Wheel lock lost 2007 Honda Element SC

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I took my car to have tires rotated and the wheel lock key was nowhere to be found.
They took off the lugs the lock was used for and replaced them with regular non-locking lugs.
They told me at the shop the Honda wheels don’t get stolen and not to bother with replacing the locking lugs with a new set.

My question- do these manufacturer Honda alloy wheels get stolen?

Just want to be sure it is a small if any chance because I did have my car stolen once for the wheels.
They were custom wheels though that I put on to replace bent ugly hub caps.
The wheels were spotted 24 hours after they were on, car stolen and wheels taken…

2

Yes, a friend had the wheels stolen off his Honda Accord right in his carport while he was out of town.

3

It all depends on your neighborhood I suppose…

4

If your vehicle sets outside and you will not sleep well put the locks on.

5

@Caddyman. This was a decent residential neighborhood and across from a K-Mart shopping mall.

6

I think new locks and key can be purchased from dealer or aftermarket. When I had locks I kept my key on the key ring.

7

You can buy a set of locking lug nuts for $20. Cheap insurance if you have any doubts about the safety of your neighborhood.

8

Do you still have the locking nut in question? Go into the Honda dealership and ask them to figure out which key you need. There are 5 or 6 different ones. They have all of them in the service department so they don’t have to go hunting for customer’s lug keys. They’ll try all of them until one works, and then tell you the code to tell the parts guy to buy yourself a new key.

9

I have never used the locking lug nuts myself . . .

But it has been my experience that half the time that somebody really needs the removal tool, they can’t find it

And of course, if the car goes to the shop for routine service, the tool is usually nowhere to be found. Even after consulting with the owner, and looking everywhere. One time I found the tool in the first aid kit. By the time I found it, a lot of time had passed, and my gravy job had turned to s . . . t

Another time, the parts manager got a flat in a really bad neighborhood. He could not avoid driving there, apparently. Anyways, he found the removal tool, but the locking lug got rounded internally. Since the neighborhood was really dangerous, he decided to not tempt fate and wait for help and/or ask for help

He drove off on the flat, thereby damaging his rim, and any chance of repairing the tire. When he was in a better area, he called the auto club for help. They used some special tool to remove damaged locking lugs. Then they put on his spare. He told me he figured his life was more valuable than a rim and tire.

10

I took the locking lug nuts off my old CRV for convenience, but I did leave one locking nut on the tailgate spare. I leave the key in the glove box where it’s easily found.

11

Just curious how the shop got the anti-theft lugs off if they didn’t have a key. Or do they have a key for their shop use, but you – the car owner – don’t have a key? Since there only a few keys, how effective are these against wheel theft anyway? It seems like if somebody was in the business of stealing wheels, they’d have all the keys anyway.

12

George

I’ve even seen skillful guys use an air hammer with a tapered bit to loosen those McGard lugs. Once they’re loose, you can remove them by hand

If you’re really careful, you can avoid even contacting the rim

13

I’ve used these when the key couldn’t be found.

I had a friend come and borrow mine yesterday for two head bolts that were rounded off.
I was surprised when he returned and said that they worked. I thought a high torqued bolt would be too much. I was wrong.

I also have seen the same design, but in a deeper style and they fit a 1/2 inch air wrench.

Yosemite

14

@Yosemite‌

I’ve also used those to remove regular rounded lugs

But . . . for me, anyways . . . they’ve never worked to remove locking lugs

I’m not sure if that’s even what you meant

15

I’ve used the ones that I had the link for, but only for the steel wheels where the lug is not recessed.

They also have these which might fit into the recessed ones.http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-10-pc-impact-grade-bolt-out-trade-damaged/p-00952165000P?prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4

The guy who I used to work with had something similar, but were offered in a larger size. They were probably Snap- On.
I saw him use them a few times when the people didn’t know where the key was.

Yosemite

16

Shops have these special sockets for removing rounded off/anti-theft lug nuts.

http://www.sears.com/access-tool-aeteo-easy-off-locking-lug-nut/p-SPM11205246619?prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7

Tester