Imagine using a lock to protect something fairly important to you, like say, your *car.* Then you see that 1) LPL has done a video on it. 2) It's all of two minutes long. 3) It starts with him reading an entire letter aloud in his usual, calming cadence.
Yeah, I'm definitely not super pumped about LPL basically turning his channel into a one-stop shop and in-depth instruction manual on lockpicking. That feels pretty... well, unethical, immoral, and possibly criminal. I know he's a lawyer, but I had hoped he had better ethics than THIS.
@@ryankudebeh2570that comment is why dislike transparency needs to exist. If this channel was all that someone needed to decide to become a criminal... there wasn't much stopping them from becoming a criminal (not to mention that both the tools and the knowhow are as easily available here as anywhere else on the internet)
@@ryankudebeh2570 You are so unequivocally in the wrong here, it's honestly scary. Kia and Hyundai are billion-dollar companies that cheaped out when it came to the anti-theft devices installed in their vehicles, and their customers deserve to know that this $3 Ali Express knock-off of a 90's "As Seen on TV" product will not deter a thief.
I miss the old Club locks. Not because they helped secure my car, but because I lived in a bad neighborhood and it was comforting to have a weapon handy whilst driving.
@@logicplague2077 In some US states, if you discharge a firearm to "merely protect property" you're guilty of at least manslaughter. Then we have those "Stand your ground" states where drunk idiots think getting in someone's face turns where their feet are into "their ground" and start shooting.
I bought two remote battery cut offs from a company that sells stuff returned or didn't sell from Amazon, Walmart and other major online/brick and mortar retailers. Sold both for a nice little profit.
Effective old-school solution, but you'd have to remember to use it every time you park, right? Is there a switch that automatically opens when you shut the car off? This would seem ideal.
@@hibob841 The method we normally employ is a momentary switch. Once the motor starts, don't touch it again. It needs to be pressed each time while turning the key.
The more LPL I watch, the more I realize that locks are basically just for show if someone has the tools and basic knowledge 😂 Having said that, most criminals don't have either and locks do their job well enough. A lot of thieves are opportunistic and if something isn't easily accessible or locked, they'll just move on the the next and try again
There certainly are good locks out there, but they're pricey. Eg best bike D lock currently in my view is litelok X3. I highly doubt one being compromised by picking or destruction on the street. But you pay your it- £250
Oh yeah, my mom had one of these in the 90s. Same exact design and everything. Good job KIA and Hyundai, you chose a solution that's old enough to buy alcohol.
The problem isn't that the solution isn't hip and modern its that is just doesn't work... Chipped keys have been around since the early 80s and many countries made them a legal requirement in the 90s and 2000s, its not like they add a ton of cost to the manufacture of already inflated vehicle prices, I am amazed that US auto markets allow for such easily stolen vehicles...
I bought one in like 1996? when I got a brand new Nissan Quest minivan. It was my first vehicle that cost me real money and wasn't a $1200 hoopty. It was a pain in the ass but I think it offers enough deterrent today for these Kia/Hyundia kids. They're looking for a quick joy ride in many cases.
Reminds me of my sister's solution to bike theft. She lived on top of huge hill with an unlocked bike with 0 brakes. Now her bike still got stolen but unlike here there were consequences for the thief.
It boggles my mind that Hyundai/Kia sold the exact same cars on the Canadian market (and I'm sure elsewhere) with a key transponder installed, but didn't feel the need to do so for the US market. I seem to recall something about regulatory requirements in Canada, but as transponder technology has been around for quite a while now, this feels like an effective solution to a known problem that is ultimately costing Hyundai/Kia a lot of customers. If you sold me a car without a basic security feature and that car was subsequently stolen, I'd be taking my insurance cheque to any other dealership/brand but yours.
I have 3 vehicles outside w/o immobilizers. They aren't needed where I am. They are a nuisance at best and a source of problems at worst. One more stupid module to break and expensive keys.
Yeah, especially since that technology is very cheap at this point. I have a 25 year old car with a chip. I absolutely hate the higher price of the keys and possibly getting them programmed by someone, but the technology is cheaper to initially implement than it is to purchase replacements.
@@mediocreman2 some of the older stuff wasn't as bad as the new stuff. Like that GM system that used resistors in the key. But I had a 2000 Ford that I drove for 10 years with only one key. Initially a 3rd key was too expensive (over $100), them one was lost and the cost of getting another key programmed was crazy. And even now for new cars a spare key is often too expensive for several years. And there are 2-3 modules involved, Any one of which can render the car unusable. Often a thousand dollars to have one of those replaced.
