Help Needed With Wheel Locks Please

[jmaw]

Hi, Can anybody who is familiar with my type of OEM alloy wheels where the wheel nuts are covered by an alloy plate please advise me if the plate is actually secured in place by the lock nut or can it be levered off to get access to the wheel studs.....vehicle is a 1996 GX 3 door automatic

Regards

Jim Maw

[ianfield]

Have a good look at that plate.. there should be a Philips screw holding it in place..if not - it sounds like a Prise off plate. Stupid idea to cover the wheel bolts.. wtf would happen if you had a blow out on the motorway?? with no flat screwdriver ??

The Spare tyre should give you a few clues..

assuming its the same type of wheel & not one of these stupid 'get me home wheels'

Good luck buddy

[gjnorthall]

I can see the Allen head screw in the 6 o clock position - remove to release the cover

[Big Kev]

Welcome to This forum, Jim.....now you have an answer, can I ask a wee question please......?

Think hard and reply........how noisy are those Pirelli tyres at, say, 65mph.....? I ask for a reason.

[jmaw]

Thanks for your replies guys which I will respond to in order. IanField....no Phillips screw unfortunately and spare wheel gives no useful info either,,,,normal steel wheel and all wheel studs showing... "wtf would happen if you had a blow out on the motorway??" well in normal circumstances you would have the wheel lock nut key in the car that removes the alloy plate so you could get access to wheel studs...my problem is I do not have the key or know the manufacturer to order a replacement key,,,

gjnorthall...the "object" in the six o' clock position is the wheel lock nut to which I do not have the key for to remove

Big Kev ...I am new to this type of vehicle so not really qualified to give an intelligent answer to your question about road noise

because I can only compare the tyre noise to normal tyre's on normal saloon type vehicles but I would have thought the noise was not excessive

Update ...I have just received a reply from an owner of a Rav4 with the same type of wheels from another source who advises me that the plate does not prise off and something like a Torx bit might remove his wheel lock nut whereas mine requires a "female" type of key... manufacturer not known. Previous owner of 4 years standing can not help either... which beggars belief .

[firemac]

Thanks for your replies guys which I will respond to in order. IanField....no Phillips screw unfortunately and spare wheel gives no useful info either,,,,normal steel wheel and all wheel studs showing... "wtf would happen if you had a blow out on the motorway??" well in normal circumstances you would have the wheel lock nut key in the car that removes the alloy plate so you could get access to wheel studs...my problem is I do not have the key or know the manufacturer to order a replacement key,,,

gjnorthall...the "object" in the six o' clock position is the wheel lock nut to which I do not have the key for to remove

Big Kev ...I am new to this type of vehicle so not really qualified to give an intelligent answer to your question about road noise

because I can only compare the tyre noise to normal tyre's on normal saloon type vehicles but I would have thought the noise was not excessive

Update ...I have just received a reply from an owner of a Rav4 with the same type of wheels from another source who advises me that the plate does not prise off and something like a Torx bit might remove his wheel lock nut whereas mine requires a "female" type of key... manufacturer not known. Previous owner of 4 years standing can not help either... which beggars belief .

Might be an idea to call in to your local Toyota dealer and ask their advice. There surely must be a simple solution.

Alternatively a Laser bit kit from your local Machine Mart may well have the necessary bit included. I bought one when I had to remove the ECU from our 4.2 and it is a great set and not expensive.

[Big Kev]

Thanks for your replies guys which I will respond to in order. IanField....no Phillips screw unfortunately and spare wheel gives no useful info either,,,,normal steel wheel and all wheel studs showing... "wtf would happen if you had a blow out on the motorway??" well in normal circumstances you would have the wheel lock nut key in the car that removes the alloy plate so you could get access to wheel studs...my problem is I do not have the key or know the manufacturer to order a replacement key,,,

gjnorthall...the "object" in the six o' clock position is the wheel lock nut to which I do not have the key for to remove

Big Kev ...I am new to this type of vehicle so not really qualified to give an intelligent answer to your question about road noise

because I can only compare the tyre noise to normal tyre's on normal saloon type vehicles but I would have thought the noise was not excessive

Update ...I have just received a reply from an owner of a Rav4 with the same type of wheels from another source who advises me that the plate does not prise off and something like a Torx bit might remove his wheel lock nut whereas mine requires a "female" type of key... manufacturer not known. Previous owner of 4 years standing can not help either... which beggars belief .

..........albeit he called it an Allen screw, the answer was in gjnorthall reply......?

[Mike169]

Hi, i had the same looking wheels on an old Cavalier i had and they prised off. They obviously were not original equipment but fitted by a previous owner. They held on by 'claws' in the centre, four or five of them with a metal ring to keep the claws out and to stop the centre just falling off as the fingers would get weak. To be honest they were pretty rubbish and i ended up using silicone to put the centres on as the fingers broke off due to fatigue and the cold temperature tended to make them brittle.

Good luck, Mike169.

[gjnorthall]

It's not a wheel lock nut - it's a screw that holds the cover plate in place. I suggested Allen key but it may well be a torque or spline head. If it's not a recognisable profile then it may be a special head (check the tool bag etc etc). If your Toyota dealer can't supply the necessary head - the screw is easily removed with an extractor. I guess you can be thankful you didn't need to change the wheel on a dark wet night.

[jmaw]

I have just returned from the main Toyota Dealership and having spoken to the Service Manager he confirms what gjnorthall states in his post above in that it is not a wheel lock nut as I have wrongly stated but purely just a device to hold that cover on.

He went on to say that originally the car was supplied with the key in a black box and kept in the tool bag and there would have been a wheel lock nut fitted to the wheel behind the cover as standard equipment,,,,,no keys are now available and the way they get them off is to try to drive them with a hammer and chisel .....he said they are not normally too tight but the centre of the device is very hard to drill out which if you could remove it would make it a lot easier to get something to grip onto the splined interior of the device to unscrew it.....best I keep my Green Flag membership up to date!

[Davrav]

There are various locking wheel nut removal kits available. I'm sure a good local tyre fitters would be able to remove the offending lock nuts - you may well need to prove ownership though.

Personally, I would get the old set off and replace with a new set, with 'key' and keep the key safe in the car. I doubt a recovery service would be impressed if you didn't have a key for the locking wheel nuts.

[Mike169]

Totally agree with Davrav.........would be a good idea if you get a garage to remove the 4 keyless nuts and replace them with either like for like or just ordinary bolts rather than wait until you are in an emergency situation....worth spending a few bob now rather than having lots of grief at the roadside trying to change a flat tyre.

Regards Mike169

[Davrav]

Double post

[jmaw]

The comment about Green Flag was purely sarcasm,,,I will remove the covers when it stops (if ever it does) raining

[jmaw]

Thanks for the help...wheels sorted now with the help of a small cold chisel and a hammer...came off much easier than expected

[Mike169]

Hi Jim, top man, well done mate!

Regards Mike169