Keith Lawder
Standard Member
New member here. I've got an MG 5 LR (pre facelift 21 plate) which has both front alloy wheels apparently seized to the hubs.
This car is relatively new to me. I bought it in August 2023 from its first owner. It has so far run like a dream. On purchase I saw that the front tyres (Nexen N'blues - explained to me as 'original when the car was new') were getting close to the legal limit. The rears - oddly Bridgestones - were in better condition, but still getting reasonably close to replacement. When I picked up some nail damage on the front nearside the other day leaving me with a flat, it felt like the road gods were reminding me that it was time, and rather than getting one repaired I opted to replace all 4 with Goodyear Vector 4-season Gen 3s from Halfords.
My Halfords mobile fitter replaced the rears easily, but was unable to replace the front tyres because both of the alloy wheels are seized to the hubs. They could not be removed by any reasonable manual method once the bolts were out. He didn't want to use excessive force to free them and possibly damage the hubs or brakes. He kindly refunded me the fitting fee and suggested that I should raise the issue with my local MG dealer as a possible warranty repair.
I've spoken to MG (Lookers in Brighton) who said the earliest they can get me into the service bay is on 20 November! (I wasn't the happiest bunny at that point.) They also said they had never heard of this issue. So - questions please to forum members: has this ever happened to you? If so, how did it get sorted and was that under warranty? If not - ball park how much might this cost to fix?
I am currently weighing up whether to stick with Lookers MG on the possibility that this might be a warranty repair but have my car out of service for three weeks while I wait, or take it to an independent garage for repair, where (cost aside) I would hope to have the car back on the road by the middle of next week. Any insights to help this decision gratefully received.
This car is relatively new to me. I bought it in August 2023 from its first owner. It has so far run like a dream. On purchase I saw that the front tyres (Nexen N'blues - explained to me as 'original when the car was new') were getting close to the legal limit. The rears - oddly Bridgestones - were in better condition, but still getting reasonably close to replacement. When I picked up some nail damage on the front nearside the other day leaving me with a flat, it felt like the road gods were reminding me that it was time, and rather than getting one repaired I opted to replace all 4 with Goodyear Vector 4-season Gen 3s from Halfords.
My Halfords mobile fitter replaced the rears easily, but was unable to replace the front tyres because both of the alloy wheels are seized to the hubs. They could not be removed by any reasonable manual method once the bolts were out. He didn't want to use excessive force to free them and possibly damage the hubs or brakes. He kindly refunded me the fitting fee and suggested that I should raise the issue with my local MG dealer as a possible warranty repair.
I've spoken to MG (Lookers in Brighton) who said the earliest they can get me into the service bay is on 20 November! (I wasn't the happiest bunny at that point.) They also said they had never heard of this issue. So - questions please to forum members: has this ever happened to you? If so, how did it get sorted and was that under warranty? If not - ball park how much might this cost to fix?
I am currently weighing up whether to stick with Lookers MG on the possibility that this might be a warranty repair but have my car out of service for three weeks while I wait, or take it to an independent garage for repair, where (cost aside) I would hope to have the car back on the road by the middle of next week. Any insights to help this decision gratefully received.
