Today I decided that I wanted to switch to switch off my winter tires/rims with my regular all-season ones. So i took off and switched the left side and moved on to the right side. I was doing the third tire and then snap! the teeth on the wheel lock key broke off. I was really ticked off and I called a friend of mine who told me that my mechanic must have overtightened the wheel lock which is what caused the teeth on the key to break off. How much do you think Lexus will charge to remove the wheel locks (without the key) and replace the wheel locks? Also, how long should it take?

 

shouldnt cost too much. If the dealer charges too much try hitting up a tire shop they should be able to remove it.

 

Ouch, that's a shame. Did your wheel locks come with a registration? Mine are from McGard in NY state. I sent in the postcard that had all the data on my key and locks so if I ever need replacement keys or locks I can call them and have them sent out (Key is $15.00 and locks are $10.50). If you don't have that feature you'll have to call your Lexus dealer and see what they can do. Not sure what the normal procedure is when people lose or break the keys.

 

Well I spoke to my friend who works at a very highly respected tire/rim shop and she said I should take it to the dealer because if they have to remove it, it will get "messy". Whatever happens, it has to be done ASAP because the left side of my car has 17" dunlops with lexus rims and the right side has 16" pirelli winters with steelies and hub caps.

 

i broke the wheel lock key like u did a few years back on my G35. i just went to my friendly rim & tire shop and they just hammer a stake thru the locks (without hitting the wheel stud) to get a grip on it. the stake had a 14mm nut at the end which was used to turn the stake (nut). the locks came out cleanly w/o damage to the wheele studs. i just bought a new set of wheel locks. nothing "messy" about it. the shop's owner was cool about it and didn't charge me anything. he did mention that other shops would normally charge $50-60. hope that helps.

 

The wheel lock key on my last car broke too. While I was rotating my tire. Somehow I was on the last one. Took me a few hours and praying to finally get enough grip to get the lock out. Quickly went to Kragen and got a new
set. The old set is still in the garage as a reminder of the evils of wheel locks.

Incidently, had to change the tires off my IS a few days ago because of a flat...Was really careful using the wheel locks

 

Bring it to Lexus, they have the universal keys and have them remove it, I was in the same boat so I bought after-market McGards from the Group Buy section and had the dealer replace it with the new ones. Free of charge for me.

Hope this helps.
-Mike

 

if all else fails bang a multi point socket over the lock and spin it off with a breaker bar. will sacrifice 4 sockets and the set of locks but at least you'll get them off.

 

I would highly suggest you put back on the 16"s back on the left side and not drive with the two different rims and tires on. Then change them all together after you get the lock resolved. Big safety issue.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have to say that prior to this incident, i was not happy with Lexus' service at all, but I am now a changed man. I called roadside assitance the night of the incident and they suggested that I call the dealer in the morning because they may be able to send someone out to fix it. I call the dealer, they ask me to have it towed there. I called roadside assitance at around 8AM, and a flatbed tow truck was outside of my house at about 8:15AM.

From there, it went to the dealer and they told me a few hours later that the key didn't break inside the lock, so they used their universal key to remove the locks and gave me a new key. I also asked them to take off the wheel locks completely because A) it is a pain always remembering where the wheel lock key is, and B) from my research, a monkey with a socket and a hammer can steal my rims in about 5 minutes if they really wanted them. In the end, they switched the locks for regular nuts, gave them back to me with a new key, towed my car to their dealership, and had it ready for me the same day all for free. I couldn't be happier.

 

Lexus has universal keys...so they can take it off...assuming the lock isn't damanged..

Key point to remember on wheel locks..Always the first lugnut to loosen and the last to tighten...makes it easier the next time

 

Man u must be very muscular?? How you break that?? It shouldn't be that expensive..Any auto shop can do that for you..

 

Haha, I don't know how I did it. All I know is that I have never pulled that hard in my life and I am not that big (around 180 lbs). All is well now and I couldn't be happier! Apparently, it can end up being a very expensive problem because my service advisor at Lexus told me that if i was pulling hard enough to snap the key, I was also pulling hard enough and applying enough torque to break one of the studs. When I picked up the car, there were 2 mechanics, one service desk girl, and my advisor looking at me and talking while trying to figure out how the heck i was ever able to break the metal right off the key.

 

when mines broke.. i had to get a chizzle..and hammer that **** till it broke... takes only 8 mins

 

go to a rim shop and they should have wheel lock remover. a lot of times that customers doesn't know what is wheel lock or where is the wheel lock and i had to use it and hammer it on. once you hammer it on and just gunner it out. after that you just buy a new set of wheel lock and put them on.