Changing a wheel on a 57 plate Passat

shoes · 9 Dec 2011 at 10:33

Anyone tried this?

The mrs just rang and asked me to come change her wheel as she had a flat tyre - fair enough I though. Cleared it with the boss (she was 2 miles away) and went out to see her.

Got all the gubbins out the boot and got 4 of the 5 bolts loose enough to start jacking. Once I finally got the locking key to seat on the bolt head, a ball ache for sure, I tired to loosen it up. The wrench supplied with the car didn't fit!

Everything on the car is stock, the tool kit has never even been used!

The wrench would only go over about 5mm of the head on the locking key and every time you put pressure on the wrench it sheered the edges of the locking key. I tried the one in the focus and it was a better fit but still mashed the locking key head like it was made of cheese.

In the end I had to move the car onto the grassy verge and leave it - a tyre fitter is coming out in a bit, hopefully with more specialised tools.

I'm amazed that a VW would be supplied with such rubbish tools/equipment for tyre changing. Is this normal? Has her employer leased a car with a duff key or spanner? Is this a VW thing?

I've never failed to change a wheel in my life, and believe me, I've changed a lot, including on Volkswagens and I've never seen anything like it.

Firestar_3x · 9 Dec 2011 at 10:57

Sounds like VW have given you the wrong sized wrench to fit the locking wheelnut, could be because the locking keys are aftermarket and the person fitting them didn't think about that.

Dangerous Dave · 9 Dec 2011 at 11:01

Has you wife had the car from new ? Could be after market locking wheel bolts.

Berger · 9 Dec 2011 at 11:11

You should really undo the locking nut first, all the pressure is now on the locker making it much harder to remove.

matty114 · 9 Dec 2011 at 11:43

Hammer and chisel works

Virdi · 9 Dec 2011 at 11:49

Have you got breakdown cover?

classicVin · 9 Dec 2011 at 17:15

I would imagine it would be an aftermarket set of locking wheel bolts. The wheel bolts have a 17mm head on them, and so does the OEM locking wheel bolt tool. If its a passat i would imagine it would be this type :

but obviously a different patern on the face.

andy_mk3 · 9 Dec 2011 at 19:42

classicVin said:
I would imagine it would be an aftermarket set of locking wheel bolts. The wheel bolts have a 17mm head on them, and so does the OEM locking wheel bolt tool.

I thought that, but a 17 wouldn't even be close to fitting on a 19 :S

TRNC · 9 Dec 2011 at 19:46

classicVin said:
I would imagine it would be an aftermarket set of locking wheel bolts. The wheel bolts have a 17mm head on them, and so does the OEM locking wheel bolt tool. If its a passat i would imagine it would be this type :

but obviously a different patern on the face.

There are only about 20 different patterns as VW have a set of them all in a little box, you can buy them for about £120....they are all made of cheese and are the worse design ever as they all round off immediately upon contact with said locking bolt.

I removed them from my car after a serious problem with one rounding off, strangely enough my wheels are still there despite not having a locking bolt - the days of stealing wheels from cars has passed on all but the exotics.

Maz · 9 Dec 2011 at 20:40

VW use splined locking wheel nuts don't they?

TRNC · 10 Dec 2011 at 00:00

Not on passats. Audi do on their cars though (the ones i've owned at least)

Firestar_3x · 10 Dec 2011 at 00:31

Looks like yet another cost cutting measure in the B6, my VW key is splined and rock solid.

shoes · 10 Dec 2011 at 00:50

Maz said:
VW use splined locking wheel nuts don't they?

TRNC said:
Not on passats. Audi do on their cars though (the ones i've owned at least)

Do you mean like this:

That's the one on the passat I saw today. The nut is fine - the key on the other hand is made of cheese and the spanner was definitely not the right one.

Breakdown cover was available, although the mrs didn't know this at the time (and her boss was unavailable hence calling me). Eventually got through to him and then to the RAC who also couldn't get it off apparently, so hey towed it to a local tyre shop whipped it off in five seconds flat.

bledd · 10 Dec 2011 at 10:29

So many badly designed locking keys

realscot · 10 Dec 2011 at 10:45

bledd. said:
So many badly designed locking keys

They are all badly designed, infact they are all stupid. Do people still steal your wheels? And if they do, will a locker stop them when for under £50 anyone can buy a locking wheel nut extractor set?
I'd throw the bloody lot of them away, fed up of hunting in peoples cars only to find they dont even give you a bloody key when the car is in for repairs.

ins0mn1ac · 10 Dec 2011 at 10:57

realscot said:
They are all badly designed, infact they are all stupid. Do people still steal your wheels?

Yes, my friend come back from work to find his freshly powdercoated TD 1.2's were gone replaced with bricks, this happened last month!

I use locking bolts but I won't put as much torque on them when tightening up.

lordrobs · 10 Dec 2011 at 18:05

ins0mn1ac said:
I use locking bolts but I won't put as much torque on them when tightening up.

I was wondering this with the Punto's locking wheel nuts which are the same design as the first ones pictured. I was grimacing as I put 120Nm through them waiting for the slip as they turn to mangled metal but thought that as they are holding the wheel on just as the other nuts are that it had to be done.

I think I'll swap the original nuts over next time which were supplied in the box that holds the locking nut key.

Ultra_Extreme · 11 Dec 2011 at 01:05

the first pictured ones i had on my mk3 mondy used em loads never mangled anything?

classicVin · 11 Dec 2011 at 01:20

shoes said:
Do you mean like this:
*img*

That's the one on the passat I saw today. The nut is fine - the key on the other hand is made of cheese and the spanner was definitely not the right one.

If thats the kind of design then thats deffinatly not an oem one. I would imagine the locking wheel bolt tool has a 17mm end and a 19mm end on it, its hard to explain without looking straight at it. Seem to find this a lot with cheapy aftermarket ones. But atleast you got it off now!

TRNC said:
There are only about 20 different patterns as VW have a set of them all in a little box, you can buy them for about £120....they are all made of cheese and are the worse design ever as they all round off immediately upon contact with said locking bolt.

In my experience of working in a vw main dealer workshop, still haven't had one round off on me, imo they are very good and seem to take a a lot of torque when you get cowboys gunning them up with an air gun.
The only problem i have with this type tool, is that the tool only just fits in the wheel bolt hole, so when you do crank them off somethimes, the tool can mark the bolt hole on the alloy. Which is hassle.

Maz said:
VW use splined locking wheel nuts don't they?

They use the splined design aswell as this type.