Wheel Lock Broken while on car
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Wheel Lock Broken while on car
Today i needed to rotate my tires. I tired to remove the lug with the wheel lock using the key that came with my car and it wouldn't budge. I used a longer bar to give me some leverage on the lug wrench and all of the suddden... i hear a crack. I took the lug wrench/key off of wheel and notice that the special lug is broke and the lug key is also damaged. Now, i cannot remove the wheel and have no idea what i'm going do... would a tire and wheel shop have a special tool to remove? Would they be able to sell me a key for the other wheels and also sell me a new lug that matches the other wheels?
This is a heartbreaking day for me!
This is a heartbreaking day for me!
#2
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (2)
If you want to do it yourself, you could buy a lug nut extracting kit sold by Snap-On, Craftsman should have their own kit as well.
Secondly, you could sacrifice a 12 point socket to achieve the same effect. Find a socket barely larger than the diameter of the socket. Once you do, us a hammer the socket on to the lock, about 1/4 - 1/2 inch should do. Put an impact on it and it should do the trick, we used this method when customers lose their keys, we run into it all the time. Be careful not to slip and hit the wheel with the hammer.
Good Luck!
Secondly, you could sacrifice a 12 point socket to achieve the same effect. Find a socket barely larger than the diameter of the socket. Once you do, us a hammer the socket on to the lock, about 1/4 - 1/2 inch should do. Put an impact on it and it should do the trick, we used this method when customers lose their keys, we run into it all the time. Be careful not to slip and hit the wheel with the hammer.
Good Luck!
#3
Pole Position
Not sure if you ever got your wheels off, I just popped in here for a second. But if not, you can bring the car to the dealer. They do have a special tool to get the broken lug nut off and they can order you another key but it's expensive and you can't get just one lug nut, you would have to get the whole set.
#4
Maintenance Moderator
iTrader: (2)
Not sure if you ever got your wheels off, I just popped in here for a second. But if not, you can bring the car to the dealer. They do have a special tool to get the broken lug nut off and they can order you another key but it's expensive and you can't get just one lug nut, you would have to get the whole set.
#5
Pole Position
Correct but he had one locking nut that was broke and ya can't order just 1 of those. And the key also broke. So, no matter what, you would need to bring it to the dealer to get the other 3 locks off and then buy a whole new set of locking nuts with key.
#7
Racer
Thread Starter
Update: I went to the tire shop (NTB). They were the last people to touch my tires when i had them installed 5000 miles ago. They were more than willing to remove all the lug nuts and perform the rotation for me (for free). They also told me that they would be willing to either replace the lock/lugs for free or replace with standard lugs. After researching how to remove broken key-lugs, i decided it was not worth the headache if another one breaks. If someone wants to steal your wheels, a simple key-lug is not going to stop them.
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#8
Maintenance Moderator
iTrader: (2)
Update: I went to the tire shop (NTB). They were the last people to touch my tires when i had them installed 5000 miles ago. They were more than willing to remove all the lug nuts and perform the rotation for me (for free). They also told me that they would be willing to either replace the lock/lugs for free or replace with standard lugs. After researching how to remove broken key-lugs, i decided it was not worth the headache if another one breaks. If someone wants to steal your wheels, a simple key-lug is not going to stop them.
There are ways to severely slow down a thief from stealing your wheels, and wheel locks are one way to do that, for sure, but, OEM Lexus wheels aren't exactly a high theft thing, especially after they are a couple years old...
Wheel locks are almost always more of a pain than they are worth...
#9
Pole Position
Exactly!!! And you're right, it's just another headache when another one breaks. When one of mine snapped and I snapped the key, I just put regular lug nuts on the rest. Stock wheels ain't worth the trouble. Glad to hear ya got everything done, and for free is even better.
#10
Racer
Thread Starter
Thanks for the advice and feedback guys. Helped me make a decision on how to proceed. BTW, the local Lexus dealer was going to charge me $110 for the removal and another $100 for replacement wheel locks. Thieves!
#11
Pole Position
Daammn, they're worse then thieves. They took off 3 of mine for free. I guess it's just where ya go. Although, I did tell the guy "I'll be back next week to get a new set of locking lugs" while thinking in the back of my head, "Yeah, OK, right"
#12
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: TX
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Man that is outrageous that they'd charge $100 for replacements! The same thing happened to me and I found that you can buy a new set of wheel locks off of the Sewell website for $32.94 (with ClubLexus discount) + shipping... and then I'd just take the locks off myself maybe with the 12 pt socket method... but I think I just decided to go ahead and just replace with regular lug nuts since I'd probably end up breaking the wheel locks again anyway..
#13
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: ca
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Hmmm, pretty careful not to use impact guns/ overtorque mine and one chipped into little pieces worse than pic at top... Took to local tire dude who removed with air chisel in like 10 seconds for 5 bucks!
Called Lexus NA, they said take pieces to dealer for replacement even out out of warranty.
Hope this helps!
Called Lexus NA, they said take pieces to dealer for replacement even out out of warranty.
Hope this helps!
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