For anyone who has those special lock nuts on your vehicle wheels...
My wife's car is a 2014 Honda Odyssey, which she loves and takes great care of (it's our 3rd Odyssey). I rarely drive the van, other than to take it to the dealer for service or when we're on vacation. She started to go shopping a few days ago and discovered the van had a flat tire, so I was tasked with changing the tire. I started to do that, then immediately discovered that the wheels were equipped with special lug nuts that can only be removed with a matching key-socket (I had no idea that they were there up to that point). Anyway, I started looking for the key, searched the van from front to rear without finding it; wife had no idea about it, either. Finally, I decided to just call AAA and let them deal with it -- surely, I thought, they would have some sort of master key. AAA said no, their only option would be to tow the vehicle to a dealership who would have such a master. I called around to several tire/auto shops looking for some better solution. A couple suggested driving a 12-pt socket over the locking lug so it could be removed; I'm sure that would have worked, but only as a last resort. After most of a day I was ready to call AAA and have the van towed, then a friend mentioned that her sister had a 2012 Odyssey and I should try her key. I was sure that was pointless, but she was insistent so I took the key home to try. Surprise! It fit perfectly and unscrewed the lug nut. I removed the flat (which I discovered had what appeared to be a huge nail thru the tread) and installed the emergency spare, then drove to dealership expecting to need a new tire. It turned out the nail just had a big head, so they were able to simply plug the tire. More interesting was my discussion with the tire tech there -- he was amazed that I found a key that would fit, said that was a "1 in a million" chance.
I have no idea what the odds of my finding a useful key really were, but I was left wondering just how much security those special nuts actually provide...(?) And we just got back from a road trip up to VA -- I can imagine just how aggravating it would have been if we had experienced that flat tire somewhere on the road!
If you have those security lug nuts on your vehicle, I would suggest you take a moment to verify the location of the key!
My wife's car is a 2014 Honda Odyssey, which she loves and takes great care of (it's our 3rd Odyssey). I rarely drive the van, other than to take it to the dealer for service or when we're on vacation. She started to go shopping a few days ago and discovered the van had a flat tire, so I was tasked with changing the tire. I started to do that, then immediately discovered that the wheels were equipped with special lug nuts that can only be removed with a matching key-socket (I had no idea that they were there up to that point). Anyway, I started looking for the key, searched the van from front to rear without finding it; wife had no idea about it, either. Finally, I decided to just call AAA and let them deal with it -- surely, I thought, they would have some sort of master key. AAA said no, their only option would be to tow the vehicle to a dealership who would have such a master. I called around to several tire/auto shops looking for some better solution. A couple suggested driving a 12-pt socket over the locking lug so it could be removed; I'm sure that would have worked, but only as a last resort. After most of a day I was ready to call AAA and have the van towed, then a friend mentioned that her sister had a 2012 Odyssey and I should try her key. I was sure that was pointless, but she was insistent so I took the key home to try. Surprise! It fit perfectly and unscrewed the lug nut. I removed the flat (which I discovered had what appeared to be a huge nail thru the tread) and installed the emergency spare, then drove to dealership expecting to need a new tire. It turned out the nail just had a big head, so they were able to simply plug the tire. More interesting was my discussion with the tire tech there -- he was amazed that I found a key that would fit, said that was a "1 in a million" chance.
I have no idea what the odds of my finding a useful key really were, but I was left wondering just how much security those special nuts actually provide...(?) And we just got back from a road trip up to VA -- I can imagine just how aggravating it would have been if we had experienced that flat tire somewhere on the road!
If you have those security lug nuts on your vehicle, I would suggest you take a moment to verify the location of the key!