@@NoLongo indeed I do. No power seats, locks, or windows. For smaller cars no power steering. Manual transmissions as well. The fewer modules and busses the better.
Salesman: "If you bring this baby home today, I'll give you six months 0% interest!" Husband: "If I bring that baby home today, my wife will give me six months 0% interest."
Still waiting for the day when you do it one more time so we can see it wasn't a fluke and it turns out that it was, in fact, a fluke. Probably never going to happen, but you gotta admit it would be funny.
He probably checks behind the scenes to make sure before hand, but it would be funny to see a take where he just can't get it right and has to keep at it for an awkward amount of time. Lol Love his content regardless
I considered sending him a safe box that could be raked with the challenge of showing it wasn't a fluke, then I was going to put a Fluke multimeter in the box. Alas, he will no longer do closed boxes after someone sent one in that Mrs LPL didn't like, not to mention people occasionally send trackers trying to find where he lives.
I've got one of these things in my car. They're both from the 80s. It upgrades the security from being able to steal it with no tools at all, to actually needing some sort of tool. That's just about it. Pretty sure at this point the carburetor is the superior anti-theft device by now.
@@Ayn-Rand-Is-Dead It's too bad most late model cars are automatics unless they're sports cars or if you're not in the USA. I think a reason behind that is people are too lazy and no longer want any connection with their vehicles, whether they know it or not. People are always wanting the greatest and newest things and they'd rather have a brand new shiny car in automatic than a late 90's car that is out of date with tech, but with a reliable standard transmission. These people brought this problem to themselves 🤣😂🤣
I remember watching a news program debunking the security of these wheel locks. Basically he leveraged them with a pipe and used his body weight to snap them. Comically, he would slam back into the car seat when they popped.
I remember a consumer advocate testing one on his TV show in the early 90's. A viewer wrote in, stating that the lock could be defeated by freezing it, and then breaking it open. They recruited a former car thief to test this hypothesis. Sure enough, in under two minutes, he froze the lock, and broke it off with a hammer. This was repeated multiple times with the same result.
My grandpa had one of those and I used to always play with it and swing it like a sword when I was little. Along with the lock, you sir also unlocked my memories thank you
@@BrianDiener Kia's have come a long way. When they first hit the US market they were total garbage. They actually make several really nice models now. I have owned one for about 5 years now and needed only basic maintenance on a vehicle that is now 10 years old.
I didn't even need to do that. A guy put one of those on my sister's cars. Her ex. All I needed was a machinists screwdriver and a wrench. The screwdriver sheared the pins inside right off. It wasn't even as hard as turning a grinder to grind meat. Honorable mention to the guys that used to buy a freon can and use that to freeze it, then hit it with a hammer to break it.
Steering wheel locks DO deter thieves. Anything you can do to slow them down or make the stolen car worth less will make it more likely that they will pick a different target.
I had a problem with a car being stolen repeatedly, because it didn't have any immobilizer. I did buy a steering wheel lock, similar to this one. And yes, my steering wheel was cut off. They didn't manage to steal the car THAT time, though. I can't remember what was wrong with it, but I think it just didn't start. They did however leave a crowbar in my car. And I still have that crowbar.
"Sir, LPL has put out a video of our steering wheel locks" "Ah, surely he's impressed by the engineering and our concern for our customers" "It's only 2 minutes long sir" "... what" "The video is only two minutes long!" "My God...."
Nobody in China is having that conversation. They pull up every old American design they can, copy it, use the cheapest possible components with as much dangerous chemicals for you and their workers as they can, mass produce, and sell at a huge profit in bulk. When someone finally realizes the design is inferior, that company is long gone or has amalgamated to another name and start the process over with a different color of paint. Your mistake was applying Western ideas about quality and reputation to Chinese manufacturing. They couldn't care less if the product is horrible, as long as the sales justify the production.
You really think the company that decided they would try to save money by not having an immobilizer was going to buy good quality locks to send out? This is the very definition of being penny wise and a dollar dumb.
Back when these locks became popular I remember an article about the easy in overcoming the lock and also one showed a photo of a BMW steering wheel with the lock still attached on the sidewalk (apparently where the BMW was parked). I think that some or maybe most car thieves would choose a car without these than one with the lock on the steering wheel.
I remember watching an early LPL video on a similar Lock mechanism, all you had to do was remove the little rubber plug on the back side of the lock and use either a screwdriver or A paper clip to turn the Whole mechanism loose!!!!
