Locking wheel nuts do exactly what they say on the tin, locking your wheel in place so it doesn’t fly off halfway down the M8!
Like any lock, you need a key to loosen your wheel or lug nuts when the time comes to change the tyre or replace your alloy wheels.
If you have lost your locking wheel nut, you have a big of a problem. How to remove the wheel when you haven’t got time to order a new key?
Wheel bolts can be difficult to remove at the best of times, never mind without the right tools, but with our easy to follow guide you will have your locking lug nuts removed and replaced in no time at all.
Where is my locking wheel nut key?
Many people never use their locking wheel nut key before disaster strikes, and don’t even know where to find it when they need it!
Before going any further, check the following places for our locking nut key:
- Glove Compartment
- Boot of your vehicle
- Under your spare wheel
- Under your seat
No luck? Don’t worry, that’s why we wrote this article. Follow our advice or call in our mobile tyre fitting team and you will still be able to get your wheel nut off even without a key.
Our guide on how to remove locking wheel nut without key
Find someone with the same car
A bit of a long shot, but if you know someone with the exact same model of car as you, their locking nut tool may well fit the socket on your vehicle.
To increase your chances, visit a local car dealer or garage who will have a wider selection of nut and bolt removal options. Whilst the type of locking wheel nut will likely be the same for most cars produced by a manufacturer, the exact design varies often between models and versions, so you will be lucky to find an exact match.
Welding the socket to the locking wheel nut
Pretty extreme when you consider you could just call in the local tyre fitters, but also pretty effective as a last resort.
Sure you will ruin a perfectly good socket, and risk damaging your alloys if your hand is not perfectly steady, but welding a socket to the rotating collar of your wheel nuts may allow you to gain better purchase and shift the stubborn bolt.
Buy a locking wheel nut removal
Buying a locking wheel nut removal tool online or from your local garage is another way to remove a wheel stud if you don’t have the original.
Although you won’t need to find the exact key that came with your car, you will need to know what type of wheel nut on your vehicle when buying a locking wheel nut remover.
Spinning wheel nuts and “standard” wheel nuts are very different and each require a slightly different tool.
Order a Replacement Key from the Manufacturer
If you can’t find a key for love nor money, ordering a new locking wheel nut removal tool from the manufacturers is your best option.
All you will need is the locking key code that can normally be found in the manufacturers handbook. If you cannot find the key code in the handbook, a quick Google of your car model will give you the information that you need.
If your new car came without one in the first place, you might well get one for free, but the hassle it will save you in the future makes this a pretty solid investment either way.
Call in the Wheel Lock Pros
The easiest way to remove a locking wheel nut without the key is to call in the professionals at Mobile Tyres.
Our professional team of tyre fitters have the tools and experience to remove any type of locking wheel nut, and can remove a wheel lock without the manufacturers key in almost every case in no time at all.
Our locking wheel nut removal services are incredibly popular, so don’t feel bad if you lose the key to your wheel nuts. There’s a good chance you were never given one in the first place!
