Dealer installed non-factory wheels on my 2009 ES350

[Ky-Bob]

When I purchased my 2009 ES350 my spare tire was a full sized original wheel that came on the vehicle. The other wheels were sport edition SE-14 wheels. I just had a flat tire and needed to use the spare. Turns out that I could not use the spare since the dealer apparently replaced the wheel studs and they were too short for the spare. It's a shame that I found this out 15 years after I purchased it. What options do I have to make the spare usable or do I need to purchase a new wheel?

[RX400h]

Hello, Robert.

My guess is that replacing the spare would be less expensive than having all the wheel studs replaced. You may want to compare the cost of each option.

[Ky-Bob]

You are right replacing all the studs to fit the spare will cause studs to be too long for the sport wheels.

[Ky-Bob]

Turns out that the lug nuts for the original spare had a long shoulder that allowed the spare to be used. Dealer just hadn't put those lug nuts in the spare tire storage area.