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

[Ford blue blood]

Just google screwd and their site will come up. Pricey, sold in groups of 24, keys sold separately. I have shared the screws I got along with the info for my friends to order the key as I only ordered the key for me.

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[Xman]

FYI, University Park TX has been reporting one taillight theft a day (part of the DFW metroplex). The Police department has offered F-series owners 4 theft deterrent screws to secure their taillights. The currently have fitted 120 Ford trucks of which none have reported a taillight theft. If they continue to offer the same screws, the thieves may catch on and include that bit in their tool kit.

One Simple Switch Prevents Ford F-Series Taillight Thefts

 

[JohnTrigger]

I installed the #12 "screwd" security screws. The drive key is unique, only clocks to one location. Damage wise, repairs to vandalism and such would probably be a wash cost wise. Either way, my truck will keep it's tail lights!

@Ford blue blood

If you would please advise what length on the #12 button head screws did you get?

 

[Xman]

what length on the #12 button head screws did you get?

3/4"

 

[Ford blue blood]

Yup, 3/4" Perfect fit!

 

[JohnTrigger]

Thanks, you two. ^^^

 

[Chappy133]

Sale on Amazon on tail light theft security kits:

https://www.amazon.com/Centella-lig...5b60af6c&ref_=hul_hp_d_esc_reco_all&pos=title

 

[MPBFord]

Sale on Amazon on tail light theft security kits:

Seems like those are just regular security Torx. Bits for those are a dime a dozen these days. Those items from Screwd... hard to tell but does it have 7 notches, irregularly spaced and sized maybe?

Of course it wouldn't be too long before thieves just have one of those handy as well.

If the idea became "slow them down", maybe that idea of putting a little epoxy in each screw head is reasonable. It could be picked out if/when you need to, but low life thieves are looking for quick in and out. Pair up epoxy with just parking in a well lit/public area and hopefully any crook will take a look and figure they're better off moving off to another target rather than spend extra time on your rig.

After all, nothing can be done to stop a determined crackhead with nothing but time on their side. You can take your time and unscrew things with a pair of vise grips or a dremel to cut a flat slot and get something out that way, but that'll just make even more noise and attract attention and take extra time, all increasing their risk of being caught in the act.

I had my cat stolen off my F350 a while back... dead of night and they (2 of 'em) used battery powered saws to cut off both ends, and even though it made a terrible racket, they were gone in probably 30 seconds. I added a cat clamp (basically a cage of steel cables) around the new one and I know they can still get to it if they had time, but it'll take much longer.

My security cameras showed one of them come by earlier in the day to take a little peek under and basically do a recon. I like to think that if they saw it was going to take more a minute to snag, they'd look for a softer target. Maybe wishful thinking, because low lifes like that can be desperate and stupid, a deadly and dangerous combination...

 

[Ford blue blood]

Not regular security torx! They are clocked, the key only fits in the head in one position.

 

[MCHammer]

+1 on tail light theft.

I'm going to upgrading the tail light screws with some from ScrewD. They also removed 11 of the 12 bolts holding on my tailgate work surface to access the locking mechanism for the power tailgate in the first place.

Does anyone know the bolt size that attaches the work surface to the tailgate? I'd like to get some from ScrewD if they have a compatible model.

 

[NH-RCSB]

I plan on getting these but I'll have to wait and measure the factory ones when my truck eventually comes in....

https://screwdsecurity.com/

Thank you for this post. I'll be replacing the screws. What size(s) are required for all screws ?

 

[moritzes]

Thank you for this post. I'll be replacing the screws. What size(s) are required for all screws ?

These worked for my 2025 tail lights:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSZRGG4H

If you don't have a bit for the security screws you might want one. Probably wouldn't want to have to use that little L-wrench to do it. Bit size for those is TT30.

 

[NH-RCSB]

These worked for my 2025 tail lights:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSZRGG4H

If you don't have a bit for the security screws you might want one. Probably wouldn't want to have to use that little L-wrench to do it. Bit size for those is TT30.

Perfect !!
Another modification for my 2025 XL, RCSB.
Thank you !!

 

[Dakar09]

I went with these for now

 

[MPBFord]

That type of bit is probably less common than the security Torx (I have some but just because I bought a HUGE set of security bits a long while back, and it included a lot including that type). Interesting...

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