Stolen Sho Wheels and Tires FML :/

[DMB]

So I wake up this morning to go to work and find my Sho on blocks. Axx holes stole all 4 tires and rims and broke my rear driver side window. I call the police and file a police report and they tell me there is probably nothing they can do. They did dust my car and took the lugs nuts that where left to check for prints. Now I am left left to deal with my car insurance and my dealer to have the car fixed.

Couple of questions, anyone else had this happen? If so what do you to stop it? My fear is everything gets fixed and they come back and do it all over again. I live in a nice area with low crime, but do not have a garage and I am less than 2 miles from the highway. Easy on and off for thieves to come and steal and head out of the area.

My wheels are the stock flower wheels with one of the lug nuts being a lock. Why didn't the factory alarm go off when the window was broken? Maybe it did and they knew how to shut it off? What can I do to prevent this in the future? I always keep my car locked and never keep anything of value inside. Terrible feeling to see your car like this.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[SHOdded]

Really sorry to hear, DMB! Hope they get your SHO fixed up right quick.

 

[SHOCH]

Yea sucks, doesn't matter where you live now, they are heading to nicer neighborhoods round here too. check e bay/craigslist for your wheels yet?

 

[rubydist]

bummer, mornings are bad enough without that crap.

wheel locks help, did you have them?

the alarm may not go off unless a door is opened via the inside door handle. it sounds like they did not open any doors.

 

[DMB]

Thanks guys.

Each wheel had one lock on it from the factory. I for sure will not be leaving the key to the lug nuts in the glove box any more. Pain in the rear though to take it with you every time you are in and out. I am pretty sure if they know what they are doing, the lock just slows them down. It might scare away the amateurs though.

So the alarm only goes off if they open the door? Breaking the window alone would not set it off? Wondering now if I should get an aftermarket alarm as well as the item in the link below.

I am sure they are already on the Internet for sale. It's to bad there isn't a serial number on each wheel to identify them.

Hope this doesn't happen to anyone on the forum.

Anybody have this? Wondering if this works well as it could send an alert directly to your phone if somebody is messing with your car.

http://accessories.ford.com/aerial-asy-10667.html

 

[SHOrod]

That really sucks!

Maybe you should go with all locking nuts instead of just one per wheel. That would make it a nuisance for you every time you want to pull the wheels though. There are a limited number combinations for the lug keys and there are also universal kits. The universal kits work, but they are not easy to use. If the thief started to try to steal a wheel they probably would give up quickly once they realized every lug was a lock.

As for the factory alarm, as mentioned above, there's no shock sensor on the factory alarm, it only really protects from a door, hood, or trunk being opened in an unexpected way.

-Rod

 

[DMB]

I thought about that to SHOrod and might do that as well. I didn't know about the factory alarm not having a shock sensor. Seems like Ford should add it to the alarm. Does it go off if the car is jacked up i.e. an incline? My 09 mustang had the factory alarm and it was to supposed to go off if the car was on an incline.

 

[SHOCH]

Locks are for honest people, it might slow them down but the pros have ways. were the studs damaged?

 

[DMB]

I don't think they were. Will find out more early next week after the dealer goes through it and coordinates with my insurance company

 

[Aeterna]

Ide put the lug key in your trunk. This is why my car goes in the garage and my GFs is outside lol.

 

[Harry S Sugarman]

So I wake up this morning to go to work and find my Sho on blocks. Axx holes stole all 4 tires and rims and broke my rear driver side window. I call the police and file a police report and they tell me there is probably nothing they can do. They did dust my car and took the lugs nuts that where left to check for prints. Now I am left left to deal with my car insurance and my dealer to have the car fixed.

Couple of questions, anyone else had this happen? If so what do you to stop it? My fear is everything gets fixed and they come back and do it all over again. I live in a nice area with low crime, but do not have a garage and I am less than 2 miles from the highway. Easy on and off for thieves to come and steal and head out of the area.

