F150 Tail Lights: Easy to Steal, Expensive to Replace!

[crazywayne311]

@crazywayne311 just swapped in '24 tail lights. He can chime in on cost and from what I remember him saying, no Forscan needed...

I'm with others.
I would go after market and put them in yourself (your friend).
$950 for 10 mins of work?

24 LED Tails aren’t much more ($100) than the 21-23 tails. If your tails are stolen then you’d have to have the BLIS set up for your truck. (They come in the tails) obviously I swapped my 22 modules over…forscan if not ford may be required for the BLIS

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[HammaMan]

24 LED Tails aren’t much more ($100) than the 21-23 tails. If your tails are stolen then you’d have to have the BLIS set up for your truck. (They come in the tails) obviously I swapped my 22 modules over…forscan if not ford may be required for the BLIS

If you replace the blis modules, you can either program them each w/ vins in forscan or you can use FDRS to pmi the IPMA and it will write the vins into the radars.

 

[Xman]

We tested both #12 and #14 sheet metal screws to secure the tail lights. You could feel both standard screws engage the threads already in the plastic. The #12 went in with about the same force as the stock screw and felt secure. The #14 started ok then felt increase resistance so we backed it out so as not to enlarge the hole or cut the secondary thread channel for the smaller diameter threads for the stock screw any deeper.

Based on this, we are going to go with #12 anti-tamper screws like bfastr used. We are also going to file/grind off the tips of the screws to ensure they do not go in too deep. If you use a larger screw than #12, you could coat the threads with soap or grease to make insertion easier.

We also tried the just arrived #8 x 3/4" ScrewD fasteners in the tailgate's access panel which worked without issue. They come in packets of 25 so they will be used in three F150s on our street. The ScrewD drive bit is keyed and fits only in one orientation.

 

[Xman]

Regarding corrosion with stainless steel screws in aluminum, this does not look to be an issue unless your truck is in contact with salt water. I found one engineering site that listed iron steel is a more corrosive situation along with brass and copper. I have not had issues using stainless steel crews with aluminum riggers on rowing shells which is a common practice.

Looking at the enlarged image below, you can see the screw securing the tail light does not touch the aluminum truck bed. If you are concerned about the washer making contact through the paint, you can use nylon washers.

 

[Xman]

Checked out a 2024 F150 Lariat tailgate yesterday. The modification to the latch area was different than what I posted before from LatchLid.

 

[Xman]

With all the fasteners in hand, we completed the installation of the anti-tamper upgrade to my neighbor's tailgate and tail lights. A 1/4-20 bolt, lock-nut, and washer from my garage stockpile was used to block the center hole in the tailgate. ScrewD's 3/4" #8 sheet metal screws were used to secure the tailgate's access panel reusing the stock washers. ScrewD 3/4" #12 sheet metal screws with stainless steel washers secured the tail lights. The #12 screws went in without excessive force and snugged up fine.

Note 1: a #14 is closer to the stock screw size but has thicker threads and goes in harder.
Note 2: another reason we went with the #12 vs #14 ScrewDs was the shortest the #14s came in was 1" and we didn't want to trim/shorten them. Other #14 anti-tamper screws may come in 3/4" lengths.

 

[Kodiak]

With all the fasteners in hand, we completed the installation of the anti-tamper upgrade to my neighbor's tailgate and tail lights. A 1/4-20 bolt, lock-nut, and washer from my garage stockpile was used to block the center hole in the tailgate. ScrewD's 3/4" #8 sheet metal screws were used to secure the tailgate's access panel reusing the stock washers. ScrewD 3/4" #12 sheet metal screws with stainless steel washers secured the tail lights. The #12 screws went in without excessive force and snugged up fine.

I think I am going to replace the security screws that came with the Latchlid for my 2022 and replace them with the ScrewD .75" #12 that you used. As long as I can utilize those for both the upper and lower tail light screws I may do this. The Latchlid makes the upper screw need to a little longer but I think that .75" will cover it. Thanks for posting!

 

[Xman]

I think I am going to replace the security screws that came with the Latchlid for my 2022 and replace them with the ScrewD .75" #12 that you used.

I would not recommend removing and replacing the LatchLid screws with #12. Because you already installed the LatchLid screws, I expect that they have enlarged the plastic holes in the tail lights and the #12s would be a looser fit. You and others report high force to install the LatchLid screws, so we stopped inserting the #14s when we tested both sizes (#12 and #14) so we would have the option of using the #12s.

You could check this out before purchasing the #12 ScrewDs with a standard commercial #12 sheet metal screw.

Note: another reason we went with the #12 vs #14 ScrewDs was the shortest the #14s came in was 1" and we didn't want to trim/shorten them.

 

[Teddd]

I know this is a little bit of an old thread but my neighbors truck just became "tail light less" the other night, luckily i was at work or it would have been mine too. But has anyway tried these "TailLightKnight" things? apparently better than the latchlids, saw them advertised on one of the facebook groups.

 

[lurch]

RIVETS!

 

[Xman]

Thanks, Teddd. The F150 kit does not specify if their replacement screws are #12 or #14. I prefer #12 for the reasons stated above. Also, their replacement screws are not anti-tamper. A common Torx can remove the replacement screws as well as the tailgate latch pin and cable bolt thus defeating the bolt cover. Still, it is an option for deterrence to consider. Thanks for sharing.

2015-2024 Ford F-150 Tail Light Knight™ – My Store

 

[KingDavid]

Interesting, LatchLid website says Ford fixed the TG release vulnerability on 2024s and their product is not needed.

Ford should apply that fix to the 21+ trucks then...

 

[CoolCoyote]

Thousands of dollars for a few bucks in cheap molded plastic. Ford's parts business is probably more profitable than it's automobile business.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

2. use a screwdriver inserted through the small access hole in the top center of the tailgate. LatchLid provides a plate to block this hole (picture from LatchLid below). I am unsure if the 2024 MY F150s still have this access hole or if it can be used to open a locked tailgate.

I haven't seen any solutions that keep that hole open for bed extenders while blocking the screwdriver trick. ?‍

Gate guard is different design than latchlid and has a plate to go inside tailgate and security screws. Doesn't appear to block the bed extender hole access. I'm not really sure what this plate is supposed to be blocking, but it was made for Gen13 so maybe those are different.

https://gateguardproducts.com

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

Does the 24 even have a lock linkage? I thought the latches were electronic

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