Wheel lock removal without the key

Alright folks,

 

I stepped my douche-baggery up a notch by potentially losing my Subaru OEM (McGard) wheel lock key. It's either in my garage (still looking) or somewhere in my neighborhood, as it could've been ejected IF I had left the key on the lock as I drove off.

 

McGard does replacements, which is great but my wife and I are needing the vehicle for the weekend. Unfortunately, McGard's website claims that orders will be shipped within 7-10 days. I haven't called them yet, but the site also says that they can expedite orders.

 

My question is, will most wheel/tire shops have a SAFE way of removing wheel locks without the key? If so, do their methods harm the wheel or stud? I'll ASSume that they'll end up destroying the keys.

 

Thanks in advance,

-Jim

no they wont hurt the wheel or lugs, but try a dealership, or a auto parts store, sometimes they'll have extras or one that will fit the lug

Go to the dealer they should have a master set, for when people come in for service and dont have their wheel lock key.

If you aren't concerned about saving the lug lock...

 

You could take a socket made for an impact wrench. Use a socket just large enough so that it could fit around the lug if you forced the socket onto it. Then you hammer the socket onto the lug and then spin it off :-). You generally do want to use a socket designed for an impact wrench, because a regular socket could crack while hammering it onto the lug.

 

I've had to do many emergency lug lock removals, this has always worked well for me. :-)

I would go to the dealer, but the nearest Subaru dealer is 90 miles away. Under normal circumstances, I'd jump in the car and take it there. However, since it'd be fairly difficult to change a flat tire it is no longer an option.

 

I did call McGard and the customer service representative did assure me that they would send it out next-day. Hope it'll work out since I need it before friday.

 

If push comes to shove, I'll use peterjmc's method or take it to a tire/wheel shop. I'm sure most shops have experience with this sort of situation.

 

Thank you fellow members!!!

 

Also, keep them coming just in case.

only way too remove without the key is to break them....

If you aren't concerned about saving the lug lock...

 

You could take a socket made for an impact wrench. Use a socket just large enough so that it could fit around the lug if you forced the socket onto it. Then you hammer the socket onto the lug and then spin it off :-). You generally do want to use a socket designed for an impact wrench, because a regular socket could crack while hammering it onto the lug.

 

I've had to do many emergency lug lock removals, this has always worked well for me. :-)

 

+1. I've only done that once but it worked well. I don't use lug locks anymore.

Use a stud remover, it'll come off very easily.

Sounds like wheel locks aren't all that secure

 

The pattern key on the lug face type are not very secure. I use the same method to remove my wheel locks on another car. I think the splin with key grooves are little better but not much.

Having Managed A Tire Shop, I Can Tell You From Experience, That The Losing Of The Wheel Lock Key Was A Weekly Occurence......if You Have Time, Mccgard Can Send You A Replacement Key If You Have To Orig Code From When You Bought Em....the Code That Nobody Keeps.....but If Not, As Explained Above, Get A B.f.h.ammer And Impact Socket Just A Little Bigger And Whack Away..............

Now I know how to steal wheels.

I had broken my key onces by givng it too much man power with the lug tool one day. SoI was getting worried as heck untill I calmed myself down and think. I grabed a 14'' (i dont remember the size exactly) socket wrench and hammered it in untill I got enough grip to take it off. after that, I went to the dealer and they gave me a set of free wheel locks and lugs. Now I got tunner wheel locks on my aftermaket rims, god knows where I threw the stock ones now. going to start looking, might need them one day.

I used a 19mm socket, regular, not impact (it didn't break). Part of the trick is to use a 12 point socket. The dealer had a master set, but they have thicker walls that wouldn't fit into the recesses in my Rota's.

 

I don't use wheel locks anymore either...

 

Andy

I am going to get my tires rotated and balanced soon at a nearby service area (not subaru) should i give them the wheel lock key?

I am going to get my tires rotated and balanced soon at a nearby service area (not subaru) should i give them the wheel lock key?

 

yes i hate digging through peoples cars looking for the stupid key

heck yeah

Riding in the wife's Honda Pilot (which explains why the key wasn't there) and had a flat on the freeway. As I was standing there, scratching my head as to how I was going to change the tire, a NDOT "Freeway Patrol" van stopped to help. Told him the situation, he said "No Problem", fashioned a protective sleeve out of cardboard and remove the wheel lock with no damage to the lug or wheel. Says he does the same procedure, all day, every day...

 

John

3 methods have worked well for me

 

1) get a piece of inner tubing and slip it between the lug wrench and the lock

2) grind a flat spot on the lock, then wrench away

3) (my favourite ) weld a nut to the lock and wrench away

I'm not sure if I have my key. There is an unopened package of wheel locks in the glove compartment. Will this have a key I can use on the locks that are on the wheels right now?

It should! Usually when you get wheel locks as a new car option they put the nuts replaced along with the key in back in the buble plastic package the locks came in.

Worst case scenario?

 

I lost the wheel lug-key for my '95 Mustang GT. I have original 18' Saleen silver stars on the car. The key was no longer in production, and the whole in the rim was so deep nobody could get a welder in there or a lug to fit around the nut.

 

I had to remove the axle from the rear of the car and grind the back of the lug off the hub. After much destryoing of expensive parts and a new ABS sensor and sprocket, I was able to remove the offending lug nut

 

Good luck

Riding in the wife's Honda Pilot (which explains why the key wasn't there) and had a flat on the freeway. As I was standing there, scratching my head as to how I was going to change the tire, a NDOT "Freeway Patrol" van stopped to help. Told him the situation, he said "No Problem", fashioned a protective sleeve out of cardboard and remove the wheel lock with no damage to the lug or wheel. Says he does the same procedure, all day, every day...

 

John

 

 

So my wheel locks don't really serve a purpose..

+1 to no longer using locking lug nuts. I've never had bad experience as some here have. I just got sick of having 4 different tools. Now I got one socket/lug wrench that fits nicely in my Torque Wrench. My Piaa's came with nice lugs and I didn't want to wreck that look with locks. So what's the outcome of this? Have you got them off?

 

http://putfile.com/tundwgn

 

 

 

AP TDC Pro Tune Stage 2 Map, Crucial Racing Uppipe, Stromung DP, Unorthodox Racing Pulleys, Crucial Racing 160* T-stat, K&N Air Filter, Piaa FR-S Wheels, Nitto Neo-Gens. My list is slowly growing!!

The impact wrench deffinatly works, a gas station by my house did it for me cause a subaru tech forgot to give back my key. I didn't realize it for like a month or so till I got a flat and they had to do it. BTW I got the key back and it was all good. After that I am just gonna run spline drives and keep the key in a spot where I can rember to check it easily.

Not trying to revive an old thread, but I wish I would have found this thread the last time I had my wheel lock key broken. The last one was broken by a dealer and they were glad to order me new locks after they had to destroy the ones on the car.......... and yes I don't go there anymore. I broke this one this time as I was tightening the last one....... It's nice to know I can just order a new key since I still have the number.