Need a steering-wheel lock for your Hyundai/Kia? Southwest Precinct plans another giveaway event

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

As mentioned here recently, the Southwest Precinct has more steering-wheel locks available free for people with Hyundais and Kias, current favored target of thieves, so the precinct’s acting Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon just scheduled an open pickup time:

Based on the number of folks that reached out to me regarding getting a steering-wheel lock, I have scheduled a steering wheel lock giveaway at the Southwest Precinct for this coming Wednesday (September 27th), between 5-7 pm. Anyone who wants a lock can come to the Precinct and get one, as long as supplies last.

The precinct is at 2300 SW Webster, next to The Home Depot.

Concerned Neighbor September 25, 2023 (1:35 pm)

Unfortunately, the steering wheel locks don’t seem to be a deterrent anymore – our neighbor had their Kia broken into twice (within a month!). Both times there was a steering lock. The first time, the perpetrator cut the steering wheel, the second time, they just broke the steering wheel (after which the steering lock can be easily removed).The car was not stolen either time, but our neighbor was left with the mess, expense and inconvenience of getting the car repaired.

Rhonda September 25, 2023 (1:57 pm)

There are so many Kias and Hyundais that most thieves won’t even bother messing with one that has a stearing wheel lock. It’s a deterrent. We’ve never investigated or recovered a stolen one in Bellevue that had a steering wheel lock installed.
- Curious September 25, 2023 (5:59 pm)
  
  “We’ve never… in Bellevue” are you commenting from outside the WS community 🤔
  - Rhonda September 25, 2023 (7:46 pm)
    
    Arbor Heights 🏡
WS Res September 25, 2023 (1:59 pm)

Wait… “the car was not stolen either time” but you’re saying steering locks somehow don’t work? Your neighbor had a crappy experience, for sure, but they still have their car!
- w107saa September 26, 2023 (11:31 am)
  
  The neighbor may still have their car, but it’s unusable, not to mention the feeling of loss of safety in their neighborhood, having to deal with the insurance company again, finding an opening at a garage to get it fixed again, and having to get the windows replaced again! I think the whole point is that the steering wheel locks may be giving people a false sense of security as these criminals have figured out how to just break the steering wheel. I think there will be an increase in broken steering wheels on Kias in our own neighborhood and elsewhere.
  - Linda September 26, 2023 (2:18 pm)
    
    Hi I am that neighbor…Thanks for what you wrote you do understand what I have been going through…After I got my Kia back from the shop I had a killer switch installed $300.00 and one week later with another club on they tried to steal it…Yes I still have my car and going through insurance again.. As you know they don”t pay all repairs etc….and a long wait to get repaired…..The insurance co said there is nothing they can do but keep paying for some of the repairs….Won’t be long before they start looking for a killer switch……looking for another car.
    - Cole September 26, 2023 (3:12 pm)
      
      It’s still great you had the steering wheel lock regardless. You would have all those issues plus more if the steering wheel lock didn’t create the issues that led to the vehicle being inoperable. It’s a breach of privacy to have your vehicle broken into, but it is truly a horror to get your vehicle back after 3 days of someone else living in it, leaving their used needles in the seats, trashing the thing and leaving it with 10x the issues. Glad you didn’t experience that!
- Jay September 27, 2023 (7:41 am)
  
  According to the lock picking lawyer, these clubs are designed to keep out the lowest common denominator & takes less than a minute to pick.Until we recall every single Hyundai & KIA that lack an immobilizer, expect more crime involving stolen vehicles like business smash and grabs.Plus, most of those cars have a problem of catching fire.”Hyundai and Kia recall nearly 3.4 million vehicles due to fire risk and urge owners to park outdoors”Stay away from those two brands.
Concerned Neighbor September 25, 2023 (4:20 pm)

Rhonda – that is great news for Bellevue car owners. I hope it continues to deter potential car thieves. But, in this case, (twice) the installed steering lock was not a deterrent. It was clearly visible, but the car was still broken into.WS Res – correct, if the steering locks were a deterrent, then the perpetrators would not have attempted to steal the car (and would not have not caused the damage and expense).The car was not stolen because the first time they were interrupted and the second time there was a kill switch that prevented the car being started. In neither attempt did the steering lock (a) deter the attempt or (b) prevent the robbery (although maybe it did slow them down in the first case? But in both cases the steering lock was removed after the steering wheel was broken).

Jason September 26, 2023 (5:39 pm)

There are many important points here. When there is a Club installed on the steering wheel, that give the thieves more leverage to break the steering wheel. The leverage of the club allows the thieves to break the steering wheel instantly. Then, they proceed to steal the car…Thieves know what cars are easy to steal. Install a kill switch to prevent them from stealing the car. That does not stops them from breaking in, it just stops them from stealing the car, but the damage is done none the less. The repair bill of them breaking a window, damaging the steering column parts, rendering the ignition unusable is $2000+ EACH AND EVERY TIME they break in. Yes, EACH and EVERY time. So you say YA, but at least you have the car, you also have a repair bill of $2000!!! EVERY TIME!!! And the thieves come back!!!NO one is fine with a repair bill of $2000+ EACH and EVERY time AND the trauma of dealing with with a violation of their property. So the car is still there and so is the damage. And the bill. And the trauma. No one is OK with that.

Sorry, comment time is over.