Best Steering Wheel Locks (UK Top 3)

Buying one of the best steering wheel locks will ensure your car or vehicle cannot be stolen. A steering wheel lock is designed so that the steering wheel cannot be turned or rotated, without first removing the steering wheel lock.

So if a criminal breaks into your vehicle intent on stealing it, and it has a locked steering wheel lock on it, they won’t be able to drive the vehicle away. It’s an extremely simple bit of kit, designed to do a simpe job.

In this article, I’ll look at the best steering wheel locks money can buy, to give you peace of mind when leaving your vehicle unattended, and improving the overall security of your vehicle and protecting it against theft.

Below is a handy table of contents. Clicking on any of the article headers below will jump you straight to the place on this page you are interested in. I am an Amazon Associate, and earn commissions on qualifying purchases.

UK Vehicle Theft: Statistics

Let’s start with some simple statitsics from the UK on car theft.

Don’t for one minute think that vehicle theft is a small problem.

It’s not.

Criminal gangs have become far more sophisticated in recent years, with organised gangs targetting specific brands and model of car to steal.

In 2021 alone, a staggering 101,198 vehicles were stolen in the UK, according to the DVLA.

Or, broken down, that equates to:

• 8433 vehicles a month stolen
• 1946 vehicles a week stolen
• 277 vehicles a day stolen
• 11 vehicles an hour stolen

Let the above sink in.

Vehicle crime and the theft of vehicles is still here. The reasons why have changed, but the vehicle theft is still here.

In the past, vehicles were stolen quite easily, with manufacturers giving little thought to security. in times gone by, a car could be broken into using a coat hanger, and could be hot wired and driven away in minutes.

It would then be joyridden or sold quickly after.

The aim of the game is quite different now, with criminals operating sophisticated schemes where certain cars are targeted, stolen, and then stripped down for parts, which is an extremely lucrative market.

So below, I’ll go through the best steering wheel locks for your car or van, which will pretty much reduce the chance of your car being stolen to zero.

Best Steering Wheel Locks (UK Top 3 Table)

For convenience, I have listed the best steering locks in a table below. Below the table, I go through each steering wheel lock in detail, as well as providing additional advice on how to stop your car from being stolen.

As always, security of anything isn’t down to one single piece of security kit or detterent; it’s down to multiple layers of security which layer one on top of each other to give you the greatest chance of not becoming yet another crime statistic.

Before commiting to any of these steering wheel locks, please ensure you use the drop down box at the top of each of these pages on Amazon – it will prompt you to enter the make and model of your vehicle, and will tell you immediately whether the steering wheel lock will fit. It looks like this:

1. Stoplock Pro Elite Steering Wheel Lock

The Stoplock Pro Elite is the Grand Daddy of steering wheel locks, and I also talk about it in great detail in this article here.

It’s affordable, it’s simple to use and it does a magnificent job. What more could you ask?

The Stoplock Pro Elite is a robust and toughened steering wheel lock that comes in a bright yellow colour, which is easily spotted at a glance when anywhere near a car that has it fitted. Immmediately then, it becomes a great deterrent against car theft because a criminal knows that the chances of breaking into your vehicle and tampering with this device to remove it is going to take some serious time and effort.

And it’s time they don’t have, because of the golden rule; the greater the time it takes, the greater chance of discovery.

It’s also effort they are not willing to put in, especially in terms of risk vs reward. Why even attempt to remove this steering wheel lock when the next car has no steering wheel lock?

The device is made of hardened metal and uses a key to lock and unlock it. It also has an anti drill mechanism built into the lock, meaning even someone equipeed with a drill will find it hard to penetrate the barrel to remove the wheel lock.

This steering wheel lock is fully recommend not only by me, but by Sold Secure, who gave it a gold rating in 2018.

You can check the latest price and buy the Stoplock Pro Elite on Amazon here: Stoplock Pro Elite Steering Wheel Lock

2. Tevlaphee Steering Wheel Lock

The Tevlaphee steering wheel lock comes in at 2nd place, and is a little cheaper than the Stoplock Pro Elite.

Make no mistake about it, this is an extremely capable steering wheel lock, which is designed differently to most.

To put the steering wheel lock on, you clip both ends to the steering wheel and simply pull it into position to lock.

To unlock, you need the keys to unlock, but this wins in terms of practicality, with no need to use the key to lock it into position, by pulling the lock into position, it locks by locking onto the teeth of the lock.

