Stripped out lug nut key

DiggerDerrik · Sat Sep 30, 2017 5:53 pm

So the fine "mechanics" at my local Firestone Auto were kind enough to torque my lugnuts on to about 1000ft. lbs. as well as stripping out the lugnut key when I had them mount my tires last spring. I went to take my passenger side front tire off today to change serpentine belt and check the brakes (still both original at 121K miles). All the lugnut key would do is spin. So I called and searched around for a replacement key. No one had one. The McGard website requires registration to get a replacement. After watching a YouTube video I found that driving a 3/4, 12 point socket onto the lugnut will grip enough to remove them. It sucked cause I only had 1 of those sockets and it only removed 3 of them before I had stretched it too much. Went and got a new socket and replacement lugnuts. If anyone else has this same issue it worked well for me. I'm sure the neighbors were thoroughly impressed with all the hammering at 8:30am. Hopefully this can help someone who either is in the same boat or just loses their key.

Sat Sep 30, 2017 8:06 pm

I had a similar issue with the girlfriend's Mazda3. We bought cheap wheel locks for the cross country trip which stripped the soft metal upon manually torquing them to specs. They were that bad. They also would not come off and we were running out of time as our departure date was the next day. I took them to a local mechanic at a gas station who took them all off for $20. Apparently, it's something mechanics occasionally encounter and with the use of a socket of the appropriate size, the wheel lock can come off. I then told my girlfriend to pay more this time for the McGards instead of a cheapo brand. They are so much better.

As for the damaged key for the McGard's, I have some cracking in my key too for the Kizashi. It pisses me the &^%$ off. It happens when lazy mechanics use an impact wrench to remove or tighten the wheel locks. This process damages the key's pattern and McGard even specifically warns against the use of impact wrenches on their keys and locks. Given I don't take my car into pros very often, I'm very careful with my wheel locks and keys given it's already compromised. I'll probably have to replace them in the future but I only use manual hand tools to remove and tighten the wheel locks. The other lug nuts get the impact wrench treatment for removal.

DiggerDerrik · Sat Sep 30, 2017 8:19 pm

KuroNekko wrote:It happens when lazy mechanics use an impact wrench to remove or tighten the wheel locks. This process damages the key's pattern and McGard even specifically warns against the use of impact wrenches on their keys and locks.

Absolutely this was because they used an impact on the key. I'd say it's the last time I'll go there but every shop probably does it. I got rid of all 4 special lugnuts. I knew if I left one on while having a broken key that guaranteed that I'd get a flat on I-5 at 8:00pm on some random Tuesday night while raining.

Sat Sep 30, 2017 8:36 pm

DiggerDerrik wrote:
KuroNekko wrote:It happens when lazy mechanics use an impact wrench to remove or tighten the wheel locks. This process damages the key's pattern and McGard even specifically warns against the use of impact wrenches on their keys and locks.
Absolutely this was because they used an impact on the key. I'd say it's the last time I'll go there but every shop probably does it. I got rid of all 4 special lugnuts. I knew if I left one on while having a broken key that guaranteed that I'd get a flat on I-5 at 8:00pm on some random Tuesday night while raining.

My plan is to keep using wheel locks but try to be the only person to touch them. If my car needs service, I'll take them off myself and replace them with standard lug nuts or at least loosen them myself.
I do tire rotations myself at every oil change which is a pain in the ass, but it does help keep the car from getting ruined at service. Also gives me a chance to inspect the tires, brakes, steering, and suspension components more carefully.