Its $3 for a wheel stud I put one on last weekend we had to take the whole spindle out of my car press the hub out remove the stud and press it all back together and reattach everything ur paying their labor fees so I would call around is about a half hour job or so not long really at most a hour and for driving with 3 lugs not all that safe I did the same thing u did but for 2 days be very carfworking on cul and make sure they are all tight before u drive anywhere. Good luck to you fixing your problem at a cheap cost sir

1. No, its not safe to be driving around with only 3 lug nuts holding your tire in place. The car was designed for 4. The tire might not fall off in normal conditions but if you have to swerve or something you'll be adding more stress to the other 3 which could break or bend them.

2. I have no idea if $250 is reasonable. Try calling 2 or 3 independent repair shops and ask for an estimate.

If the stud is broken it may mean removing the hub to get it out which may justify the price. However, if they put the tyres on and repaired the flat then i can only assume they over tightened the studs or were not careful removing them. Either way they should be repairing this free of charge.

It's a 30 minute job to press the old broken stud out and pull a new stud in.

I recently had all 20 of them changed on a Dodge stealth and they charged me $230.00, I would call around if I were you.

I had a flat tire, so I brought it back to the shop where I got the tires (warranty).

They fixed the tire for free, but they said they need to replace a wheel stud (front tire) and it involes some sort of pressing. That apparently justifies taking $250 for the job. Right now I am driving with just 3 nuts in place.

Is it safe to drive with 3 nuts?

Is the quote justified?

Car is 2004 Hyundai Sonata. Thx