There used to be an infomercial that demonstrated that modern steering wheels are soft as hell, just hacksaw through it. Quicker than picking if you don't have your special key
@@chicoktc I suspected the softness actually is a safety feature. That is one of the most likely objects for the driver to collide with in an accident, so you don't want it too hard.
The easiest way to stop this is Install a hiden remote battery disconnect switch. It's going to be hard for some one to steel your vehicle if they can't get it started.
Yeah, a hidden kill switch in the console or glovebox would be a simple fix, and near impossible to beat as the thief isn't going to open every compartment in the car looking for one. I know someone who wired one of the dead buttons on the control panel as one- defrost, AC, recirculate, and the blank one is the interlock.
Exactly!! Back in the '80s I put in a switch in my cigarette lighter (since I didn't smoke ) that I had to press before it started. Simple yet effective!!
I used to work in insurance, and it always made me chuckle that the discount given for having an after market steering lock would basically never cover the cost of the device.
The discount given for car alarms isn't much better either. I just talked to my insurance company and they said it would be a discount of $3.45 a month. The price I was quoted for a car alarm means it will cover it in about 15 years.
@@MichaelMangi years ago I had a thatcham 1 approved alarm fitted to my car, and they gave me no discount at all, yet some other cars you could not get a quote without said alarm, they make it up as they go along imo.
I work at a Hyundai dealership, I almost couldn't belive it when they sent us a box of these saying it was for an up coming recall lmao This is your friendly reminder to not by a Hyundai
When was this? I worked as a kia dealer tech for a few months this fall-summer and we were just doing the software updates and "don't steal me" stickers.
@@michaelcharach The simple answer (although not 100% accurate) is any vehicle made between 2010 and 2019 that has a key starter switch (not a push-button starter). Check with your dealership for more details.
My Kia Rio was stolen last week with one of these wheel locks which didn't stop them, the day before my appointment to get the software patch. The waiting list is 6 months at dealerships here. They used my car in more car jackings where they rear end someone and steal their car when they get out. And it's teenagers doing this. The whole thing is just incredibly sad.
That's what happens when society is taught to let thieves go rather than defend themselves. Defending yourself may be more dangerous in the moment, but if nobody ever stands up to criminals, crime will flourish and you'll be in even more danger, which is what we're dealing with now after years of society just letting them get away with it.
they already know how to remove this kind of garbage tier locks. Heck my dad knew how to remove these locks when he was young. It's ancient stuff that wasn't good even back then
Good video, to the point, I appreciate you taking the time. I may have fractured a law or two as a youth. The “club” has never been a solution. As you said, saw through the wheel. If I owned a newer model Hyundai this would be unacceptable. As an adult Locksports enthusiast I have a “no cars” policy. I won’t even talk about it.
I took my veloster into the dealer and asked me if i wanted a steering wheel lock, but when i told them it was a manual we just laughed and said thats all the theft deterrent i needed.
I've been to a few dealers where most of the porters can't bring it into the service bay and have to call someone else. We have 3 manuals currently. My wife's XTerra passed 200k miles and it is tough to find any 4wd manuals as replacement.
Something to consider with these kinds of locks is just the small amount of time it takes on top for a thief. We had A LOT (I'm talking like 20-30 every night) steering wheel airbags stolen around our area for some time. From what we've been told, it takes them less then 20 seconds for the whole process. The fact that these kind of locks come with different keyways, would need them to bring different jigglers and tools, and even that 2-3 second jiggling will cost too much time. So after some of our colleagues bought these locks, their cars were the ones no longer affected, even though around them they were still stolen. If you park in the middle of nowhere with nobody around and time isn't an issue, these locks won't obviously stop anybody. But for some applications, this might actually be enough.
Most of the Kia thefts are just stupid kids joyriding and this lock's goal is not to make your car impossible to steal, it's just to make it harder to steal than the one next to it. These kids are not walking around with key jigglers and hacksaws, they are just taking them when they see an opportunity. So really the best feature of this specific lock is that it's bright yellow so they hopefully see it through the window before they smash it out.
I mean yeah. You are absolutely right about weirdly shaped keyway being an deterrent, but if every hyundai will soon have an identical easily identifiable lock it will no longer be an deterrent and kia boys just instead of one tool will know to take an small rake with them as well.
Agree. Definitely stops/hinders opportunist thieves and slows down organised ones. For me I agree with you, security isn't about 100% securing something, it's about just making it "that" much harder so they can go onto easier targets
When I was 19 I had one of these on my car. One day I lost the key to it, so out of frustration I gave it a good tug. It just came out. I've tried this with many of these, and if you can get a good grip on them, they are actually quite easy to brute force. The ones from the pedal to the steering are worst, as you can actually just put your foot on them, giving you the ability to put down a lot of strength.
