I-CAR has released the first in a series of recent articles about how to determine if a fastener, clip, or part can be reused.

One-time-use fasteners/parts are specific items that cannot be reused after they have been loosened or removed including certain bolts, clips, trim, stationary glass, et cetera.

According to I-CAR, the reasons for one-time use vary. “For example, torque-to-yield bolts are designed to stretch during the torquing process. These fasteners cannot be reused because of the excess amount of stress that was caused during installation. Some fasteners may have to be replaced due to a factory-applied coating that prevents corrosion. In other cases, a part or fastener, such as a rivet, is simply impossible to remove without damaging it.”

The most recent OEM I-CAR’s Repairability Technical Support (RTS) team looked at was BMW/MINI. According to their research, the OEM addresses one-time-use parts and fasteners in several different areas of vehicle-specific body repair manuals:

• Repair Instructions ➤ Unified Parts Group ➤ 00 Maintenance And General Data ➤ Microencapsulated Screws
  • In this document, BMW has an installation note stating: “Microencapsulated screws must not be retightened.”
  • Microencapsulated screws have thread locking adhesive to prevent the screwed connection from being loosened.
• Repair Instructions ➤ Unified Parts Group ➤ 32 Steering And Wheel Alignment ➤ 32/31 Steering Column ➤ Replace Steering Column
  • Within this document, under: Follow-Up Works ➤ Installing Steering Shaft, Bottom
  • BMW states: “Renew clamping bolt. No retorque permitted!”

I-CAR notes that when collision repairers research service information all that is available should be read over. “The one-time-use parts can be called out under Tightening Torques, Installation Notes and in Parts For Repair Procedure. Following OEM procedures, including the identification and use of one-time-use fasteners/parts is essential for a proper repair.”

Other OEMs I-CAR has compiled one-time use information for include:

Nissan/INFINITI Position Statement: Single-Use Parts Replacement
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Audi
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: FCA/Stellantis
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Ford/Lincoln
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: General Motors
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Honda/Acura
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Hyundai
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Jaguar Land Rover
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Kia
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Mazda
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Subaru
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Tesla
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Toyota/Lexus
One-Time-Use Parts And Fasteners: Volkswagen

Images

Featured image credit: nrqemi/iStock

More information

Toyota: One-time use parts now thoroughly identified in estimating systems