Why am I paying for broken bolts during a car repair?
Repair shops and dealerships often break rusted or seized parts during standard service, yet charge vehicle owners to extract or replace them. This leaves customers footing the bill for damage that wasn't there when they dropped off the car, while shops refuse to absorb the labor required to handle stubborn factory components.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Negotiating with the dealership to split the cost
- 2Asking the shop to remove the part and send it to a machine shop to redrill and rethread
- 3Paying out of pocket for consequential parts not covered by third-party service contracts
- 4driving at slow speeds to a mechanic
- 5using a jack and wrenches to replace the bolt and line up the shock
- 6retapping the threads
- 7using a vise grip on the brake hose to block flow
- 8exchanging the defective part for a replacement
- 9Cleaning off old sealant with a wire brush or wheel to check the bolt structure
- 10Assuming the bolts are fine and reusing them
- 11Purchasing a full set of new replacement bolts
- 12Tightening bolts by feel or 'gudentite' using a small ratchet instead of a torque wrench
- 13Torquing to a much lower inch-pound setting (e.g., 70 in-lbs)
- 14Using washers or checking for bottoming out due to aftermarket pan thickness
- 15Looking for a replacement part
- 16drill and use an easy out
- 17take it to a shop with a spot welder trick
- 18taking the car to a specialist for welding and rust repair
- 19dropping the subframe to access the broken bolt
- 20considering sending the car to a junkyard because repair costs might exceed the car's value
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“the manufacturer knows of an existing problem with bolts seizing and breaking off in the manifold and hasn’t fixed the problem?”source ↗
“While putting it back together the first bolt snapped with my digital torque wrench set to 10lb.”source ↗
“I set it to 118 to be a bit more conservative, it kept turning and I kept saying this seems like too many turns for 10lb and boom, it snapped a second one.”source ↗
“These are the original M6x1x17 pan bolts, the torque spec for the pan is 120in/10ft, if these bolts are 8.8 grade their breaking point is 115in.”source ↗
“The rusty exhaust crossunder pipe that has to come out to do the job? Not covered, and don't expect the tech to spend his own time trying to save a rusty exhaust pipe.”source ↗
“Yes it’s my car. And my favorite one ever. 2014 charger pursuit. The body is immaculate. Is this a reasonable or a good welder? Both sides need done.”source ↗
“He told me the capture nut on the frame broke off. I want to get better look now that I have that info. If the remaining metal is useful, I have a few ideas.”source ↗
“It wasn't broke when it came to the shop, they broke it, they should return it to the state in which it was received.”source ↗
“Tried to drill it out and I made the hole oblong 🙃. Can this be saved at all or is it time to look for a new manifold?”source ↗
“i just happened to me and it happened with a valve cover bolt and i learned my lesson i went i bought a torque wrench looked up the torque spec (15ft-lbs), set my torque wrench correctly i triple checked and i snapped one i dont know how im so over giving myself more and more work and it was just the worst part to snap off theres no way i can extract it it was almost the very bottom of the bolt”source ↗
“Has anyone replaced a caliper to find the Banjo Bolt doesn't quite get completely tight on the replacement?”source ↗
“the bolt just seems to keep spinning.”source ↗
“Finding a Caliper locally is going to be difficult”source ↗
“you might got a defective part.”source ↗
“The three on the right dont have the round tip that the others do. Just used a 1/4 10mm ratchet to take them out. Will I be good using these again?”source ↗
“Hanging from under my car near the rear drivers side tire. There’s a quiet rattling sound as I drive coming from the back of the car, and sometimes when I’ve gone over speed bumps there’s a loud metal clanging”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6Stripped engine bolt threads during installation
- 6How to remove a snapped bolt in a tight space?
- 2Mechanic refused to fix rusted control arm and subframe
- 13How to handle a mechanic who messed up brake repairs
- 2What to do if you overtightened a suspension bolt
- 3Brake parts missing or falling off after service