I can’t believe this is their solution. They should be offering people the immobiliser system that every single U.K. and EU version of these models came with. To be honest, I still can’t believe the US doesn’t mandate immobilisers!
US car makers don't care because if it is not required by Federal or State law then it is not going to be fitted period, accountacy departments love it as it widens the gap between production costs and retail value
This is actually worse than nothing, because it’s basically advertising you have an affected model, and you haven’t fitted an aftermarket alarm/immobiliser.
No, but I believe they did pass a law that all vehicles post-2026 have to have wireless kill switches "for use by law enforcement", because I'm sure that will never be abused by them or by hackers lol. A buddy showed me a wireless device that costs ~$100 that they used to get into his co-worker's Tesla. Cancel the wireless, and give me actual security FOR ME. edit: It's called Flipper-Zero
The UK & EU mandated electronic immobilisers from 1998. All car manufacturers have this technology, it is just pennypinching to not fit it all markets. Shows how much they care about their customers.
the steering wheel lock is useful if you're strong enough to use it to beat carjackers and car thieves. I caught someone trying to cut off my neighbor's catalytic converter(Toyota Prius) at 5AM not too long ago. I was in my garage getting ready to leave at the time. Upon seeing this, I grabbed the old steering wheels sitting in a corner shelf of my garage... I quietly walked over and hit the guy's legs on the knees with the steering wheel lock. He screamed in such a high pitch voice, I thought it was a female thief at first. He wiggled out and ran. The cops showed up 20 minutes later and took a report. Since the catalytic converter was not taken, they didn't really have much to go on. The thief did manage to cut just a little into the pipes and my neighbor had to get it repaired at a muffler shop. I think it was only $50 to weld a small ring around the cut or something.
Sounds about right. Caught 2 thieves trying to steal a relative's Honda. Scared them off, followed them, and called the cops. I soon realized it was pointless when the dispatcher told me they couldn't really do anything unless something had been stolen.
I've got friends with perfectly operational KIAs and Hyundais that effectively are un-driveable and un-sellable now because they can't be reasonably insured. This should result in the largest automotive lawsuit in history by far, and I hope it does.
What would the grounds for the lawsuit be? Is there a reasonable expectation of the manufacturer to foresee and mitigate theft through destructive means? Is every company with a lock featured on this channel susceptible to a similar lawsuit? Wouldn't it be more reasonable for the average consumer to expect that the purpose built lock they buy to protect their stuff provides a real degree of protection versus their car provides a heightened degree of protection (more than we had even as early as 20 years ago) to protect itself?
@@LowJSamuelI don't think it's unreasonable to assume a multi-million dollar company would have a big enough R&D department that could avoid such a glaring obvious design flaw.
@@LowJSamuelKia/Hyundai KNEW having their shit ignition was a security flaw. NO other brand has had a plain jane key to start vehicle for last decade. there is already a $200 million class action lawsuit against Kia/Hyundai for their incompetence and laziness
I actually use those style locks on cars at the shop. Not to keep them from being stolen but to keep ones that are waiting for parts from being messed with. Most "honest" folks would see it and think it's secure, so it keeps owners and others from messing with unfinished cars. (I'm not tying up a lift for 3 months while I wait for some OE part that's coming in on the mule train, car can set in the yard instead"
My dad used to say that a steering wheel lock wouldn't deter everyone but it would be useful for deterring a casual thief since it would slightly slow them down and may make someone pick an easier target
I am still thinking about getting one of these. Where I’m from nana cars like mine get stolen a lot but it’s by 14 year olds who only come tooled up with a screwdriver so I don’t think they’d have anything with them to cut a steering wheel
For a really ancient security feature, and very involved start-up procudure, drive a White steam car. It takes 15 minutes to get one of them ready to drive. Jay Leno showed this on one of his Whites. It definitely showed that these needed a driver to serve as the start-up person so they were basically limited to rich people who could afford to pay for the driver and the upkeep involved in owning one.
A friend ofine from back in high school, late 90s, his dad made his own brark and gas peddle lock. Not as easy to install and remove on a daily basis but great for cars he had to leave parked out side on a regular basis. It was a custom device he made that went behind the peddles so you couldn't accelerate, brake or even get the vehicle out of park since you couldn't depress the brake at all. Was a big chunk is steel.
You can make a basic one from piece of pipe. Cut a slot that the pedal lever fits into, drill a hole at end for padlock, and you can just ram it under pedal, lock with padlock, and you're done. My grandfather used one like this. You ain't getting nowhere when the clutch is locked.
