[spielnicht]

FML. Took my car yesterday to have wheels swapped and the shop couldn't get one of the wheel locks off. It was so tight so it eventually stripped the key. I was watching them the entire time and they did everything right, yet the bolt would not budge. I can't remember who last worked on the car and could have done this by probably over torquing it with an impact gun

Luckily (if there is any in this instant) the McGard lock on the car isn't the one with the rotating ring, so I have at least that to work with. Tried the 19mm 12-pt socket trick and nothing. I ordered a bolt extraction socket from Amazon and just waiting for it to arrive this evening. Not sure how much luck considering I'm dealing with a perfectly round bolt...not one that just has its sides stripped.

I called McGard and they're overnighting a new key. If the extraction socket method and/or new key fail, I'm stuck with drilling it out I guess, which I hear is a very tedious task.

Anyone else run into this and can offer some tips?

Wish I had gone with RAD in the first place.

[top ramen]

I know how you feel. This last summer when I went to a shop to replace my wife TPMS sensor on her Lexus and the stupid mechanic over tighten the lug nuts and stripped the lug key and the wheel lock. The F'd up part was that I didn't know they did this until I changed her summer set of tires over to winter tires and saw the stripped lug key when it wouldn't fit the other wheel locks. All of the 5 lug nuts on that wheel was so over tighten that my 450ft/lbs impact gun couldn't break them loose. I went back to the shop where they did the work and they said if I would've came back that week when they replaced the TPMS sensor that they would replace and bought me a new wheel lock and key set but now that it's been a few month they wouldn't know if it was me that did it.

Anyway, to get the wheel lock off I had to sacrifice a 1/2in drive 12 point socket about the size of the circumference of the wheel lock or just a tad smaller and hammered it in with a 5lbs hammer until it was fully seated. Detached my 5 foot floor jack handle and attached to the end my ratchet for extra leverage for more torque. Slowly went at it until it broke loose.

[n3985]

Originally Posted by spielnicht

FML. Took my car yesterday to have wheels swapped and the shop couldn't get one of the wheel locks off. It was so tight so it eventually stripped the key. I was watching them the entire time and they did everything right, yet the bolt would not budge. I can't remember who last worked on the car and could have done this by probably over torquing it with an impact gun

You took your car to a professional shop to swap wheels, they unintentionally strip the wheel lock key, let you leave, and have you dealing with how to remove the wheel?

Do you have a breaker bar and maybe a 3 ft metal tube to create more leverage once you get the replacement key? If not, you should go try another wheel and tire place that usually stock an assortment of keys of all brands. They have the experience and tools to deal with situations like this.

[spielnicht]

Well, it's off but unfortunately came at the cost of discoloring the wheel because they had to use a torch. I got the new McGard key this AM and we followed the advice McGard provided, tips I found on Youtube of other with similar experience, and the bolt just ended up destroying the new key. I called the dealer, called a couple of "wheel" shops around, and no one had a really good answer. Long story short, took it back to the place I was at yesterday because I trust their work and gave them the green light to go nitro on the wheel but don't damage the hub.

Like I said above, wheel is slightly discolored now (needs to be painted) but I was planning on putting the set up for sale anyway, so whatever. It sucks.

Lesson learned, never use a wheel lock made in the USA. The number of horrid McGard experiences I read online over the past 24 hours is shocking. I had always used RAD (German made of course) and never had a single issue. The only reason I didn't go with them this time around was because they didn't have black locking bolts to match the rest of my bolts.

[TZ]

Originally Posted by top ramen

I know how you feel. This last summer when I went to a shop to replace my wife TPMS sensor on her Lexus and the stupid mechanic over tighten the lug nuts and stripped the lug key and the wheel lock. The F'd up part was that I didn't know they did this until I changed her summer set of tires over to winter tires and saw the stripped lug key when it wouldn't fit the other wheel locks. All of the 5 lug nuts on that wheel was so over tighten that my 450ft/lbs impact gun couldn't break them loose. I went back to the shop where they did the work and they said if I would've came back that week when they replaced the TPMS sensor that they would replace and bought me a new wheel lock and key set but now that it's been a few month they wouldn't know if it was me that did it.

Anyway, to get the wheel lock off I had to sacrifice a 1/2in drive 12 point socket about the size of the circumference of the wheel lock or just a tad smaller and hammered it in with a 5lbs hammer until it was fully seated. Detached my 5 foot floor jack handle and attached to the end my ratchet for extra leverage for more torque. Slowly went at it until it broke loose.

I had the similar situation of my Lexus too and I did the exact some as you did.

[TEF]

Found a packaged set of McGard wheel locks in the trunk of my 535d when I took delivery of car at the dealer. They went straight into my drawer of other unused auto parts. Given your experience, I suspect they'll remain there until I trade the car. Assuming one has decent insurance, it seems to be less expensive if the wheels are stolen.