Broken Security Wheel Bolt Key

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toolman1954

MB Enthusiast
SUPPORTER
Joined
Sep 16, 2004
Messages
1,145
Location
Leven, Fife / Northampton
Car
2006 320 CDI Avantgarde . 1997 312d Sprinter
Hi,
The saga begins. Last November time the security wheel bolt key broke whilst I was getting my winter tyres fitted. I went down MB at Northampton and they ordered me a new key @ about an eye watering £35.00. I had pondered just to get the security bolts removed and fit normal bolts as it may have been a cheaper option.
Last June, I had EMS / ABS warning messages on the dash, which related to either a faulty wheel sensor , hopefully or a reluctor ring gone.
Because I have difficulty kneeling, I took the car to get the sensor cable replaced, but the new security key was damaged, presumably by the garage that did the MOT repairs Earlier in June. ( Some new brake pipes). I had not paid too much attention to the new wheel nut remover, but in the cold light of day, this item was made in the USA, and the steel did not look very strong. As I wanted to get the job done as the warning message was beginning to p*ss me off, I phoned MB Newcastle, as they post out parts, and the helpful chap there managed to source one from Sunderland and posted it off to me. Another £35.00. I had told the man at MB Newcastle that I already had a broken "Made in USA" one, and asked for a German one, but no dice, the replacements were all USA made, and he did say not to use a windy gun as they were not the same quality as the old original German ones.
New Key arrived, I put it on my big Torque wrench and tried it on the security bolt, and it stripped straight away, such crap steel. I have been selling tools for 35 years and can recognise rubbish steel. When I have a spare 5 mins I will try the grinding test to assess the steel quality.
In the end, I capitulated, ordered some wheel bolts off of Ebay, (same size as an A class ), and got the local tyre place to remove the security bolts. They did say they were tight, but then what is the point of loose wheel bolts.
A few days later, I had them fit the new wheel speed sensor, which turned out to be the Reluctor Ring broken, so had a new one of those fitted.
Just this week, I went to MB Northampton to order some hand brake cables, and related my tale of woe with the wheel bolt keys and asked if I should return them to Milton Keynes as " not fit for purpose ".
They said I was wasting my time as the security bolts were obviously too tight, ( which they were ) and said that Milton Keynes will say that the security bolts should be removed and torqued up to the correct spec from time to time. As if !!
Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained so my next job will be to send photos and a suitable letter to MB at Milton Keynes, about their crap USA steel parts.
On the positive side, the new handbrake cables look really " meaty " and I will get them fitted next week when I head back up to Scotland. The old ones are original, so have done well to last for 16 years.
Not only but also, some b*stard stole my nice new Bosch wiper blades off of the car. Such a desirable area I live in !. As a stop gap, as it was raining, I had to fit some "cheapies " to get me by, but they squeak and squeak, so more expense for some new Bosch blades.
To offset the expense, I did manage to create a new metal piece that sits under the rear wiper on the tailgate out of some scrap " Alooominum ", sprayed it black, and quite looks the " dogs". Not that my dog has any !.
Life's saga goes on.

Steve
 
I have removed the security wheel bolts from all the cars in the household as they are more bother than they are worth now a days , I can't honestly remember the last time I heard of a set of alloy wheels being blagged.

K
 
Reported
 
I have removed the security wheel bolts from all the cars in the household as they are more bother than they are worth now a days , I can't honestly remember the last time I heard of a set of alloy wheels being blagged.

K
Totally agree with this, nobody nicks wheels anymore, it's too much bother when it's easier to take the full car.
 
You can buy Mercedes specific locking wheel bolt key sets from various online sources that have all the different types in for around £30.
 
I have removed the security wheel bolts from all the cars in the household as they are more bother than they are worth now a days , I can't honestly remember the last time I heard of a set of alloy wheels being blagged.

K
How does this sit with your insurer?
 
How does this sit with your insurer?

All four of our cars are free of wheel security bolts. Things are a pain in the ****. Since they don’t ask there can’t necessarily be an obligation to have to use them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
All four of our cars are free of wheel security bolts. Things are a pain in the ****. Since they don’t ask there can’t necessarily be an obligation to have to use them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I suppose it’s technically a modification from factory specification, although I highly doubt it’ll ever be an issue. :)
 
Unless the wheels get nicked as a result!

Pretty sure the majority of UK market cars have anti-theft wheel bolts as standard nowadays :)
 
After getting stuck with a flat and a rounded off key on a audi a3, I have removed the security bolts on all cars since.
 
I bought my first Merc in 2008, the second one in 2017, and never had any issues with the locking wheel bolts or key. No idea if this is because the wheel bolts were torqued correctly or perhaps I had a German key...

It is worth noting however that the locking wheel bolts are not actually a factory option, but a dealer option.

This means that car is delivered to the UK with standard wheel bolts, and the dealer then replaces four of the factory-fitted wheel bolts with the locking ones as part of the PDI.

This also explains why the key is left in the car inside a retail box that carries an aftermarket accessory part number (starting with a B).
 
Also, just before selling the W203, I replaced all of the original MB wheel bolts (both the standard ones and the locking bolts) with new shiny Febi ones, but this was only because the MB bolts rusted badly, and not because I had any issues with them.
 
Security wheel bolts work fine if not torqued beyond the correct value. The box that they come in clearly states that a impact wrench should not be used.

The simple fact is you can't trust many members of the trade to tighten them correctly which effectively makes locking wheel bolts not fit for purpose. Mine were grossly overtightened when the car came to me making them impossible to remove at the side of the road and that's with a good quality key. That MB are now supplying poor quality keys defies belief.

There are only two realistic options; remove them or commit to having to slacken them off at home and re-torque to the correct value on every occasion someone else has touched them. This what I do but I probably should have taken markjay's option and replaced the lot to resolve the corrosion issue at the same time.
 
Security wheel bolts work fine if not torqued beyond the correct value. The box that they come in clearly states that a impact wrench should not be used.

The simple fact is you can't trust many members of the trade to tighten them correctly which effectively makes locking wheel bolts not fit for purpose. Mine were grossly overtightened when the car came to me making them impossible to remove at the side of the road and that's with a good quality key. That MB are now supplying poor quality keys defies belief.

There are only two realistic options; remove them or commit to having to slacken them off at home and re-torque to the correct value on every occasion someone else has touched them. This what I do but I probably should have taken markjay's option and replaced the lot to resolve the corrosion issue at the same time.

Not so.
I bought locking bolts from MB dealer and fitted them. No one ever has overtorqued those bolts but still two of them failed by way of the heads snapping off on attempted removal. (The actual key parts (on bolts, and key itself) were fine - the attachment to the head is where the failures occurred. Not unsafe as there was ample bolt head to secure the wheel but a PITA chisel job to remove).
 
Well that makes them even worse than I thought. We should all remove them before they leave us stranded with a useless spare wheel.
 
Well that makes them even worse than I thought. We should all remove them before they leave us stranded with a useless spare wheel.

They are becoming a rare thing these days ..
 
Well that makes them even worse than I thought. We should all remove them before they leave us stranded with a useless spare wheel.

Yep, the remaining two were removed and binned before they did the same.
I was lucky - my failures were with steel wheels. Buried in an alloy, such a failure and subsequent remedy will likely render the wheel scrap.
 
Whats a spare wheel?
 

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