Sponsored

Has anyone had their wheels stolen off their jeep lately? I'm debating getting wheel locks.

Quetzal

Member
First Name
ERIC
Joined
Jun 26, 2019
Threads
2
Messages
23
Reaction score
5
Location
AZ
Vehicle(s)
2019 Wrangler Rubicon JLU
Occupation
Teacher
Has anyone had their wheels stolen off their jeep lately? I'm debating getting wheel locks, but I'm not even sure people steal wheels and tires off parked Jeeps anymore.
Sponsored

 

TimmH

Well-Known Member
First Name
Timm
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Threads
7
Messages
722
Reaction score
874
Location
Florida
Vehicle(s)
2018 JL Wrangler Sahara 3.6 Auto
Vehicle Showcase
1
I guess it would depend on where you park it.

I've never had wheels stolen, the only thing I have had stolen was my chrome valve caps off my Mustang, when parked at the golf course. I hope it was kids passing through, because if it was an adult that felt the need to steal them, they can have them, their life must be miserable if chrome valve cap stealing is part of your life. :)
 

Headbarcode

Well-Known Member
First Name
Mike
Joined
Aug 16, 2018
Threads
26
Messages
7,782
Reaction score
17,829
Location
LI, New York
Vehicle(s)
2019 JLUR Stingray 2.0 turbo
Vehicle Showcase
1
I just got the Gorilla 24 piece set of splined lugs. Small price to pay for peace of mind. Doing them all versus just one per wheel requires more time than most potential thieves would like to invest.
 

Token

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dave
Joined
Apr 11, 2019
Threads
8
Messages
286
Reaction score
456
Location
Toronto
Vehicle(s)
2019 JLUR
If your Jeep spends all of its time on road, and you park in shitty areas, go ahead and install wheel locks.

If you use your rig to go off-road, the wheel locks will just eventually become a pain in the a$$.

I don't run wheel locks because I off-road mine regularly, and don't live or work in an area where I'm concerned they would be stolen.

On the off chance they were stolen... That's what insurance is for.
 

Sponsored

ThirtyOne

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2017
Threads
52
Messages
5,346
Reaction score
7,979
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Website
www.jeepdoodles.com
Vehicle(s)
2021 JLU Rubicon, 2017 Chevy Tahoe
Build Thread
Link
I never use them. Just one more thing to go wrong when you need to change a tire.
 

S2k Chris

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Aug 1, 2018
Threads
32
Messages
816
Reaction score
1,719
Location
Arlington Heights, IL
Vehicle(s)
AP1 S2000, Rubicon 4xe
Occupation
Finance
I dropped the deductible on my Wrangler to $100 because I couldn't get glass coverage and I've already replaced a windshield.

So if my boring Sport S 5-spokes and Bridgestone Dueler tires get stolen, just means I get to upgrade to something decent for cheap :)
 

rkj__

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ryan
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
252
Reaction score
291
Location
Ontario, Canada
Vehicle(s)
Sierra, Countryman, RZR
Thieves are capable of defeating wheel locks. I have them on my truck, because they were already dealer installed. I wish I did not have them. I actually asked them to swap to regular nuts, so I did not have the hassle of the special socket, but they never did swap them. I guess they never noted my request, and I did not feel like making a fuss. They don't give me any piece of mind at all.

On my wife's car, a mechanic over-torqued the wheel bolts, so I broke my lock key trying to remove one. What a pain.

Furthermore, most people keep the lock key in the vehicle, very commonly in the glove box, or with the tool kit / jack. Thieves know this too. Sometimes, they will simply break your window, to retrieve the key, then steal your wheels. So, not only do you find your vehicle stripped of its wheels and tires, but you also have the hassle of cleaning smashed glass, and getting the window replaced.

My $0.02.
 

Pig-Pen

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
May 29, 2018
Threads
80
Messages
3,872
Reaction score
5,971
Location
Eastvale, CA
Vehicle(s)
2018 JLU
Occupation
jabroni
Clubs
 
i dont have locking lug nuts on my jeep. it doesnt sit anywhere for periods of time where the wheels could be stolen. i did have a swap out my spare for a flat recently. had to park it in some random neighborhood for a couple of hours. while jacking it up and pulling the wheel off, i thought how easy it would be to steal wheels off a wrangler. just slide a floor jack underneath. who cares where you place it, because its not your vehicle, and use battery operated impact gun to remove the lug nuts. stack bricks under the jeep. done! oh, the guy has 5 spline drive lug nuts? the keys are universal. im a thief (part time) so i know this and carry a few in my car for instances like this. oh its a locking lug? i carry cheap sockets that i hammer on to defeat that lock.

or they just take the whole vehicle. we put brand new 20" 3 piece custom wheels and tires on my buddys tahoe and i think it was the first night he had the wheels someone stole the vehicle form the parking garage of his condo. got it all on tape. took them a minute to hop in and drive off. they found the vehicle a couple of days later, sans $4k in wheels/tires. insurance just lol'd at him. paid him for value of oem wheels/tires.

if i had to park my jeep out on the street all night id sure as hell be concerned about it. id likely use a variety of mixed locks on it. more importantly, id do whatever i could to not have to park my jeep out on the street! its a gamble. even at an old house when i parked in my driveway id have dreams of my car being broken into and being stolen. always running to the window when id hear the slightest noise. now i have a gated in compound with 3 dogs roaming around 24-7. i still get paranoid when leaving out of town for the weekend.

