Swollen lug nuts?

What lug nut cap? šŸ˜

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McGard nut/lock replacements. OEM nuts/locks thrown into the trash.
 
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Yep, change them out for single piece dormans before they end up like mine did. Ford Escape. It was terrible getting them off.
I just ordered Dormans for a friend's XJ. Inexplicably, the 3/4" hex is spendy but if you're willing to go 13/16" a set of 20 is ~$12 delivered. My buddy is beyond broke so he was fine with the larger hex and it won't interfere with his wheels.

I've always used McGards myself, and always 3/4" hex if that's what the vehicle came with (multiple 2nd Gen Rams and JK's and TJ's).
 
Also, just go one-piece lest you envy a saga such as mine detailed here:
 
Update: checked all of them with the on board tire iron and most are perfect. Just two that were hard to get on. One definitely needs replacing pretty quick, hardly can get the socket on the nut. You can see someone was a little rowdy with the impact and stripped them a bit.

Iā€™ll just pick up some one piece nuts and have DT replace them during the next rotation.

Confirmed: two swollen nuts for this guy!
 

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I see this issue quite frequently. Toyota, Ford, Mopar etc. I once had a Toyota Tundra with 22mm lug nuts that was swollen to a 24. One other one swollen up to a 23 so in those cases the half sizes were useless. The half sizes do work for the not so bad ones though. When we recommend lug nuts at work they wonā€™t let us get any aftermarket one piece ones we have to replace them with what came off so they will just have that issue again. I feel bad about recommending them knowing they will have the issue again but most people buy them cause they want to be able to change their tire if it goes flat. For some of the Mopar lug stud combos that some people call lug bolts you need an 11/16 socket instead of 17mm for the ones that use 17mm. Because I havenā€™t been able to find a 17.5mm one yet so at least there is a standard size that is basically 17.5mm haha.
 
Seems the manufacturers went out of their way to create an unnecessary problem there. I didn't know about it until I read about it here.
I can still use a 13/16" (=20.64 mm) spark plug wrench on my original 21 mm lug nuts. Same was true of my Mazda when it was over 33 years old. (The motive is that that eliminates need to carry the original lug wrench.)
 
Seems the manufacturers went out of their way to create an unnecessary problem there.
They created a "problem" for the owners down the road. Not for them. All they managed to create is a better profit for themselves. You the consumer pays the price down the road, long after the warranty has expired.

Most of these cheap, sheet metal coated nuts will last a tire change or two, (if done by monkeys with pneumatic hammer guns). By then the warranty is over, and their hands are washed. If there ever was a part that was, "designed to live just past the warranty"..... This is it.
 
The Sienna ended up with a nail in the sidewall this weekend. I took the vehicle to Discount Tire to get the tire replaced under the road hazard warranty. Exact replacement was in stock. Everything went well. No issues there. However the counter guy said the lug nuts were getting swollen and I should think about replacing them at some point. They are a bit scratched up for sure but donā€™t look swollen. I have heard of this happening but never actually seen it before. Iā€™m thinking this maybe a new upsell tactic. Pics of all four rims attached for reference.
We do TONS of them up here in salt belt on all brands.
 
2nd Update: finally got around to handling my nuts situation. Picked up a set of White Knight Chrome Plated Lug Nuts 12 mm x 1.50 - 153074. Replaced all of them. Not a perfect match, but looks good enough for the family hauler.
 

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I just came across this on a '10 Venza with alloys. First Toyota where I've personally encountered it.

I knew the owners wouldn't want to replace them, and fortunately my 21.5mm solved my problems for servicing it.
 
I just came across this on a '10 Venza with alloys. First Toyota where I've personally encountered it.

I knew the owners wouldn't want to replace them, and fortunately my 21.5mm solved my problems for servicing it.
Yikes!

Mine were starting to get badā€¦ I had to hit the 13/16 on with a rubber mallet. Donā€™t even want to imagine the headache that would have been on the side of the road somewhere. Well worth the $50 and 30 minutes it took to fix it.
 
Some of those chain shop ā€œtechsā€ also like to spin their impacts and let the sockets ā€œcatchā€ onto the lug nutā€¦doubt that helps either.
Yeah, you've got this going on. But sometimes the structural inner nut only sticks out 5/8" while the chrome cap might stick out 7/8". So if someone "plays NASCAR" and doesn't completely seat their long socket, it twists the top of the nut in relation to the bottom, and the whole thing sticks to the socket. Still a case of form over function. Get the one-piece lug nuts.
 
I've replaced all my lug nuts on both my Avalon and my Rx 350. Very common Toyota issue, especially in the midwest.
 
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