How to torque lug nuts

Thread the nuts on by hand, lower the wheel to the ground, then tighten them in a star pattern with a torque wrench set to your owner’s manual value, going around two or three times. Keep oil and grease off the threads, and re-check the torque after a short drive if your manual says to.

Sources checked

What you need

  • A torque wrench that reaches your vehicle’s value with room to spare. The vehicles on this site take between 62 and 165 lb-ft (central-lock wheels aside). The torque wrench guide covers setting and using one.
  • The right socket for your nuts. Some manuals print it: Tesla’s give 21 mm.
  • The torque value from your owner’s manual, usually under specifications or in the section on changing a flat tire.

Step by step

  1. Clean the mounting faces. Ford’s manual says to remove any corrosion, dirt or foreign material from the wheel’s and hub’s mounting surfaces; Honda’s says to wipe the wheel’s mounting surfaces with a clean cloth. A wheel that doesn’t sit metal to metal can work loose.
  2. Thread every nut on by hand. Mazda’s manual says to fit the nuts with the beveled edge toward the wheel and tighten them by hand first. Honda’s says to screw them on until they touch the lips around the wheel’s mounting holes, then stop.
  3. Lower the vehicle. With the tire’s weight on the ground the wheel can’t spin as you tighten.
  4. Set the wrench to the manual’s value. Where the manual prints a range, as Kia’s and Mazda’s do, any setting inside it is within spec.
  5. Tighten in the star pattern, two or three times around. Honda’s manuals put it as going around two to three times in the order shown; Kia’s says to follow the numbered sequence and double-check each nut.
  6. Stop at the click. Honda and Kia both say not to add torque by standing on the wrench or using a pipe on the handle.
  7. Check them again if your manual says to. Ford’s says within 100 miles (160 km) of any wheel disturbance.

The tightening order

The manuals print a numbered drawing of the studs. With five studs it’s a star: from each nut, skip one and tighten the next. With four or six, work in opposite pairs, moving one stud round each time. Either way the wheel is pulled flat against the hub evenly, instead of one side first.

12345
Five studs: a star
1234
Four studs: opposite pairs
123456
Six studs: opposite pairs

Numbers show the order; nut 1 can be any stud. Where your manual’s drawing differs, follow the manual.

Find your torque

443 models so far

Clean, dry threads

Wheel torque values assume clean threads with nothing on them. Ford’s manual says its values are for threads free of dirt and rust. Kia’s says never to use oil or grease on the wheel bolts or nuts, because the nuts might come loose, and Mazda’s says the same and warns against tightening past the specified torque.

The reason is friction: most of the effort on the wrench goes into overcoming it, so a lubricant lets the same torque stretch the stud much further. The dry versus lubricated guide puts numbers on it.

Wheel bolts

Some cars, every Mercedes-Benz among them, have wheel bolts that screw into the hub instead of nuts on studs. They’re tightened the same way, in a star pattern to the manual’s value, but with no studs to hang the wheel on, Mercedes-Benz’s GLC Coupe manual and Genesis’s GV80 manual use a guide pin while the first bolts go in. Lug nuts vs wheel bolts explains, and lists which cars have which.

Impact wrenches

An impact wrench can’t be set to a torque, and it can easily run past one. Use it, if at all, only to run the nuts down, then do the final tightening with a torque wrench in the star pattern.

Questions

Should lug nuts be torqued with the car on the ground?

Yes. Honda’s, Kia’s and Mazda’s manuals all have you run the nuts on by hand with the wheel in the air, then lower the vehicle before tightening them, so the wheel can’t turn under the wrench.

How many times should I go around the wheel?

Honda’s manuals say to go around two to three times in the order shown. The job is done when the wrench clicks on every nut without the nut turning.

When should I re-check lug nut torque?

Whenever your manual says. Ford’s 2019 Explorer manual says to retighten to the specified torque within 100 miles (160 km) after any wheel disturbance, such as a tire rotation, a flat tire change or wheel removal. Kia’s says that after changing a wheel, you should have a Kia dealer tighten the nuts to their proper torque as soon as possible.

Is it bad to overtighten lug nuts?

Yes. Mazda’s manual warns that the nuts and bolts can be damaged if tightened more than necessary, and Honda’s and Kia’s say not to add torque by standing on the wrench or slipping a pipe over the handle. Stop at the click.

What torque do my lug nuts need?

The value in your owner’s manual: the vehicles on this site alone run from 62 to 165 lb-ft (central-lock wheels aside). Look yours up in lug nut torque by vehicle.

Sources

  1. Honda: 2022 Civic Sedan Owner’s Manual: If a Tire Goes Flat (checked October 14, 2026)
  2. Kia: Telluride 2022 Owner’s Manual: Changing tires (checked October 14, 2026)
  3. Mazda: 2025 Mazda CX-50 Owner’s Manual: Changing a Flat Tire (checked October 14, 2026)
  4. Ford: 2019 Explorer Owner’s Manual: Wheels and Tires, Technical Specifications (checked October 14, 2026)
  5. Mercedes-Benz: GLC Coupe Operator’s Manual (C254 MBUX, built from June 2026): Changing a wheel, PDF pages 692–694 (checked October 23, 2026)
  6. Genesis: 2025 GV80 Owner’s Manual: Changing Tires (checked October 23, 2026)
  7. Fastenal: Bolted joint design: nut factor (K) by finish and how much preload varies at a given torque (checked October 14, 2026)

Spotted a number that doesn’t match your manual or a source? Tell us; corrections are logged on the sources page.