Routine car dealership maintenance, like oil changes and tire rotations, is the best way to keep a vehicle in top condition. The convenience of certified technicians, OEM parts, and service records is often weighed against the higher cost of independent mechanics.
But for one South Carolina driver, what should have been a standard visit turned into a frightening ordeal, she says, when she nearly lost her wheel moments after leaving the shop.
TikTok creator Destynee (@destyneelace) says her Ford Bronco was serviced at a Ford dealership on Friday the 13th. What followed, she claims, quickly escalated from routine maintenance to a dangerous mechanical failure
“I have been waiting until I got my car back to tell you guys this story time,” she said. “But you better sit down and get your popcorn.”
“I was like, something is wrong”
According to Destynee, she brought her Bronco in for “an oil change and a tire rotation, the normal service things,” expecting nothing out of the ordinary. But shortly after leaving the dealership, she says something felt wrong. “I’m leaving the dealership, and I make a right out of the dealership, and I start feeling like my car is unstable. And I was like, something is wrong. Something is off.”
As she approached a left turn at a flashing yellow light. She says an instinct stopped her from proceeding through the intersection. “I normally would have blown through the light, but in my heart, I was like, I need to stop and not go, because something feels wrong with my car.”
Moments later, disaster struck. “Thank god I did, because as soon as I made the left turn, my right front wheel fell off my car.”
Dealer allegedly failed to tighten lug nuts
Destynee alleges that the issue stemmed from improper servicing at the dealership. “Whoever did my servicing at the Ford dealership did not tighten the lug nuts of my front right wheel,” she said, adding that technicians later told her the wheel assembly may have been warped.
She claims she was initially told to expect a wheel replacement, but that changed. “The next day, they call me and tell me that my car is read. I said, absolutely not,” she said, noting that a mechanic warned her not to accept the vehicle due to safety concerns.
What followed, she says, was weeks of delays, communication issues, and conflicting updates. “I called the dealership every other day for days, and no one would pick up my call,” she said, adding that she eventually had to rely on her father to get a response.
Eventually, she says she was told a replacement wheel had been ordered, but even that process was delayed after the vendor shipped the wrong color part.
After nearly six weeks, Destynee says the vehicle was finally returned, but not without further frustration. She claims the dealership requested she bring the car back immediately because her rental vehicle had been reassigned to someone else. Her car was delivered to her, she says, “on empty.”
The experience left her shaken and ready to move on from the dealership entirely. “I have never felt so disrespected and lied to in my life,” she said. “When it could have really been bad if my wheel would have fallen off going 80 miles per hour down the interstate.” As of now, Destynee says she plans to trade in her vehicle and avoid returning to the dealership chain in the future, calling the experience unsafe and unacceptable.
Published: May 19, 2026 11:13 am