Alloy Lock Nut Key

Smoggy

We have a 08 Honda that was bought second hand some months back. This week my wife was driving it and noticed the tyre was looking a little flat. A day or so goes on and she thinks it's looking a little more flat.

To be on the safe side she takes it to the local tyre shop and asks for a repair. The lad asks where the alloy lock nut key is, they dig around the car and can't find it.

So this morning my wife rings Honda looking for a replacement alloy key, they say they can't provide a new key, but they can at a cost of 25 a tyre replace with new nuts and then 50 for the key.

This sounds like a load of old c0ck, but is it standard practice ?

bazz26

Are they original Honda alloy wheels or aftermarket?

Neilw

Did you check everywhere in the car for the lock nut key? Sometimes they are well hidden. It should be in the owners manual where its stored.

Smoggy

Original alloys.

They checked in the boot and the glove box, a good 10 minute look was done (I have still yet to have a look myself). I will start with the owners manual

bazz26

Chances are if the key cannot be found in the car then the previous owner probably lost it or still has it somewhere with them. It is bizzare though that a Honda dealer cannot source a replacement lock key from Honda for original alloy wheels via the car's VIN. Maybe try another dealer?

Or a cheaper solution is to get a tyre centre to remove the security lock nuts from the wheels altogether and just replace them with a standard nut.

Smoggy

It's possible my wife misunderstood, but she came away with the message that they had to replace all 4 tyre nuts and provide a new key. Which seemed crazy.

I will give a call tomorrow and make sure they can't source replacement keys.

The replacement with standard nuts will be plan B, i was hoping to get a new key first.

Thanks for the info, I can call knowing that asking for the key only isn't stupid.

bazz26

The lock key on my BMW had worn threads, I got a replacement from my local BMW dealer for €10.

GoodisonPark

You can get tem on eBay for less than a tenner.

colm_mcm

If they don't have an adaptor, then they're charging labour to remove them by other means, which is time consuming.

Try in all the boot cubbys, storage boxes in the interior, in the tool bag etc.

gibbon75

bazz26 wrote: »

It is bizzare though that a Honda dealer cannot source a replacement lock key from Honda for original alloy wheels via the car's VIN. Maybe try another dealer?

Locknut information isn't stored in any Honda database or coded to VIN.Each set has a unique code on the original box and/or leaflet.
Without that code there is no way to ID the locknut.
But even with the code it is a slow process to get a replacement from Honda Europe.

The above applies to Volvo and Jaguar locknuts as well.

heffomike54

Had a similar problem with my Toyota Corolla. Its an English import & I need to replace the locking nut as it had become cracked from being used in an air-gun. Once the Toyota dealers in Dublin heard it was an English import & they could not track the car through the reg plate, they stated they could not help at all. One trip north of the border to a huge Toyota dealer & within ten minutes, I had a new locking nut for £2.

Smoggy

The story ends :

We rang a few Honda garages in Ireland and one in the UK (the car is also an import) to find out how we can get a replacement key. Most garages said that they couldn't do a replacement as they didn't have a way of tracking the VIN against the key ! This was the case for the UK Garage too which is incredible.

However a garage here in Dublin said drop over and he would see if he could sort it out. He looked at the car, worked out the key type, said he didn't have it in stock but could have it by 3 or deliver for an extra euro.

The next day for under 12 euro the lock nut key was delivered.

Job done. Thanks for the help

Liam_Lawlor

So I had same problem with my BMW. Called up Joe Duffy in Dublin (just off M50 - not the guy off the radio).. Gave them my Reg, they said had the correct wheel key in stock - €20. Called out and collected it, works fine. Disaster averted. Problem solved. €20 - could be worse.