Had another excuse (my eye feels back to normal now) for a leisurely day today - a Field Lab visit from my new friends Trent and Courtney from Odessa. Unfortunately, their visit began with a bang...only got about 1/8 of a mile down my road when their tire blew out. No way to fix that hole. Now the bad part is that he has a locking lug nut on each of his tires and his Toyota dealer 
apparently did not return the "key" to him last time they rotated his tires....oops. So they came to my house to call AAA for assistance but had to wait 3 hours for help to arrive, which was just fine because we had a chance for the full tour and more time to just hang out and get acquainted. The flatbed arrived and he loaded up Trent's truck and we bid a fond farewell.This is the third time I have heard of this happening out here so I decided to investigate the situation ( sorry, but a bit too late for Trent and Courtney). I pretty much figured out by searching the web th
at these lug nuts are fairly simple to remove without the "key". Next trip to Alpine, I will add the necessary parts to my tool kit so I will be ready to assist the next stranded motorist. If I could figure this out in less than a 1/2 hour, you can bet that the tow truck driver knows the drill but preferred to get the towing fee. I fired off an email to Trent suggesting that after he gives the Toyota dealer hell for not returning the key - have them remove the locking lug nuts because they only inconvenience the unprepared motorist - not the criminal that really wants to steal your wheels.
at these lug nuts are fairly simple to remove without the "key". Next trip to Alpine, I will add the necessary parts to my tool kit so I will be ready to assist the next stranded motorist. If I could figure this out in less than a 1/2 hour, you can bet that the tow truck driver knows the drill but preferred to get the towing fee. I fired off an email to Trent suggesting that after he gives the Toyota dealer hell for not returning the key - have them remove the locking lug nuts because they only inconvenience the unprepared motorist - not the criminal that really wants to steal your wheels.
