Useless tools, unable to change the wheel - awful quality.

i've had toy tools that were better made. my scissors jack started to bend as i got the wheels off of the ground.
don't you get toyotacare over there?

 

I have not had a good Manufacturer installed "Spare Kit"...ever. The Prius is definitely on the lower end of those seen though. Whether you like Toyota or not...put some real tools in your car/s.

 

You shouldn't be having problems loosening lug nuts, to the point that it takes a kick. Did you try a two-handed grip on the supplied wrench, your dominant hand at the handle end and other hand steadying at the centre? I've found the locking nut socket a snug fit on the wrench and you need to keep it square and pressed against the locking nut face. A couple of question:

1. Has the dealership been doing tire rotations? Maybe they've hopelessly overtorqued? The spec is 76 ft/lb.
2. Were you loosening the nuts before raising the vehicle? That's much easier/safer, and I believe noted in the Owner's Manual.

FWIW, the Toyota scissor jack has a poor connector to the torsion bar, crap-quality steel, and poor single-eye design.

Toyota style:



Honda style, for comparison:


(Generic pictures, not necessarily Toyota and Honda, just to illustrate the style.)

 

i keep a breaker pipe in the trunk that slips over the lug wrench, and do not have any locking lug bolts.

 

Yeah, same here. Our car came with locking nuts, but I turfed them out, purchased four extra nuts. Locking nut sockets are a pain, and too easy to get misplaced by a tire shop or dealership, then it's time for Eric the Car Guy methods...

Edit:

A dry run tire change* with the supplied equipment is a good exercise for all new owners: helps you find all the bits needed, get a feel for it. Do a front wheel, it's the most "fun".

A couple of extras worth having on hand: a small square of heavy plywood (sub-base for the jack on loose dirt) and a pair of wheel chocks (employ as shown in owner's manual).

* Assuming you have a spare.

 

I have put one of these in my boot - been in at least my last 5 or 6 cars.

 

Now that you mention it I have a folding version of a 4 way wheel wrench I am going to put in the car.

I think it will fit in one of the groves in the foam.

A block of wood is always handy, use it under the jack or as a wheel chock.

 

I keep a Harbor Freight 1/2" drive torque wrench with the correct size socket and a 3" extension in all of my cars. Works great for removing/installing wheels and you can get the torque set right without guessing. You can get the HF torque wrench on sale for $11 with everything else from Amazon for around $10.

 

I wouldn't use a torque wrench for removal.

For at home, wheel rotation, a decent long -handled wrench is nice. Out and about to deal with a flat the Toyo wrench is adequate.

 

My torque wrench is used only for the wheels and they have maintain cal. very well over the years. It is cheap enough to make it an good tool. Just set the torque to 100 ft lbs to remove and 75 ft lbs to install. Ive been doing this for over 30 years with my 4Runner rock crawler, but to each their own. Its just like having a spare tire or a can of fix a flat.

 

You got me thinking my 4 way wheel wrench was too big so I found a six point deep well socket and breaker bar and put it in one of the foam cutouts. There I go adding weight to it. .lol


I was getting in the way of my wife while she was waxing the Prius.

 

I thankfully (knock on wood) haven't had to use my spare or lug nut wrench. Used to have special lug nuts on my previous car with 17 rims and went thru multiple locking nut wrenches on those, at least 5 or 6 (tire shops seemed to be good on stripping them out. No interest in getting locking nuts on my new tires.

I noticed many things on the prius seem to be low weight which in my opinion means cheaper and not better, I guess all because of saving weight which equals more MPG. On my 03 matrix, never had an issue with the scissor jack in the dozen or so times I used it. To get the tire lug nuts off, I sometimes literally had to jump on my toyota provided wrench to break them loose and I am a pretty big guy. I missed the plastic deck lid on my matrix and the spare compartments that was provided. I enjoy all the tech this car has to offer but in other places, it makes me wonder if this car will hold up decently to being driven 300+K as I am sure some of us will put on the car.

 

I'm not even sure it's necessary to care what it's set for when removing. It will click at the set torque, but continue to work as a wrench, and to the best of my knowledge, anyway, that doesn't hurt it any. Once it has clicked, it's at the limit of travel for the torque mechanism and you're pretty much just turning the socket directly.

Maybe I wouldn't treat a super expensive torque wrench that way, but a cheap one that lives in the car I would, and not feel guilty about it.

-Chap

 

That shouldn't be. Someone rotating your wheels with just an impact wrench?

 

Locking lug nuts are sold by the dealer and are aftermarket. So you can't blame Toyota on the quality of the locking lug nuts, that's just a nuts!

 

...or a sledge-hammer!

 

do not know, got a flat a few months ago, tools worked fine, changed the tire.

 

It's likely someone put his wheels on with an impact wrench, without torque stick or whatever.

 

My main complaint with the Prius (from 2005 til present) is the incredibly inefficient jack. I solved the problem and bought a 12V elec jack, no work, no sweat and precise height adj. As for the lug nuts I step on them all w/ the long handle. Iv never torqued, just step on them lightly, never had one come off. When it comes to Toyota’s tire solutions, I shy away from all of them. I think they should send all thier Engineers back to tire changing school. The car is a miracle. To: 80 mpg From: 140mpg. includes 5 massive hills and about 1368 foot climb! on return. So I put up with its ideosynchrsies!

Altitude edited, Difference between Roseville and Cool.