TikTok lug nut challenge is loosening wheels on Quebec cars—three crashed

A viral TikTok challenge encouraging people to loosen the lug nuts on parked cars has damaged vehicles across Quebec and caused at least three collisions, authorities say.

Raphaël Blais first noticed the problem in January when his wife heard a strange noise after leaving with their two-year-old daughter and four-year-old son. At the garage, four of the eight lug nuts on his vehicle were found loose. Only the locking lug nut—which requires a special key kept by the owner—remained secure. "If the tire had come off with my partner, who had our two-year-old daughter and four-year-old son in the vehicle, the consequences could have been much greater than simply replacing a tire," Blais said.

At least 100 people have contacted Blais to report the same thing happened to them, though not all have filed police reports. Martin Ferland, a garage owner in Saint-Lambert, confirmed the pattern. One customer returned just days after service with loose lug nuts on both left wheels. "Four or five days later, she came back because she had a noise in the car. And we saw that the lug nuts were loose on the two left wheels, and we didn't even have to take off the wheels on the car to do that job," Ferland said.

Many drivers may not realize their vehicles have been tampered with if they simply retighten the nuts without investigating. The Sûreté du Québec is aware of the phenomenon across the province. Police encourage anyone who suspects their vehicle has been tampered with to report it to their local police service immediately.