Ford Transit security: how to protect your Transit and tools

The Ford Transit has been Britain's best-known working van for decades, and the Transit Custom sells in huge numbers, which is exactly why it is worth protecting properly: a van that is everywhere is a van that thieves know well, and so are the tools inside it. This guide covers how Transits are usually broken into, the three-layer fix that deals with each attack, and the kit we stock for it.

How Transits are usually attacked

Rear and sliding side doors. On most Transits the load doors are the softest point. The classic methods are peeling the top corner of a rear door back far enough to reach the lock mechanism, drilling or punching the lock barrel, and forcing the sliding door at its latch. None of these needs a key, and all of them are quick and fairly quiet.

The OBD port. The diagnostic socket sits under the dashboard on the driver's side. Once inside the cab, a thief with a programming tool can code a blank key to the van in a few minutes and simply drive it away. This is how many whole-van thefts happen on vans that were locked and alarmed.

The keyless fob. Transit and Transit Custom models with keyless entry and start can be opened by relay theft: one person stands near your house with a device that picks up the fob's signal through the wall, a second relays it to the van, and the van unlocks and starts as though you were standing beside it. No door is forced and no alarm sounds.

Cab windows and the cab itself. Smash-and-grab for sat-navs, phones and wallets left in view, and a way into the cab for the OBD attack above.

The three-layer fix

No single product covers all three ways into a Transit, so the fix is three layers that each stop a different attack.

  1. Block the key signal. If your Transit has keyless entry, keep the fob in a Faraday pouch when you are out and a Faraday key box by the door at home. If the signal cannot be read, it cannot be relayed.
  2. Add a visible physical lock. A T-bar steering wheel lock can be seen from the pavement and takes time, tools and noise to remove. Most thieves move on to an easier van.
  3. Protect the OBD port. An OBD port lock covers the diagnostic socket that key-programming tools plug into, so a stolen key cannot be coded in the cab.

All three come together in our van security kit. Add a stick-on wireless vibration alarm to each rear and side door to make a quiet break-in loud; it is not Thatcham-rated and does not replace a fitted alarm or immobiliser, but it is cheap, needs no wiring and works on a leased van. Our van alarms compared guide explains the differences.

Transit-specific tips

  • Park with the rear doors hard against a wall and the sliding door against a fence or another vehicle where you can, so there is no room to work on them.
  • Take tools out overnight, or move the most valuable ones to the cab footwell out of sight. A sign saying no tools are left in the van costs nothing.
  • Check the top corners of the rear doors regularly. A slight gap or a bent edge is a sign someone has already tried.
  • If your Transit is a few years old and has never had its software updated, ask a Ford dealer whether a security update is available for your model year.
  • Keep the spare key in a Faraday box too. The spare is as useful to a relay thief as the one in your pocket.

Shop van security

Browse the full van alarms and security and keyless car theft protection collections, and read our general van security guide.