Thank you for saving me a trip to the dealership. Honestly, the Hyundai my wife got was pretty cheap and she's happy with it. It hasn't had mechanical problems after 100k miles.
The reverberations from their security failure are screwing over people who own Hyundai/Kia vehicles that arent affected as well. I brought my car in to a dealer for repair back in August, and originally it was scheduled to take until OCTOBER for them to look at it. Thankfully they found some time late the next week to fix it.
@@HeretixAevum Also, there are very specific issues that can arise that are difficult for a normal shop to deal with, which is what happened to me. Ended up being an issue with the ECU, its relay, and the crank sensor (which the shop was able to replace, but only temporarily solved the problem)
@@SergeantExtreme a "real mechanic" has to get the parts from a dealer anyway and doesn't have a lot of experience working on any specific make. most mechanics aren't geniuses like the "car wizard."
I'd be really interested in a video about why cross locks are so bad. I don't think I've ever seen an LPL video where the crosslock couldn't be opened with a jiggler, but lots of quality regular locks can't be easily raked like these. Can a good crosslock exist, or is it an inherent design flaw?
It might be inherent in the design (at least for a lock cylinder of similar size to a standard lock cylinder) - the need for pins on both sides of each axis means that you've now more than halved the maximum depth of any pin, which would make it easier for jigglers to work I would think.
I expect you're right, often fairly flat bitting. Though one made to tight tolerances with security pins would certainly be capable of good pick resistance.
I found a "The Club" steering wheel lock in a junkyard many years ago, and used it on my cars for years. I never had a key for it, so it was never locked. But no one else knew that! Appearances can be deceiving! :)
so @lockpickinglawyer we have a Kia at work... they sent the boss this exact "safeguard" which I scoffed at. I picked up your set of jigglers.... they are KEYS, not jigglers-no jiggling needed lol. Put in the small one and just opened the lock with the boss trying to close her mouth lol I have to say for those out there that have never ordered-if something interests you, order it. LPL is smoother than Amazon and just as fast nowadays. Logistics is smoking awesome!!!! order takes me 3 days on average over past 6 months (gonna say ya improved massively there LPL from back when you first opened for biz! ) Packaging is also very nice, cases etc are actually quite good quality-like the kind you pay extra for. I have now ordered a few pick sets, a few lishi tools and some other "assorted" stuff that is handy to have around and the improvement over time is amazing. Keep up the great work... (just some joe up north who used to hang out in your area)
A friend recently had an engine replaced by Kia in their 2010 Optima after failure, despite only having 55k miles on it. Through that incident, I did some research on what other Kia/Hyundai owners were experiencing. At that point, I concluded that having the vehicle stolen while fully insured is quite possibly one of the best things that could happen to a Kia/Hyundai owner.
@@rjolly87 I do give the company at least some credit for honoring the warranty. We have a Kia also and they replaced the entire engine free of charge to us.
It's so bizarre that Kia/Hyundai haven't been installing immobilisers when I know the 2001 Kia Sportage that my ex-wife & I used to own had an immobiliser from the factory! Also what's strange is that I'm certain that a number of years ago Hyundai had to do a recall (at least here in Australia) as the central-locking system was automatically locking passengers inside vehicles shortly after the driver has walked off with the key-fob!
apparently it was 2015-2021 models.. my 2022 sportage has an immobilizer, so guess I lucked out, cause it's not something I thought about when buying it.
@@alecwood1282 I think that's the reason, it wasn't a strict requirement so they saved those...cents? it would have cost them to implement the feature.
Electronic immobilisers have been part of the ADRs since the early 2000s, therefore Hyundai and Kia have no choice but to fit them to cars sold in Australia.
@@TheKnobCalledTone. It's almost always been the case in the past that unless legislated, safety-items weren't fitted, but a nice stereo or gadget which might help sell a vehicle was included! I can remember when most base-model vehicles weren't fitted with disc-brakes nor passenger side-mirrors! Thankfully safety is now seen as a strong selling-point!
I used to swap spark plug wires, it helped to know the correct firing order, as the car would spit and sputter but not start. It kept my 63 Nova from being stolen, and it provided enough noise to alert me that someone was trying to take it!
I installed a secondary fuel pump relay on my 85 rx7. Then hid a small switch to activate it. Funny enough I did it after the ignition switch failed, and I realized how easy it was to start without it.
I remember one story from 1992, that happened on Fort Bliss. A soldier had his car stolen, and the thief left behind the steering wheel, with the steering wheel lock, on it.