There’s also great versatility with this steering wheel lock, because you can position the lock how you wnt to position it: behind the wheel, in front of the heel, lower part of the wheel, upper part of the wheel. this prevents rubbing and potentially damaging any buttons or finishes on your steering wheel with the constant putting on and removing the lock.

 

This wheel lock is also very handy for storage. Because it retracts, it can be easily stored behind a seat or in the footwell of a rear seat, and because it is lightweight, this is easily achievable.

This is an extremely good steering wheel lock, and may have made 1st place but for one feature that is lacking: the dterrent side of things. If there was a bright colour (like yellow), that was easily distiguishable from a distance, this would be the winner here.

In my car though, because the middle portion of the steering wheel is chrome, it’s actually hard to see at a glance whether or not there’s a steering wheel lock on or not, because the colours belnd into the materials in the cabin.

You can check the latest price and buy the Tevlaphee lock on Amazon here: Tevlaphee Steering Wheel Lock

3. Tevlaphee Combination Steering Wheel Lock

In 3rd place in the category of best steering wheel locks to buy for your vehicle, is another steering wheel lock from Tevlaphee, with their steering wheel combination lock.

You guessed it: this steering wheel lock has a combination lock instead of using keys. Which in itself is a great idea, because losing your car keys is bad enough, but to lose the key to your steering wheel lock? Well, it would be beyong frustrating.

Brand name jokes aside, this is another great offering from Tevlaphee, with a high qulity design well thought out.

It’s simple to use – simply pull the bar so it attaches to the curvature of the steering wheel, and the lock is in place. To unlock, set the combination lock numbers you have already set (instructions and tools provided) and it will unlock.

The soft coating around the lock will prevent any scratches or marks being left on your steering wheel, as well as protecting any button or switches on the steering wheel itself.

 

 

This a great steering wheel lock that is easy to use and store, and comes highly recommended. Again though, I would have liked to have seen a bright colour included on the equipment for deterrent purposes, because once again, this will blend in with some cabin interiors.

You can check the latest price and buy this steering lock on Amazon here: Tevlaphee Combination Steering Lock

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Using Steering Wheel Locks

As with any piece of kit designed for improving security, their will be advantages and disadvantages.

Below, I’ll go through some of them, looking specifically at the practicalities of using such a device.

Advantages of using a steering wheel lock

Disadvantages of using a steering wheel lock

Summary

I hate repeating myself, but I will anyway. Having just one piece of security equipment to reduce criminal activity risk is a good start, but you need a layered approach to everything you do when it comes to security to get the full benefit.

Owning one of the best steering wheel locks is a good start, but other factors play a part too.

For example, having a steering lock is not the be all and end all, it must be used in conjunction with other security measures to obtain the greatest benefit. So using a steering lock in a public car park is great, but not so great if you are then going to leave some bags on the back seat, and you’ve parked right in the corner of the car park which is dark and backs on to some trees. An opportunist will simply smash the windows and take the bags.

Similarly, parking on your drive and using a steering lock is absolutely fantastic. What you don’t want though, is a criminal checking the car in the first place.

Stop them at source. Installing security bollards for driveways is an excellent physical, highly visible deterrent.

So close the driveway gates when you’re at home, use signage as a deterrent, use CCTV or even a fake CCTV camera, and use motion sensor lighting in your driveway.

If you have a keyless entry vehicle, and you’re worried about relay theft, think about a key jammer box, so the signal cannot be relayed from your front door.

When you use a layered approach, you are reducing the risk with each layer. A property that has it’s security in order is a property a criminal is less likely to even enter or even think about committing a criminal activity on.

A steering wheel lock is a great idea though, and is a great deterrent in stopping criminals in their tracks when they see a huge steering wheel lock accros the steering wheel of your car.

Other Articles You May Like

Here’s a small selection of articles you may also like from this site:

• – Stoplock Pro Elite Review
• – Signal Box Jammer – Keyless Entry Vehicle Protection
• – Tips: Parking Safely In Public Areas
• – Vanlife: Van Security Tips
• – Best Van Tool Safes

Here’s the complete list of products and links mentioned on this page.

• – Stoplock Pro Elite (Amazon.co.uk)
• – Tevlaphee Steering Lock (Amazon.co.uk)
• – Tevlaphee Combination Steering Lock (Amazon.co.uk)

Here’s the sources used for this article:

• – DVLA
• – Rivervaleleasing Car Crime
• – Met Police Vehicle Theft

Questions & Comments

If you have a question or a comment on this article on the best steering wheel locks for your car or van, then please use the comments box below. I’ll try my best to reply to each and every one of your questions, comments and suggestions.

Stay Safe. Stay Secure.