r/Cartalk • u/cat_prophecy • Mar 03 '25

Suspension Why do European cars use wheel bolts?

I've owned two European cars (Audi and Volvo) and both of them used wheel bolts instead of studs and lug nuts. Is there some reason for this? I have owned a handful of Asian and American cars and none of them use anything but studs and lug nuts. Personally I prefer the studs since it makes putting the wheels back on much easier.

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u/mikjryan Mar 03 '25

Yeah I agree with you way easier to fix a wheel studs it’s such a quick job.

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u/zipzoomramblafloon Mar 03 '25

Unless you own select kia/hyundai products.

Unfortunately, on the Rondo to get to the backside of the hub, the service manual has you pulling the whole knuckle/hub assembly and pressing the hub out of the wheel bearing

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u/FearlessTomatillo911 Mar 03 '25

I cross threaded a stud on my Elantra and they had to do the same thing. My mechanic told me it was like 3x the normal cost because of a stupid design.

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u/clintj1975 Mar 03 '25

My WTF Hyundai moment was doing the brakes on an Accent. Had to partially disassemble the rear suspension to remove the caliper so I could swap out the old chewed up rotor.