At Mr. Locksmith Automotive Locksmiths we get several calls a day from people who have lost the keys to their steering wheel car theft prevention device.
Living in the Car Theft Capital of Canada the car owners in the Greater Vancouver area have to use car theft prevention devices like the The Club to lock the steering wheel to prevent their cars from being stolen. In 2009, British Columbia had the highest car theft frequency in Canada. Approximately 11 vehicles per 1,000 or 2-4 times the auto theft of other provinces and regions. British Columbia is the auto theft capital of the Western World.
I have read on the internet and have seen the results of people trying to remove Clubs or Steering wheel locks. Several website recommend forcing the lock with a screwdriver or to freeze the lock with Freon. Both of these methods do not work and usually result in damaging the steering wheel, front windshield or causing the airbag to deploy at the cost of hundreds of dollars (one customer had the front and side air bags deploy at the cost of over $3000). Another customers’ fingers were frost bitten not to mention how expensive and environmentally unfriendly using Freon to freeze the lock. I have never seen the results of using Freon work on any lock.
Bottom line: Screwdrivers and Freon does not work. Clubs and Steering wheel locks have been designed to beat the average or above average car thieves from removing them.
At Mr. Locksmith all of our locksmiths have been trained to safely, and with no damage to the car, remove a locked Club or Steering wheel lock. Most of the time we can pick the lock with our lock picks quickly and efficiently.
Despite the risk of you losing your key to your steering wheel lock they are still a great deterrent to prevent the theft of your car. Even if your car has an alarm system, immobilizer or the car is equipped with transponder or chip key security system I highly recommend a club or steering wheel lock on your car. And if you do loose your Club key, Mr. Locksmith will remove the steering wheel lock with no damage to your car or steering wheel.
