A

adrian996

Member
Hi there. I'm the proud owner of a '16 Reg Defender 90 SW. Had her from new - so just coming up to two years of ownership.
I'm getting increasingly paranoid about security. To keep it brief, I realise that there's probably no magic fix for preventing having your Defender nicked these days.
I'm led to believe that the factory fitted alarm and immobiliser are easily by-passable by thieves.
As such, I'm seriously thinking of going 'old-school' and getting myself a £20 to £30 crook lock for the steering wheel - just as a visual deterrent, if nothing else.

The company the I bought the Defender from have offered me a £180 ECU by-pass switch - but I'd really rather that any potential thieves didn't smash their way in to the car, only to then (possibly) get very angry when they couldn't find the switch to reactivate the ECU - which they probably would anyway.

So it's a visual deterrent that I'm looking for. Are the £20 to £30 ones on eBay any good? I'm not getting a Disc Lock type one as they're too bulky to have around an already cramped cabin, so it'll probably be a Crook Lock type one.

Any suggestions...?

Thanks!!
 
adrian996 said:
Hi there. I'm the proud owner of a '16 Reg Defender 90 SW. Had her from new - so just coming up to two years of ownership.
I'm getting increasingly paranoid about security. To keep it brief, I realise that there's probably no magic fix for preventing having your Defender nicked these days.
I'm led to believe that the factory fitted alarm and immobiliser are easily by-passable by thieves.
As such, I'm seriously thinking of going 'old-school' and getting myself a £20 to £30 crook lock for the steering wheel - just as a visual deterrent, if nothing else.

The company the I bought the Defender from have offered me a £180 ECU by-pass switch - but I'd really rather that any potential thieves didn't smash their way in to the car, only to then (possibly) get very angry when they couldn't find the switch to reactivate the ECU - which they probably would anyway.

So it's a visual deterrent that I'm looking for. Are the £20 to £30 ones on eBay any good? I'm not getting a Disc Lock type one as they're too bulky to have around an already cramped cabin, so it'll probably be a Crook Lock type one.

Any suggestions...?

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
The type you are talking about take about 6 seconds to get off, so are not a deterrent. I think there are videos on YouTube.
I've got the factory fitted alarm and immobiliser, a tracker and a massive, heavy safeTpedal. The Mrs has to put it on and off every day as the Landy is her daily drive. She doesn't mind at all because she loves it as much as I do, she reluctantly drives anything else. We've had it 13 years and its over 21 years old. If I was you, with that Landy, I would be re-thinking my security tactics.
 
Flossie said:
Is it the x-eng pedal lock that folds flat?
Get one of them if you've no room.
Click to expand...
Mine's the solid one and does take up the passenger floor, or has to be heaved over the bulkhead to the rear floor if you have a passenger. The Mrs struggles to lift it over, so has to carry it around to the back, if she has a passenger. Never complains about it and we knew the score before we bought it.
 
Al2O3 said:
Mine's the solid one and does take up the passenger floor, or has to be heaved over the bulkhead to the rear floor if you have a passenger. The Mrs struggles to lift it over, so has to carry it around to the back, if she has a passenger. Never complains about it and we knew the score before we bought it.
Click to expand...
There is one that stays in place, folds flat to the floor so no need to store it elsewhere. I thought x-eng made them?
Not sure now but someone will.
 
Flossie said:
There is one that stays in place, folds flat to the floor so no need to store it elsewhere. I thought x-eng made them?
Not sure now but someone will.
Click to expand...

Lay flat..... IMO give it a swerve, its a PIA, slippy as fook when its down, hinges fill with mudd and a pig to fit, my mate had one he removed it in the end, he has now got the big yellow one same as me safeTpedal by shirefab.

Add the gearstick lock and a immobiliser and alarm. thats about all you can do, when at home make sure you a CCTV cam looking at it.
 
Last edited:
KISSMYAURA said:
Lay flat..... IMO give it a swerve, its a PIA, slippy as fook when its down, hinges fill with mudd and a pig to fit, my mate had one he removed it in the end, he has now got the big yellow one same as me safeTpedal by shirefab.
Click to expand...
That's interesting to know. Mines a PITA that I'm happy to put up with. That one sounds even worse.
 
Al2O3 said:
That's interesting to know. Mines a PITA that I'm happy to put up with. That one sounds even worse.
Click to expand...
so is mine, big yellow lump but agree with you we live with it. The mrs is now quite good at placing her feet and bag each side of it in the passenger footwell, sometimes for a treat I put it in the back for her it really does weigh a ton!

PS is your paint coming off? My footwell is covered in yellow flecks!
 
KISSMYAURA said:
so is mine, big yellow lump but agree with you we live with it. The mrs is now quite good at placing her feet and bag each side of it in the passenger footwell, sometimes for a treat I put it in the back for her it really does weigh a ton!
Click to expand...
That sounds very familiar. :)

KISSMYAURA said:
PS is your paint coming off? My footwell is covered in yellow flecks!
Click to expand...
Not yet, but mine is only 18 months old.
I've snapped a few bits of plastic off the seat belts by not dropping it on to the passenger seat carefully! :mad:
 
IMG_4233.JPG
Al2O3 said:
That sounds very familiar. :)


Not yet, but mine is only 18 months old.
I've snapped a few bits of plastic off the seat belts by not dropping it on to the passenger seat carefully! :mad:
Click to expand...
PMSL fitted a new middle seat belt receiver last week for that reason, I smashed the red bit!
had my one for about 5 yrs now spose I should give it a freshen up with some paint.
 
the other problem with the flap down one is if you want to use a mud catcher mat what a total PIA that would be!
 
Was seriously thinking of getting a discklock but after seeing that clip I'm not so sure....
 
capo said:
Was seriously thinking of getting a discklock but after seeing that clip I'm not so sure....
Click to expand...
  • Pedal Lock
  • gearstick lock
  • Alarm and immobiliser
  • CCTV if you have it
I think its still worth considering the rationale being that more to remove, more noise to make harder to steal, more chance of getting caught, sod it lets leave it and nick another one etc.

Just not sure I could be arsed with it AND the big yellow lump!
 
Last edited:
  • Pedal Lock - not yet
  • gearstick lock - not yet
  • Alarm and immobiliser - not yet / yes
  • CCTV if you have it - no & unlikely! Alert, nosey and noisy doggy at home but the Landy is often parked away from the house.
Looks like I've some security issues to sort...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Flossie
P38A Central locking query
Replies
13
Views
661
Datatek
Datatek
C
Defender TDCi Puma 90 - Diff Lock Light
Replies
12
Views
536
crashmat
C
D
Landy in the city (Manc)? Wise/unwise
Replies
14
Views
2K
resto_d1
R
N
Ignition Lock Removal
Replies
12
Views
1K
NickBa
N
johnnymarrsbarres
Defender 90 tdci alarm question
Replies
5
Views
272
Wimblowdriver
Wimblowdriver