NHTSA Complaint #11607094 — 2014 JEEP CHEROKEE

The lug bolts that hold the tires on are swollen in place and cannot be removed without breaking them. As a result I cannot get the tires off of my vehicle. To remove the tires I have to take the vehicle to a dealership where they have to break the bolts to get the tires off. The jeep dealership told me this was a common problem with jeeps and Chryslers because the factory installs lug bolts with caps on them which are prone to swelling and prevent the tires from being removed. If I had gotten a flat tire I would have been stranded as the tires cannot be removed due to the swelling of the bolts. This is obviously very dangerous as it results in people being stranded on the side of the road because the tire cannot be removed to put on a spare. To fix this problem and prevent it from reoccurring I now have to buy 20 new lug bolts that are not capped and take my car to the dealership where they have special tools to break the lug bolts and remove the tires. This is also causing financial hardship as the new uncapped lug bolts cost $204 and the labor to remove the tires is $312. These capped lug bolts are defective because they are known to be prone to swelling and locking the tires in place. As such this is a dangerous factory defect and these capped bolts should not be used.