Door handles, locks, and thieves

I live in Seattle, but many big cities are like this. This is in a neighborhood where the cheapest (ordinary) house is a million now.

The long-standing issue is that people take a screwdriver, pop the lock cylinder and then slide open the lock in mere seconds. While there are aftermarket "fixes" like this, they really only help after the initial damage is done. That initial damage gets expensive, regardless of they got in or not. From that aftermarket company, it would seem to suggest that this problem has been present on Ford pickups from at least 1997-2020. I just don't know if Ford has changed something on the 2022 Lightning that would change how people break in so easily, and make them less likely to try. Alarms can help prevent the GTA, but the damage is already done to the door.

For more background on this issue in Ford pickups, there are about a zillion threads over at both f150forum.com and also ford-trucks.com, where people discuss this topic extensively. Here are two example of such discussions, but there are endless other examples:


When I look at the photos of the door handle where the lock cylinder is located on the 2022 Lightning, it seems different. I was just hoping for more info from someone who knows more than I do about this model.

GDN said:

I was hoping with the Lightning they would eliminate the key lock (like the EV leader has done). I believe however many pickups are used differently than the traditional family sedan, so they were afraid to alienate too many people/drivers. With the economy and number of thefts however, they must start to do something.

Likely every truck they've made in the last few years and especially with the Lightning it would be super simple to enable a PIN on the Sync screen that is required before starting/driving. It could be optional as maybe not all like it or want it, but it's too simple to not do it. A thief might get in, but they aren't going to drive it without your PIN to drive.

As for the true question my gut tells me the true door locks on this truck will be identical to what is on current models. More can be done, but it doesn't truly benefit Ford, so don't hold your breath.

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I think I am coming to the same conclusion about the door lock style being unchanged from the gas version. From what I am reading, the last two years have seen Ford move to an "in handle" lock cylinder that is even easier to defeat. All you have to do is pull the door handle, insert pliers and twist the lock cylinder to unlock the door! If I end up with a Lightning (no word from Ford on my early reservation), my first step will be to eliminate the in-handle door lock entirely, replacing it with a one typically used in the rear doors; this seems to be the preferred method of preventing theft. I hope

I will also add a 3M Scotch Shield to the windows to slow down entry to the cab.