Rusting lug nuts - car is 6 months old!

S

Spokanesteve

Member
Am I crazy to be frustrated by this? :frusty:

I was washing and waxing the 4runner this weekend and there is some surface rust on many/most of the OEM lug nuts. I was pretty surprised. I was able to remove some of the rust with some buffing.

First, are these just a chrome finish and not actual stainless steel? If that's the case are there stainless one's available?

Thought or recommendations appreciated.

Thanks much, Steve.
 
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They damaged chrome layer during wheels installation.
Unprofessional using torque tool. They don't care.
I saw this in service garage.
 
Slavic said:
They damaged chrome layer during wheels installation.
Unprofessional using torque tool. They don't care.
I saw this in service garage.
Click to expand...

That's a strong possibility. That being said you're gonna deform/dent the metal regardless of what you do. Eventually it will "crack" or deform the lug nut enough to allow corrosion to seep past the chrome plating. The very act of putting a wrench/socket on the nut deforms them very slightly along the contact surfaces of the nut (curious how the factory avoids that when installing everything.)

Additionally (I can't remember) if the 4Runners use the "veneer" style lug nuts that have a thin sheet of plated chrome over the actual steel lugnut (these tend to blister/expand with corrosion in some climates over a long period of time) or the more solid with a plating lug nuts. Toyota kinda goes between both designs for may vehicles.
[MENTION=144327]Spokanesteve[/MENTION]

Stainless Steel would not be an ideal fastener for a lug nut I would say, it'd also be ridiculously expensive (hence why it's used more as a coating than a base metal in many applications).

I have some nice aftermarket lug nuts on my wheels and after a winter or two they're spotting with specs of rust, it's just how it goes.
 
Spokanesteve said:
Am I crazy to be frustrated by this? :frusty:

I was washing and waxing the 4runner this weekend and there is some surface rust on many/most of the OEM lug nuts. I was pretty surprised. I was able to remove some of the rust with some buffing.

First, are these just a chrome finish and not actual stainless steel? If that's the case are there stainless one's available?

Thought or recommendations appreciated.

Thanks much, Steve.
Click to expand...



I had the same thing happen to me. I've owned my '16 SR5 now for 6 months and my front driver's side lug nuts were all rusty. I removed them one by one and was able to remove the surface rust with some rubbing compound. They look good as new but who knows how long that will last, especially here in the PNW.

Any suggestions to avoid this process in the future would be welcomed!


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Last edited:
Is this something that is to be expected? I am almost 3 years in ownership and have noticed this as well- very unsightly and I don't remember this being an issue in any other vehicles I have owned in the past.
 
Spokanesteve said:
Am I crazy to be frustrated by this? :frusty:

I was washing and waxing the 4runner this weekend and there is some surface rust on many/most of the OEM lug nuts. I was pretty surprised. I was able to remove some of the rust with some buffing.

First, are these just a chrome finish and not actual stainless steel? If that's the case are there stainless one's available?

Thought or recommendations appreciated.
Click to expand...

I would save the crazy for bigger issues that aren't easily replaced/repaired.

Try SOS pads for the rust. http://amzn.to/2qoKMtJ
On chrome or stainless, use them lightly so you don't actually physically scratch the hell out of stuff.
 
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