean it’s necessary or normal for everybody else to be able to. That stopped 70 years ago when cars went mainstream.
So what you are really saying is we are not normal. 
dean1484 said:Tom Suddard said:Just because we’re enthusiasts and can do this doesn’t mean it’s necessary or normal for everybody else to be able to. That stopped 70 years ago when cars went mainstream.
So what you are really saying is we are not normal.
I wonder what gave it away.
On the PDI... if the original spec was wrong, PDi wouldnt catch it. Maybe the recall changes the spec in the PDI and that was a big part of the purpose. Plus if a recall comes through the dealership it probably makes them go check it if the PDI was a carwash.
As for torque wrenches, I never used one until I bought the Mustang in 05. Never knew it was a thing before that, but every other vehicle had steel wheels. I think lug torque suddenly became a thing because of the switch to aluminum wheels that were more sensitive to it due to warping and larger heat cycle size changes.
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