How to Remove That Stubborn Hubcap When You’re on the Side of the Road
A lot of older vehicles on the road today still use hubcaps, while newer cars tend to use wheel covers that secure differently. Besides the extreme amount of frustration that will likely follow your newfound discovery of a flat tire, removing a hubcap can be a real pain. Unfortunately removing that stubborn hubcap is also the first step in the process of steps required to remove a wheel to change a flat tire. However, they are often not as hard to remove as you might initially think.
Step 1: Use a screwdriver or the blade end of a wheel lug wrench as a prying tool against the edge of a hubcap. It is often required to pry around the edge of the hubcap in multiple different locations to fully remove it from the rim.
You will want to create leverage by pushing towards the rim of the wheel, driving the point of the screwdriver or lug wrench up against the inside of the hub cap.
It might take a few more seconds to remove the hubcap by prying along different areas of the edge of the cap, but it will greatly lower your chances of breaking the hubcap and greatly increase the chances of you not violently banging the heel of your hand against it in frustration. Just imagine prying the lid off a can of paint.
Step 2: Once you have the cap off, make sure that you lay it upside down so that you can use it as a tray to put your lug nuts or lug bolts into. The reason for this is simple. There is nothing that can ruin your day quite as quickly as having your lug nuts get kicked and rolled down a sewer drain. So, not only use the hub cap as a container or tray for your lug nuts but put it someplace it won’t get knocked over or stepped on.
And there you have it. Tried and true hub cap removal that is sure to get you back on the road as quickly and safely as possible.