@@jul1440 The steering wheel, with the lock was in the parking spot, that the car was in. So basically the thief removed the steering wheel, and got the car out of the parking spot, and THEN put the steering wheel in the parking spot that the car was once in. That is how brazen some car thieves were, 30 YEARS AGO. I can only imagine how bold they are, today.
The trick of cutting through the steering wheel was known in the 1980s, but they kept persisting with selling these locks into the 1990s. A lot of steering wheels have a wire core that is less than 4mm diameter. Cutting through it takes a minute or two with a hacksaw but using a cordless grinder it can be achieved in less than five seconds.
After seeing many interesting video's about opening many kind of locks, I must say that the intent of this type of lock is to make a "would be" thief look for something easier. Most of the KEIA's being stolen are by kids that have no knowledge of picking locks. And having used (and still using) this type of lock on my pickup and my wife's KIA, it is just to make someone look for something easier as I mentioned!
Bought one similar for my classic car as a visual deterrent. The real security comes from it being a manual and me leaving it parked in 4th, and putting on the parking brake.
I drive a manual too on my delivery route for this exact reason. I have to stop and go into the store to change the newspaper. Some keep it by the door, some not. I have keyless start, so the key is kept in my pocket all times.
Saabs used to have to be put in Reverse to remove the ignition key, which was right by the gearshift. Not sure how well the interlock would stand up to brute force but it must have prevented a fair few opportunistic thefts.
@@logicplague2077 More millennials know how to drive stick than you think, Millennial is like 1980-1995 birth year people. You're thinking of Gen Z or something, I wouldn't discount them simply because of their age though, it's become a cool fad for young people to drive vintage manual transmission cars, you see it everywhere, that's part of why you see so many young people interested in purchasing vintage cars. You'd be amazed the amount of Baby Boomer and Gen X people who don't know how to drive stick, the Baby Boomers were really the ones who started the beginning of the end for manuals imo. And more thieves know how to drive stick than you would expect, it's more about it potentially making it look more annoying to rob for the few that don't drive manual, but any serious robber can drive stick, it's not very hard ever since we got synchronizers and no longer needed to double clutch.
Looks similar to the "Club". Bought one back in the 90s, put it on my car, next morning the car was gone! Cops said a hack saw was what the thieves were using in our area at that time. Said those things hardly slowed the thieves down. The "guarantee" required submitting the compromised device, like the thieves were gonna leave evidence laying around! Needless to say the "guarantee" was not better than the product.
I've never understood delivery lockboxes, they're supposed to be inherently easy to open or place items into by a lot of people delivering items. The only way to achieve that with a physical mechanism is to know and provide keys/codes to the people delivering, which is not possible in todays world of last mile deliveries and many people delivering. With technology, you can use a notification service to allow someone at the box access, but that requires you to be ready at all times to provide the access via app which would be annoying and make you miss packages. A one time delivery box can remain open and once closed, locks until the owner arrives, which is silly considering the varying value and amount of deliveries. The only thing I can think of that would work for everyone is delivery systems using a rfid/scan authentication, but that requires the big companies/USPS to be on board and spoofing rfid/other signals is fairly easy to do. So I just don't see the point of any of it until there's a sponsored system in place by the government to authenticate and protect mail in general. Edit: I forgot to mention the most important issue at hand, getting the delivery drivers to actually use the boxes! They're already pushed to the limit often and in a hurry, let alone figuring out each specific type of lock box, how it works, etc. Too many problems to develop a solution, don't buy a delivery lock box, just get something to hide deliveries behind to a 180 degree view in front of your porch.
You trying to figure out where LPL lives by downloading the relevant footage from the cloud, even though the user is promised that everything stays local?
It's amazing to me that this issue exists - I used to have a 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage and the ignition lock was constructed pretty much exactly the same as the one on these Kia's, *but* that car had an immobiliser from factory and a chipped key. 25 years later and we've gone backwards to bloody clublocks (of far inferior construction to the ones from 3 decades ago).
actually, the only lock that made sense was a stick through the base of the gearbox, locking it in the position. I'm really curious how long it would take LPL to open such a lock by Mul-T-Lock. I even have one, I don't use it now of course since my old car is no longer a treat for anyone 🤣
This Kia/Hyundai issue is unique to the USA due to lack of regulations. In Canada, for example, the cars don't have this issue because of regulations. So good job America, you win again!