If you go offroad those wheel locks are actually creating risk. I don't have a problem with them on the spare, and I keep a wheel lock on my spare tire. The ones on the ground run a risk of being damaged by a rock or getting clogged up with mud. If you go offroad, the safe play is to replace your locking lugs with the standard ones. When you're back off the trail you can quickly put the locks back on with an electric impact if you feel the need to have them regularly.
ive seen issues twice out on the trails in the past six months. one was a land cruiser that rolled. the tire came off the wheel. guy needed to swap out to the spare. he had all six as spline drive lug nuts. well, on the first one, he broke the key (too tight i guess). some strangers helped him with their socket set. they had to manually remove SIX spline drive lug nuts. this is usually done by hammering a socket on. who knows how many got ruined doing that. the 2nd time someone had a brand new wrangler jl and punctured the tire. after digging all over the jeep for 30 minutes, the locking lug key (stocker) was no where to be found. help up the entire group (17 rigs) for about an hour while they got the spare swapped out.
 

Sponsored

TJ2018

Well-Known Member
First Name
Eric
Joined
Nov 2, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
2,099
Reaction score
10,071
Location
Orange County, CA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Punk'n JLUR; 2020 Silverado Trail Boss
Vehicle Showcase
1
Often the difference in theft deterrent is making it harder/inconvenient for theft to occur. As many have said, wheel locks can be defeated, however they will just as likely move on to an easier target. Like @Headbarcode mentioned I too got the Gorilla splined lug nuts. Every nut is a "lock"... including the 3 on the spare. They also come in black if that's your druthers.

IMG_2242.JPG
 

TJ2018

Well-Known Member
First Name
Eric
Joined
Nov 2, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
2,099
Reaction score
10,071
Location
Orange County, CA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Punk'n JLUR; 2020 Silverado Trail Boss
Vehicle Showcase
1
Seems like the better deterrence to tire thieves is to be sure your jeep is so tall that the cheap $30 jack they're using can't reach anything to lift it.
Well said sir!
:CWL::LOL::CWL::LOL::CWL:
 

Jeeporama

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Oct 27, 2018
Threads
16
Messages
525
Reaction score
1,107
Location
Canada
Vehicle(s)
2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (JLU), 2005 Jeep Liberty
Vehicle Showcase
1
Install an alarm that blasts intro of The Immigrant Song on repeat, full blast on the stereo when any lug is removed. They may still steal the wheels, but it makes me feel better that they crapped their pants doing it.

 

Pig-Pen

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
May 29, 2018
Threads
80
Messages
3,872
Reaction score
5,971
Location
Eastvale, CA
Vehicle(s)
2018 JLU
Occupation
jabroni
Clubs
 
Often the difference in theft deterrent is making it harder/inconvenient for theft to occur. As many have said, wheel locks can be defeated, however they will just as likely move on to an easier target. Like @Headbarcode mentioned I too got the Gorilla splined lug nuts. Every nut is a "lock"... including the 3 on the spare. They also come in black if that's your druthers.

IMG_2242.JPG
if you have $2k in MTs on your vehicle and everything else on the street is a camry, im putting in the effort to get those MTs!
if live on a street where everyone has lifted Jeeps with $$ wheels/tires then yeah, ill go to your neighbor without the locks.

gorilla spline drive lug nuts are not locks. the key is universal. i have a handful of them in my garage and im not a wheel thief lol. using a battery operated impact gun its not going to take any longer to remove yours as a jeep with standard lugs. random thieves sure but if you have something someone really wants and they've had their eye on it then they'll likely do a test fit when theyre casing your jeep. then come back for the prize. this is of course if your jeep is parked for long periods of time in the same place often. if its just at the mall or a restaurant then way less likely, but still possible.

locks are better than spline drive for theft but even still, they only make so many different locking lug keys. guy at the tire shop showed me he has a drawer with a handful of locking lug keys in it for when a customer forgets theirs at home. some times the key will fit and they can continue with the repair. thats 100 times better than a spline drive though (for theft). especially if theyre the Mcgard type. those are way more difficult to bypass due to the smooth rounded exterior of the lock.
 

Speedracer

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ricky
Joined
Sep 21, 2019
Threads
6
Messages
71
Reaction score
105
Location
New Orleans
Vehicle(s)
2019 Sahara JL 2.0
Probably cheaper to find upgraded tire wheel combos on you local FB marketplace if your wheels were stolen...So many people trying to sell their stock wheels.
Sponsored

 
 



Top