@irlandes, at least you have the sense to keep them in the car and know where they are. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a car in for service and been told “Oh, I don’t know anything about lug nuts.” Once, on a car with expensive aftermarket wheels, I was told by the driver “Oh I keep that key in a safe place at home where no one can get to it.” The sheer stupidity…
And I don’t think anyone addressed the real explanation for why it is OK to remove a single lug nut without lifting the vehicle.
What holds the vehicle up is the friction between the wheel and the hub - and torquing the lug nuts insures there is enough friction. (No, it isn’t the lip at the center hole. That’s for centering the wheel on the hub for a smooth ride.)
So not only can you change a single lug nut, but you can drive without one as well (so long as you don’t hit a lot of bumps.)
Related story; for years I’ve helped a very close ladyfriend buy, maintain, and occasionally fix her cars. Some years back she bought a really perfect Corolla. I put her plates on for her, along with a chrome license plate frame that came with theft-resistant stainless steel license plate screws that use one of those special torx wrenches with the hole in the center. You know the ones. This past weekend, she showed me that the frame had been broken by pulling into a snowbank, and it was flopping free. Wouldn’t you know, I had the fancy torx wrench home in my tool chest!
@asemaster
When I was at the dealership, a guy brought his vehicle in for a major service, and it had the locking lugs, but he wouldn’t tell us where the tool was
After almost tearing the car apart, I finally found it . . . in the first aid kit
@db4690, You mean wouldn’t or couldn’t? If he wouldn’t (or maybe if he couldn’t) any sane person would say “Well then I can’t work on your car.” But when you’re working flat rate…
If I could have back all the time I’ve spent looking for wheel locks…
@asemaster
He wouldn’t tell us where the tool was located
I told the service manager I couldn’t remove the tires to properly inspect the brakes, let alone rotate the tires, which he was due for by mileage
I was told to rifle through the car, until I found the tool, which I finally did . . .
Needless to say, when I was done with the tool, I put it in a far more logical location . . . the glove box. I informed the customer of my decision, and he didn’t seem to have a problem with it
I don’t know anything about lug nuts, and what the effect would be if a nut was removed from a wheel, but if you could eliminate one nut, specifically Triedaq, from posting on this board, it would most definitely improve.
Mrs. Triedaq
@MrsTriedaq
Does that mean you want more time to spend with your dear husband ?
@dagosa–I am going to have to learn to log off my laptop when I am not using it. I have the laptop downstairs and a desktop upstairs. I have been working on a grant for a musical organization on the desktop where I have the files stored that I need. When I take a break, I come downstairs and relax with this and other boards before hitting the grant again. If I don’t log off this board, Mrs. Triedaq sometimes adds her two cents worth.