I did have a laugh at this - this is the exact same lock my son has on his car, although in his defence, when he bought the car, I insisted he get one and it was the only one the local car parts place had available. For me, it's more of a deterrent. I know they're easy to defeat, but the idea is that every extra second you make a thief spend stealing the car will make them think twice and look for an easier target. I'll definitely be looking for a better one now though. Any recommendations would be gratefully received.
There isn't a better solution. The weak point is the steering wheel itself. Even removing it isn't a solution as thieves will just use a pair of vice-grips to steer with. It's difficult to protect cars these days. Taking the wheels off is a sure-fire way to slow crooks down, but it's hardly convenient. I think having a decent immobilizer is still a practical option and if the car is rare or expensive then it can be a good idea to fit a hidden GPS tracker with battery back-up. I don't recommend the use of things like Apple Air Tags for serious vehicle tracking as they are not designed for this purpose - cars can often be taken to remote areas far from cellular coverage or any other Apple devices, both of which are needed for the Air Tags to work. Also, the tags can emit a noise that will alert a thief to their presence which is not helpful at all!
Oh you're absolutely right - nothing is foolproof. If someone is determined to take something, they'll take it. For me, the idea is to make the car less appealing than the one next to it. As far as steering wheels go, again I agree. Back in the day there was one that hooked around the steering wheel and brake pedal and they could be defeated by simply stamping on the brake pedal to bend the steering wheel...@@sw6188
I remember TV programmes from the period where these and other similar locks were popular. They showed that in all cases a thief could remove the lock faster than the car owner could with the key. The only anti theft potential most of the locks had was if the owner was present and hit the thief with the lock.
Honestly, GM’s VATS from the 80s is the best anti-theft system I’ve seen. Takes at minimum 45 minutes to bypass with fore-knowledge of the system and a resistor kit. My dad bought a corvette for $500 because the owners lost the original keys and thought it was junk cause the VATS system shut down any attempt at bypassing.
I think that's the ratcheting mechanism. You can extend the bar while it's in the locked position, in the same manner that you can tighten handcuffs while they're locked (some handcuffs do have an optional function to prevent this, though).
Had a flashback memory - I’m old enough to remember “The Club,” which was the market leader of steering wheel locks back in the day. Funny to see Hyundai/Kia trying to use it as a stop gap until they figure out a real fix, lol.
Yup, i remember that dateline episode when it aired. Was hilarious to see them defeat it in a few seconds by just cutting the steering wheel which was surprisinglh quick and easy with a motorized cutting tool.
I remember these being everywhere when I was a kid, but I didn't know why they largely disappeared. I wonder if there may be some minor amount of deterrence value against would-be teenage hackers armed with a smartphone, if they find they need a totally different (analog) hack to take control?
Yep, had one myself in the 90s. They probably served as better bludgeoning tools than anti-theft device, though. The "Club" and their likes basically disappeared, I think when immobilizers were introduced en-masse, which was around late 90s / early 2000s. Apparently some cars still don't come with immobilizers (cheap models or Kias/Hyundais), since they are not mandated by law, so hence we have this problem again...
My dad had one of these long ago. He loved his car, and this was good enough to deter the thieves, but not enough to stop them if they really wanted to steal the car.
Oh my god. My grandparents had a red one of these when i was a kid back in the 90s when they were called "clubs". I havent see one of those since then, its been decades
Once saw a video a number of years ago where a sharp tap with a hammer on those circular ridges would break that silver bar, the ridges creating a weak point in the bar. Your way seems better as you could keep the complete steering wheel lock handy to defend yourself in cases of road rage (in countries where every man and his dog isn't armed to the teeth with firearms of course 😛).
I remember a news article back in the day about a lady that busted a carjacker in the head with her steering wheel lock. Only time The Club was ever effective.
An armed society is a polite society, ironically 90% of gun violence happens where they are, for the most part banned. Shocking that criminals don't follow the laws...lol.
I'd love to see a video about how you can better protect your car. These electronic locks seem to be a big issue and car companies don't seem to be doing much to fix the situation =l
It's not really an industry wide problem, just a budget company being cheap in the unprotected US market. Everyone else has immobilizers and in many countries it's by law. If you're stuck with a kia or hyundai, consider installing an immobilizer, a hidden kill switch, or take an ignition fuse with you every time you leave
@@pprb123 sad to say that Toyota and Lexus are just as vulnerable and also on the EU market. Taking boogies is honestly not workable. Kill switches and bear lock are cool... But I wonder if they'll keep a somewhat proficient thief out for long. Odds are kill switches are build in at an "obvious" spot thieves will simply learn those.
I remember the TV news show that showed thieves just cutting the steering wheel it was years ago. Did not realize you could still buy them they seemed to disappear from store shelves after that.
