While finishing my rear brake pad replacement yesterday, the inside of my last locking lug nut broke to pieces and the outside of the lug nut cracked in two spots. I've never had to deal with this before, so I drove to a local indy shop and learned how to use a 19mm or 3/4" 12-pt socket and hammer to get the lug nut off (drive socket hard onto lug and use cheater bar to loosen & remove). Now I know that I could have done that at the house! The guy only took 5 minutes and wouldn't charge me anything, so he will probably see me again for future alignment and/or tire events.

I decided to not mess with this potential issue any further, so I bought a set of 4 standard replacement lug nuts at AutoZOO and the world is back to normal again for me.

Who else has had trouble with broken locking lugs? Like I said, I've never had this issue on any vehicle either my wife and I or our children have owned.

 

Invest in a Torque wrench. I live by them.

You can get a digital in-between or standalone torque wrench. Stand alone may require 3 [low, med and high]. The low is good for lb-in range and the big one higher that 100ft-lb .. I think 120 is the max I used. Like any instrument-tool, they are calibrated for mid range of the spec for being accurate to a tighter tolerance while at the extreme ends they are +/-10 % [consumer grade].

Also I would suggest get the lug nuts from Lexus/Toyo or even salvage yards. Why: There is an electrochemical reaction between metals. Staying with OEM you are assured that if binding happens, it is within a reasonable value.

Since I am overly obsessed with specs, I do follow a pattern.
For the wheels, I snug all lug nuts, and make sure the wheel in riding on the center hub. [The weight transfer happens at the hub to wheel. The lug nuts simply hold the wheel next to the hub].
Then I lower the vehicle to ground and toque the lug nuts in a criss-cross fashion and torque to spec the keyed (security) the last.
During uninstall with the vehicle on ground, I always undo the keyed one first by a 3/4 turn and then loosed the rest (3/4 turn) and then jack up the vehicle.


Salim

 

Did you use a torque wrench to tighten down the locking lug nut or did you just applied a lot torque to it without measuring how much?

The Lexus RX350 lug nuts are only rated to be set at 76ft-lb I believe; so if you applied more torque than that then the thinner metal inside the lock nut could break.

A similar thing could happen with your "standard" lug nuts as that you could break a wheel stud instead if you keep over-tightening the lug nuts. Therefore, use an torque wrench and not more than 80 ft/lbs to tighten down your RX350 lug nuts.

 

I just stumbled across a video on how to remove a locking lug nut when the key is missing.
They overtightened the lug nuts on either side of the locking one to relieve pressure on it. Then they used the hammered on socket method you described.
The surrounding over tightened nuts made it easier to unscrew the locked nut. Afterward retorque everything to the proper level.

 

Haven't used or needed wheel locks for several years but don't think 15 year oem 3RX wheels have much resale value just looking at second hand prices.

 

But there was a time it rolled off the Lexus lot with less than 10milles on the odometer with this dealer [destination] installed option.

Salim

 

My wife's 2015 RX350 had a seized locking lug nut several years ago. I removed the other three locking lug nuts first, then hammered the McGard lug nut key into the seized one, removed it, and threw the entire McGard kit away. Purchased four proper regular new lug nuts and all has been well ever since.

 

Well, first of all, I wasn't really asking about either torque specifications or whether using a torque wrench was a good idea or not. I own both high and low range wrenches and have used them for years. Having left out that context, I can understand the temptation to target that auxiliary detail, and though I do appreciate the thought and intent behind offering suggestions along those lines, it really does not address my inquiry at all. 'Nuff said on that issue.

These lug nuts were put on by someone else who apparently overtightened them by a substantial degree. At every shop where R&R-ing a wheel is necessary, I always give instructions to "never use an impact wrench to reinstall the wheels, and ONLY use a hand-tightened technique with proper torque settings". Whenever possible, I also position myself to be able to watch them perform the installation, but this is not always a practical reality. Regardless, human nature being what it is (prevalent everywhere and prone to make the least effort in the shortest time for their own benefit), not everyone follows instructions. Hence, the problem I ran into this past weekend.

Having blathered about with the above, I appreciate the responses of similar experiences which provide additional context for my learning brain.

 

You initial post stated that you(or someone else) was putting the rear wheel back on then the locking lug nut broke in the process of tightening it in which you took your RX to a repair shop to get the wheel off. Therefore, you got the reason why it may have occurred which is over tightening.

The "extra " information about using an torque wrench with the proper torque amount is to help you from having that same issue occur again with your locking lug nuts or your wheel studs.

Based on your posted question and surprise that the issue occurred it seem like you did not know the information that was given to you.

 

I will readily and easily own up to my share in miscommunication because it's something I have managed to gain a lot of experience with. However, I can't take credit for someone else's misinterpretation by errantly extrapolating beyond what was stated, especially without asking for clarification and proceeding on assumption alone.

So, now it's your turn, carguy75... Read the initial post again... nothing there says anything about "putting the rear wheel back on" as you've claimed... those are your words, and never were mine. What you've apparently done is misinterpret my use of "finishing up" as indicating or suggesting that I was reinstalling the wheel, which was neither the case nor described by me to be the case.

What I said in the original post was that I was "finishing my rear brake pad replacement"... nowhere in that post did I ever say anything about me being in the process of reinstalling a wheel. Okay, as I said above, I can see how what I shared might have been read the way you did (and perhaps others). I'll explain further. At the time of the broken lug nut event, I had completed one side of the rear (remove wheel, replace pads, reinstall wheel) and was "finishing up" by getting started on the other side... removing lug nuts in order to remove the wheel and replace the pads... and I was breaking loose the last lug nut (the locking one) when it broke apart on me. The breakage occurred while I was trying to break it free for removal... not reinstallation.

Hind sight now makes it clear that it would have been better to not use the phrase "finishing up" at all. However... it is exactly as I've already stated.

 

Just let it slide guys.

Salim

 

I'm glad to let it go at this point.

 

I am cool.

Never even got bothered by this thread or the posted replies.

However, this is a forum so we only have the information provided in a post to go by; so "detailed" information is very important to avoid "misinterpretations".

And yes to me "finishing" an brake service means putting the wheels back on especially when lug nuts are referenced as the main subject or complaint.

Subject now dropped.

 

Agreed, and it is equally important to remember that "asking clarifying questions" is a key factor whenever there are not enough details provided by the OP. We all know about how assumptions can so often bite our backsides.

Dropped.

 

I got a flat in -30°C weather and didn't have the weird key (on a different vehicle). I needed someone to help hammer on a smaller socket and the tow truck (roadside assistance) guy just walked away and abandoned me there. I dealt with it myself after a trip to the store and a lot of help from my friend, but it sure sucked. Zero-Star review for the tow truck.

It turned out the tire was about 10psi low during the trip and then once it sat in the brutal cold for an hour, it lost another ~8psi which let its bead relieve air down to zero within a block when I started driving it. There was no puncture. I never heard of such a thing. All it needed was some reliable air which that useless tow truck driver could've at least tried instead of abandoning me.