My wheels are the stock flower wheels with one of the lug nuts being a lock. Why didn't the factory alarm go off when the window was broken? Maybe it did and they knew how to shut it off? What can I do to prevent this in the future? I always keep my car locked and never keep anything of value inside. Terrible feeling to see your car like this.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Just joined. That sucks. I have a brand new set of factory rims to sell if still need replace. Just replaced mine with a new set of voseen rims

 

[SportTracker]

That totally sucks and I'm sorry this happened to you. I agree with the above poster that multiple locks might prove a better deterrent. You might also look into some dash cameras for the front and rear windows. I know that sucks too, but one of my retired cop buddies has a forward and a rearward camera mounted in his new Caddy ATS. He got sideswiped and the video helped his case by disproving the other driver's claim that he cut her off. One of these has a night vision mode on it: http://www.zetronix.com/Car-Cameras/c59/index.html?osCsid=74303hdirjippr2a3jv7ais161

 

[gbriank]

Gorilla sells several versions. Make sure to hide the lock removal tool in a good spot.

 

[DMB]

Thanks for the offer Harry, insurance is going to get me new rims and tires.

I was looking at the Gorilla wheel locks as well. Car will have nothing but locks on it when I get it back. Reviews of the Gorilla locks seem positive online, some complaints about rust on them after a little bit of time though.

The camera seems like a good idea. Would have to find a place to hide it so they don't know it's there, but still have views inside and outside of the car. Would have been awesome to give that to the police for a description of the suspects and the vehicle they used.

 

[sperold]

There is another way to make use of the wheel locks, and you would only need one per wheel.

I misplaced my wheel lock adaptor, and had no luck in getting another.

I went to NAPA and bought their Ultra Pro "Lug Nut Remover Set" which has 2 hardened socket-looking things that have a left hand thread cut on the inside diameter, instead of a nut size as in a regular socket.
You push-in while you are on the breaker bar and the "Lug Nut Remover Set" unit augers on the outside diameter of your wheel lock and eventually stops augering and breaks the wheel lock free (like a nut) so that is unscrews. It is a bit of work to get the "Lug Nut Remover Set" unit off the wheel lock, but I am sure the crook either brings a lot of them, or they have a quick method to back the remover off.

These units depend on being able to start on the outside diameter of the wheel lock, (which are all one of two sizes), so either grind-down the first 3/4 inch of your lock, or build up a layer of weld on the top, both of which stop the "Lug Nut Remover Set" from grabbing the outer diameter.

Buy the Napa set and doctor your lock nuts so that the Napa thing doesnot work, just make sure you never lose your original adaptor. And buy a lock nut that doesnot have that familiar hour glass shape, which I am sure all the crooks have.
If that is the only shape available, fill in the middle 1/3 of the adapter shape with weld (it doesnot do much torque transmitting) and grind your male adaptor to match
(much like the appliance screw heads that have a post in the middle of their female torx, to keep your regular male torx out).

 

[BigB15]

I thought about that to SHOrod and might do that as well. I didn't know about the factory alarm not having a shock sensor. Seems like Ford should add it to the alarm. Does it go off if the car is jacked up i.e. an incline? My 09 mustang had the factory alarm and it was to supposed to go off if the car was on an incline.

Ford sells a upgraded system that has a shock sensor that integrates with the factory system and FOB.

http://accessories.ford.com/electronics/vehicle-security/electronic-module-10670.html

Part# : DL3Z-19A361-A

 

[gbriank]

No safety measure (wheel locks) are a proven method of keeping thieves away. With enough time, any measure can be defeated. These devices are mean to delay and annoy would be thieves. If something takes too long, there is a chance of being caught or having the crap beaten out of you. And they know it.

 

[Racer X]

Unless you've movement sensors inside the cabin, a broken window alone won't set off the alarm, including with the shock sensor option if they're careful maneuvering inside the car.

My recommendation... don't bother with the wheel locks. Save yourself a broken window, and just let insurance deal with it if it happens again.