Wheel Cover Attachment--makes no sense

[TallPaul]

I just bought a 1997 Ford Escort Wagon yesterday. Last night I went to pull the cheesy looking wheel covers off so I could run the ghetto look with the stamped steel wheels exposed. I discovered that while the wheel covers have 4 holes punched in the middle so they fit over the lug nuts, somebody put a fender washer on one lug and tightened the lug nut over the wheel cover so that you have to remove that one lug nut to get the wheel cover off. That means you really have to losen them all and re-torque in sequence.

What is going on? Is this some joker's wheel cover anti-theft method, or did Ford actually supply one lug nut per wheel with a flange at the base as an extra means of holding the wheel cover on?

 

[skyactiv]

Don't some Honda Civics have such lug nuts? I think it's a good thing. Seems like every 10 year old base Toyota Corolla or Echo has at least 1 missing wheel cover.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Some of the older Civics had to have the lugnuts off to get the wheel cover off, yes.

 

[123Saab]

I dont recall our old Escort wagon having that, Ours was a hand me down from my wife's sister as we did not want a "Nice" car while living in Brooklyn, NYC.

Have fun with it, Ours was Super reliable and was still running when I sold it for scrap as it had rusted out and would no longer pass inspection.

Really easy to work on too and quite roomy.

I wish Ford would make a sporty 2door Escort again!
(Old Rally Fan)

 

[kschachn]

The lug nuts on my Accord have captive plastic washers that attach the wheel covers. You do have to remove them to get the cover off or you will break the cover.

 

[JHZR2]

My wife's integra had that from the factory. The cover was held on by the lugnuts.

I always thought it was a smart thing, because nothing worse than having to smack brittle plastic into place to get the spring loaded ones on...

Chances are if Im removing the plastic cover, Im pulling the lugs anyway...

 

[Chris142]

Some engineer thought that was a grand idea. Why do they cover up the lugnuts with a plastic wheel cover that has fake lugnuts on it anyway?

 

[javacontour]

Our Vibe has special lug nuts that are threaded so the plastic lugs on the wheel covers will thread to the lug nuts.

Yet another variation on the same theme.

 

[fdcg27]

Some cars do require removal of the lugs to remove the wheel cover from the factory.
Many years of Honda/Accura come to mind.
It may be that either someone who once owned your Escort had trouble with locals popping off and ditching the covers, or it may be that they don't stay on very well unless secured.
It may also be a case of the one with the washer having been broken and therefore needing a little help in staying on.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: TallPaul
...or did Ford actually supply one lug nut per wheel with a flange at the base as an extra means of holding the wheel cover on?

Correct.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

My 2007 Hyundai Sonata has the plastic ringed lugnuts. All five need to come off to remove the wheel cover. I use them now for my winter tires. I bought other factory alloys for summer and those just have a smaller snap in center cap that covers the lugs.

 

[RichR]

Yes plastic wheel cover then lug nuts.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Some of the older Civics had to have the lugnuts off to get the wheel cover off, yes.
my 2011 Civic was that way...that is not older

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Our Vibe has special lug nuts that are threaded so the plastic lugs on the wheel covers will thread to the lug nuts.

Yet another variation on the same theme.

Vibe...hmm...so why does every one of it's twin Toyota Matrix I see have no wheel covers?

 

[javacontour]

Dunno about the Matrix. His Vibe is missing one as he ran off the road, breaking one of them. He put it back on and then complained about the vibration. He didn't by my line of reasoning it was a Vibe.

I told him it was no longer balanced with a big chunk missing and he would be better off without it.

Originally Posted By: gofast182
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Our Vibe has special lug nuts that are threaded so the plastic lugs on the wheel covers will thread to the lug nuts.

Yet another variation on the same theme.

Vibe...hmm...so why does every one of it's twin Toyota Matrix I see have no wheel covers?

 

[charbaby]

Yea, even my 1988 Accord LX's wheel covers were held on by the lug nuts. A good design IMHO! My '04 Altima 2.5S OE Steelies are the same way!

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Our Vibe has special lug nuts that are threaded so the plastic lugs on the wheel covers will thread to the lug nuts.

Yet another variation on the same theme.


I like this setup, though it would take a few extra seconds. The plastic cap may provide some protection against salt getting in the ends of the lug nuts. The plastic lug nuts do work out of the hubcaps so their replacement is possible if they get abused.

 

[hsd]

The captive wheel covers also avoid the flying wheel covers in movie chase scenes. Remember Bullet?

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
My wife's integra had that from the factory. The cover was held on by the lugnuts.

I always thought it was a smart thing, because nothing worse than having to smack brittle plastic into place to get the spring loaded ones on...

Chances are if Im removing the plastic cover, Im pulling the lugs anyway...

My '89 Integra RS had factory wheel covers where the lugnuts kept the cover in place. The factory lugnuts were completely metal though.

I recently removed a flat from my wife's 2002 Civic LX. That one has a similar cover secured by the lugnuts, but each nuts had a plastic ring near the thread opening. This was the best image I could find of one:

The holes in the wheel covers are sized such that the plastic ring holds them in securely without being too tight. I think this was a reaction to a lot of wheel covers being somewhat loose since the holes were designed to prevent them from getting cracked as a result of tightening the nuts.

I remember a bunch of us were trying to help get an aftermarket wheel cover on a coworker's Camry. It attached to the inside of the rim flange via a compression ring. It was a pain to try to get on.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: hsd
The captive wheel covers also avoid the flying wheel covers in movie chase scenes. Remember Bullet?

Those were hubcaps that didn't even cover the entire exposed part of the wheel.

The only vehicles I see them on these days are police cruisers. I don't think they were standard with any of the last Crown Vics except for the Police Interceptor versions.