Ahh, the Club. It seemed like everyone had one in the 90's, but no one used them. I remember seeing reporters for every news channel having one put on a steering wheel, and then just using bolt cutters to cut the steering wheel and take it off. They still managed to sell the things for a few years after that.
@@SwordFighterPKN Ok maybe the lock you are talking about is different to the ones I am thinking of. They were like the one being shown here by LPL except one end hooked over the steering wheel and the other end hooked under the brake pedal which prevented both the steering wheel being turned and the brake pedal being operated.
@@SwordFighterPKN Ok that's something I have not seen before. I guess they would be ideal for automatics. If manufacturers really wanted to, they could incorporate these features in their cars from the factory. It's actually quite easy to make a car unable to be started or moved but I guess they want to keep costs down and don't care if people's cars get stolen.
I would just like to quickly note that Hyundai is fully capable of producing electronic immobilizers. Here on the EU market, new cars must have such a barrier installed since 1998, otherwise they cannot be sold. It's a sad decision that Hyundai doesn't include this useful part in vehicles destined for the US market.
They do if you buy the top of the line, fully loaded model. 💸💸💸 I know because that's what I got. Not for the immobilizer, but for the sun roof. 😎 I agree though, it's ridiculous that American consumers have to spend thousands extra to get what's standard in the EU.
Hiya LPL. Love the channel. I have a question for you, if I may? You clearly demonstrate, repeatedly, the flaws in locks. I also, a while back, saw you (TED talk?) state that you were willing to advise companies with regard to their design, or to consider the thought process when designing locks. I think one company agreed, but then cancelled at the last minute? Anyway, what I've always wondered is if you had ideas on how to make locks more secure? For example, after picking a lock could you offer up ideas on what changes the manufacturer could make to resolve the issue? Thanks (and sorry if you've been asked this a million times before :))
He does, or at least used to do this in a lot of his videos. The answer is usually adding security pins and one of several methods to prevent shimming the shackle.
I once raked a lock open with a CH751. People who are interested in stealing these things can make the tools to get in just fine. If a simple tool can defeat your lock, then all you have is security through obscurity.
I've still got one of the original "Club" steering locks from the early 90's and still use it on my '98 Ford Courier. Just as a better deterrent than the factory steering lock.
To be fair, even a fake lock with no real locking mechanism would probably deter the majority of car thieves. How many of them are going to be walking around with this specific jiggler key in their pocket?
If they are out looking for a Kia/Hyundai to steal, this will just be another of the tools that they carry. These aren't randomly targeted cars. Seeing this specific lock will flag them that the car is vulnerable and undoing this lock will take them an extra 15 seconds.
If they target a specific car brand or model and know the week point. They also know about this lock and the method to open it. They are not dump only because they are thieves.
Another thing to consider is what he said at the end. Have this jiggler or not, cutting or breaking the steering wheel is a trivial task and then the lock is useless
@@MichaelSteeves These Kia/Hyundai thieves are not professional thieves. They're vastly delinquent teens who have seen a video on TikTok and thought it'd be fun. These kids aren't generally carrying around "tools of the trade" - they're carrying a screwdriver and something to smash out a window, that's about it. And, more importantly, there are plenty of Kias/Hyundais out there to choose from, so literally any deterrent will be enough for them to move onto another car.
Every once in a while I still see one of these locks around, over here in the UK they seem to be the preserve of elderly drivers who still have the car they bought in the 90s and use rarely enough that it hasn't rusted out yet. I'm still absolutely amazed that some cars are coming without immobilisers these days though. I can only assume the thought process was "nobody bothers trying to hotwire a new car these days because they assume it'll have an immobiliser, so we may as well not bother and save money, while being protected by the fact that enough other manufacturers do use them that the assumption sticks around". (At least that was my thought process when I taped a key fob underneath the dashboard of my old car to allow me to have multiple extra keys cut without the cost of having any of them coded to the immobiliser, although that particular model was known to be sufficiently trivial to start with a laptop that I suspect nobody would bother even trying to hotwire it if they wanted to steal it)
I haven't seen these "Club" type of locks since the 80s/90s! They probably served as better bludgeoning tools than anti-theft device, though. The "Club" and their likes basically disappeared, I think, when immobilizers were introduced en-masse, which was around late 90s / early 2000s. Apparently some cars still don't come with immobilizers, cos the manufacturers want to save a couple of bucks, and since they are not mandated by USA law, so hence we have this problem again...
![[1564] Seriously? THIS is Kia/Hyundai’s Solution (Garbage Steering Wheel Lock)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
