How To Install Steering Wheel Lock

MECHANICAL security methods such as steering wheel locks are back in vogue, increasingly seen as one of the best ways to make your vehicle less attractive to would-be thieves in a digital age of keyless cars.

While car makers, tech boffins and thieves themselves go on upward coming up with ever-more ingenious technological innovations, it remains true that a thief will probably think twice about stealing your car if it is fitted with a steering wheel lock, even if they do seem a flake old-fashioned.

Machine thieves will wait for easy targets, and the increase in the time it takes to remove a steering wheel lock will mean they're more likely to divert their attention elsewhere.

There are a range of options available, at a range of toll points — you lot can choice one upwardly for just over a tenner, or spend upwards of £100 on the most sophisticated models. Hither are five of the best steering wheel locks you tin can buy this twelvemonth.

1. Stoplock Pro Steering Wheel Lock

Stoplock steering wheel lock

Stoplock Pro Steering Wheel Lock, £40 at Amazon – buy here

Car thieves will spot the Stoplock Pro's bright shade of yellow a mile off. As a bar lock, it'south also quick to install earlier leaving the car and should fit about steering wheels.

In a test, Auto Express found that the Stoplock Pro was equally hard to suspension as the Disklok (more on that beneath), and reported that dandy it open isn't exactly a repose matter, either.

The Stoplock is besides less than half the price of the Disklok, and Stoplock's 10-twelvemonth manufacturer warranty puts Disklok'southward to shame.

More 97% of Argos reviewers said that they approved of the product, although some said that they had to opt for the Stoplock Pro Aristocracy rather than the standard Pro due to difficulties fitting the device on their steering wheel. Worth bearing in mind.

2. Disklok Steering Wheel Lock

Disklok steering wheel lock

Disklok Steering Wheel Lock, from £132.99 at Amazon – buy here

Since Disklok was established nearly xxx years ago, its focus has been rather narrow: make the best steering bike lock that money can buy. It's been doing this since 1993, when the company's founder had two Ford Escort RS Turbo MK.2s stolen in a unmarried twelvemonth.

Such was his heartbreak that he came upward with a product that has won pretty much every relevant almanac laurels since then, and was approved past safety experts Thatcham Research back when they used to test steering bike locks.

Rather than taking the class of a bar that fits through the steering wheel the Disklok envelops the whole bike – the idea is that information technology'due south harder to cutting or intermission off.

There's besides a bar on the product to add to the inconvenience, and if a specially adventurous thief does determine to have a crack at removing it, they'll struggle — if attacked, the lock just spins wildly. Reviewers have institute that it takes significantly longer to forcibly remove than most competitors.

However, the Disklok has some downsides: with a reputation as the all-time in the game it comes with a hefty toll premium, and it'due south heavier and more cumbersome to put on and take off than some of its competitors.

People seem to be willing to alive with these drawbacks, though: various customers who bought the Disklok said that the product was worth the price, while another said: "The quality feels cracking and would be a struggle for any thief to become off, unless they've got a nuclear device."

And while its three-year guarantee pales in the face up of the decade-long one offered by Stoplock, it's still peace of mind.

3. Streetwize Double Hook Steering Bike Lock

Streetwize Double Hook Steering Wheel Lock

Streetwize Double Claw Steering Wheel Lock, £11.59 from Amazon – buy hither

The Stoplock and Disklok are quality bits of kit, sure, but they're not exactly cheap. If you can't put and then much of your paycheque towards a car anti-theft device, the Streetwize Double Claw Steering wheel lock might be the 1 for you.

Like the Stoplock, it's finished in a preventative shade of yellowish that volition stand out against the interior of most cars, and a "unique cross key locking mechanism" aims to make it specially difficult for thieves to go through.

And with low prices comes simplicity: it's made from steel and rubber, which makes it "pleasingly weighty", according to buyers, who too praised the fact that it is like shooting fish in a barrel to install and remove.

