Locking Wheel Nut Key Surprise !

[Big Vinny]

By chance I discovered the Locking Wheel Nut Keys (LWNK) on my May 19 Leon and my Feb 20 Ibiza were exactly the same. Image below. The Key is available on eBay as the 543C standard SEAT Key. The keys have an embossed letter "C" on the other end.

This makes me wonder if all SEAT cars of the same age and possibly newer have the same generic LWNK ? The image below shows the 543C Key, you can see it has no specific irregular profile. If this is the case it doesn't really provide much in the way of security does it ?

 

[RUM4MO]

Just "luck" I'd think, I either had 2 VW Group cars with the same key "code" - but from different series!

I've always considered that the "random but regular" patterns on these wheel keys was just to make it easier for the user to fit them onto the locking bolt - it certainly helps to avoid damaging them - on that issue, I've bought a spare key for each of our 2 VW Group cars, and these are the keys that I use when working on the car in my garage at home.
Many many car marques use these series of wheel locks and so they can end up getting a few reference numbers for the same key, so that can make the price variable.

 

[Mr Pig]

Seat and other VW Group cars use the same type of key. There are only so many pasterns but no, they didn't use the same one for all the cars in a given year. That wouldn't be very sensible. You just got lucky.

 

[Mr Pig]

Note: It's worth keeping a record of your key letter. That way if you lose it you can buy another off eBay.

 

[Glosphil]

I gave up using locking wheel bolts years ago. Tyre fitters insist on using airguns on them which often damage the 'key' lugs. I replace them with a standard bolt. Is stanard alloy wheels being stolen really still happening? I've had no problem in the last 18 years of using only standard bolts.

 

[RUM4MO]

@Glosphil fair enough, each to their own way of doing things, I tend to try to avoid the need for "others" to remove wheels from the car by doing that myself if/when I know that it is going to happen, and if I think that there could be an issue at MOT time, I replace all the locking bolts with normal bolts.

The thing is, if a car comes new from the dealership complete with locking wheel bolts, then you should really be declaring to your insurer when you have removed these "theft prevention" devices - okay in reality nothing might ever happen to your wheels - but if/when it does, you will need to cover your own costs of replacing these wheels.

 

[Glosphil]

@Glosphil fair enough, each to their own way of doing things, I tend to try to avoid the need for "others" to remove wheels from the car by doing that myself if/when I know that it is going to happen, and if I think that there could be an issue at MOT time, I replace all the locking bolts with normal bolts.

The thing is, if a car comes new from the dealership complete with locking wheel bolts, then you should really be declaring to your insurer when you have removed these "theft prevention" devices - okay in reality nothing might ever happen to your wheels - but if/when it does, you will need to cover your own costs of replacing these wheels.

A good point regarding insurance - I hadn't thought of that.

 

[Mr Pig]

The thing is, if a car comes new from the dealership complete with locking wheel bolts, then you should really be declaring to your insurer when you have removed these "theft prevention" devices - okay in reality nothing might ever happen to your wheels - but if/when it does, you will need to cover your own costs of replacing these wheels.

I don't know, I mostly agree with Glosphil. I'm old enough to remember when alloy wheels were only fitted to the top end models and steel wheels were the norm. Alloy theft was a thing, I know a guy who came out of the golf club to find his car sitting on bricks. My mother, who was with him and had never seen such a thing thought it was hilarious.

Things are very different today. Firstly, most cars have alloy wheels so there is less incentive to steal them. Secondly, because all cars have locking wheel nuts, if someone does intend to steal your wheels they're going to be expecting to deal with that. No one is walking up to your car expecting to find just plain nuts. So not having locking nuts is likely to make very little difference.

In theory the insurance advice is correct but I don't know what would happen in practice. Would they ask that question? Could they prove there weren't locking nuts fitted? I don't know.

 

[RUM4MO]

Well people, in certain areas, will steal anything, I've seen an alert for Yeti 4X4s losing their Haldex controller - being a jacked up sort of car, access is easy it seems, and there is a waiting list for new replacements which cost "quite a bit" - you just couldn't make it up, the 2 big areas for that is maybe SW London and an area on the South coast.

That was just written as a single example of "what is hot" wrt cars these days.