Will Locking Your Car Steering Wheel Truly Prevent Car Theft?

When it comes to car security, it’s important to add layers of security as opposed to just one type, like a steering wheel lock, for example. The steering wheel lock can help in preventing your car from being stolen, but it’s not without its own flaws. 

Ultimately, many people still wonder if steering wheel locks really protect a vehicle from being stolen today even with the presence of anti-theft devices in cars.

Steering Wheel Locks are Effective Until they are Not

In case you’re not aware of what a steering wheel lock is, it’s a locking rod-type device made of metal and plastic that stretches across your car’s steering wheel to prevent it from being steered properly by the wrong hands. 

What that means is that if a thief starts your car and attempts to drive it without removing the lock first, they won’t be able to drive the car properly, rendering it useless and hopefully deterring the theft altogether.

However, over the years, many car thieves have proven the effectiveness of steering wheel locks. The popularity of steering wheel locks have become popular over the years, and many copies of them have been invented and even revised to make car theft even harder. But there’s no certainty that those revisions actually helped.

Steering Wheel Locks can be Bypassed

The unfortunate truth is that steering wheel locks can be bypassed quite easily. There have been many cases where professional thieves have stolen cars equipped with steering wheel locks. They simply cut a portion of the steering wheel to remove the device or drill it to disable it.

Even larger steering wheel locks, which are heavier than most other steering wheel locks and cover the whole wheel, which should scare thieves off still get stolen. However, even a more “secure” device has its weaknesses.

Always Add Layers to Your Car’s Security

Although steering wheel locks don’t work that well for scaring thieves off, it doesn’t mean that they are completely useless. There are plenty of real-world success stories and positive testimonials about steering locks, but for every good one, it seems like there are negative reviews as well.

If you want to keep your car safe, there isn’t any one solution that will keep a thief from stealing it. If a thief wants your car, they will find a way to get it. In that case, it could be better to add multiple layers of security (lock your car, car alarm, steering wheel lock, a GPS device, etc.) to keep your car sitting right where you parked it. A steering wheel lock could work in some situations, but it’s far better when combined with other anti-theft devices.