Nevertheless, in that location are besides spring to be a few setbacks, at such a low price: while 89% of Amazon reviewers gave the Streetwize Double Hook either four or five stars, some said that they struggled with the keys and experienced issues with the lock jamming. A number of users who experienced this when they first bought the lock said that they found that it disappeared subsequently being used a few times, though. A can of WD40 might be a wise additional investment.

4. Milenco High Security Steering Wheel Lock

Milenco High Security Steering Wheel Lock

Milenco High Security Steering Wheel Lock, £59.99 from Halfords – purchase hither

The Milenco is the second near expensive steering bicycle in this list, meaning that it has to make a case for itself. And it does: aside from the Disklok, information technology's the merely production here to be branded with the Sold Secure Approved sticker, meaning that it has passed a serial of tests carried out by trained locksmiths. The tests merits to be the most rigorous effectually.

It likewise has a unique design that means the lock doesn't take to be put across the horn, making it fit more types of cycle than some of its rivals.

Information technology comes with 3 security keys, and in example you're not a fan of xanthous, you tin also become information technology in a more than subtle — but perhaps less deterring — shade of grey, equally shown here.

An impressive 82% of Amazon reviewers take given the Malenco a five-star rating, with people maxim that information technology is well-fabricated, hefty and easy to fit.

However, reviewers whose steering wheels are made of soft materials — such every bit leather or alcantara — reported that it left small indentations in their wheel after being removed.

5. Streetwize Urban X Steering Cycle Lock

Streetwize Urban X Steering Wheel Lock

Streetwize Urban X Steering Wheel Lock, £39.95 at Amazon – buy here

Those who desire a lock that covers the whole bike but don't want to fork out for a DiskLok may find the Streetwize Urban X — at effectually a third of the toll — worth a expect.

The manufacturer says that this will fit any steering bike with a diameter of up to 39cm, although this comes with a flipside — some customers with smaller steering wheels said that it tin can feel a bit loose one time fitted, even after fitting the included padding.

This means that drivers of cars with smaller steering wheels (some newer Peugeots, for instance) may exist better off with the Disklok, which comes in multiple sizes.

However, it is probably the biggest visual deterrent of all the locks in this listing, and practical inclusions such as a cover and an extra fix of keys make information technology a sensible purchase at the price.

How does a steering wheel lock work?

The philosophy behind a steering wheel lock is fairly archaic, but information technology's effective: strapping a whacking great chunk of metal onto your steering cycle to make it harder to plough, and thus incommunicable to drive abroad without removal, volition probably act as a deterrent to potential thieves.

Can steering bicycle locks be removed by car thieves?

Steering bicycle locks are not unbreakable: thieves are surprisingly enterprising, and have come up with methods of peachy even the virtually sophisticated vehicle security systems. But the general thinking is that, if a thief is given the option betwixt a car installed with a steering wheel or ane without, they'll get for the latter.

In fact, one American security expert and constabulary enforcement veteran, George Babnick, said that in his three-decade long career recovering stolen vehicles, he never encountered a vehicle that had been stolen with a steering lock installed.

Of course, this doesn't hateful it can't happen, and some are easier to forcibly remove in tests than others.

Are steering wheel locks just for onetime cars?

Steering bicycle locks became a big deal in the 1980s, in the days before sophisticated primal locking, when cars could be easily hotwired (started past connecting wires together under the dashboard). For older cars, they tin can however be a do good, though valuable classic cars ought to have modern electronic immobilisers and trackers installed, too.

Only thieves have get more tech savvy, and many car thefts are of high value new cars with keyless entry and showtime systems, and then an onetime-schoolhouse steering wheel lock is increasingly seen as a good way to protect even the newest vehicles.

Should I buy a steering wheel lock for a keyless automobile?

Many machine security experts recommend information technology. Some modern cars with keyless entry and showtime can be stolen from your driveway in less than a minute. We've identified six ways thieves tin can steal a keyless car, and ways to prevent it, hither. Steering cycle locks are one affordable method of deterring the thieves.

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This article features products that take been chosen independently past Driving.co.united kingdom journalists, and our reviews are unbiased. We may earn revenue if y'all click the links and buy the products, but nosotros never allow this to touch our opinions.

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