A woman went viral on TikTok after sharing the precautions she’s taking to stop thieves from swiping the tires off her Toyota.
Jordan (@viewsfromfivefootthree) explained in a recent video that she’d heard reporting that 2025 Toyota Camrys were the target of thieves, a rumor that rattled her so much she sprinted out of her apartment in broad daylight to check her own car.
In the clip, posted earlier this week, she filmed herself rushing outside only to find her tires still firmly in place.
That didn’t exactly put her at ease. “Now I gotta go buy five sets of wheel locks and an alarm,” she captioned the post. As of this writing, the video has already pulled in more than 600,000 views.
Are Toyota Camry’s Wheels a Prime Target for Thieves?
Between 2010 and 2020, more than 180,000 Toyota Camrys were stolen, making the sedan one of the top five most-stolen cars, according to The Zebra, which cited data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Theft doesn’t stop at the car itself, though. Some drivers have walked outside to find their Camry stripped bare and propped up on blocks. In 2022, the model even cracked Premiere Services’ list of the top four vehicles most severely affected by wheel theft.
What’s worse, replacing a Camry’s wheels is no small expense. According to one estimate from Discount Tire, tires for a Camry can cost between $80 and $350 each, while rims can be even costlier, depending on the model year. That means one bad night could leave you having to foot the bill for an expense of over $1,000.
Car wheels, in general, are prime targets for thieves precisely for that reason. They’re expensive, easy to yank off, and hard to trace—helping thieves earn quick cash on the resale market. It’s the same problem Ford Super Duty owners face with thieves swiping taillights.
How Can I Protect My Car?
You can’t totally theft-proof a Camry, but you can make it a headache to strip. According to RNR Tire Express, wheel locks are one of the best defenses since they swap out a regular lug nut for a version that only comes off with a specific key—meaning a thief’s basic socket wrench is useless. Toyota offers alloy locks, but numerous aftermarket options are also available.
If you don’t want to spend money on a lock, another option is to be more cautious about where you park your car. Bright, well-lit spots raise the risk of someone getting caught, while hugging the curb makes it trickier to slide a jack underneath. Little inconveniences like this are often enough to deter a thief.
Viewers React
Plenty of people said Jordan’s panic felt all too familiar because wheel thieves had targeted them or they knew someone who had been hit.
“Me seeing this after my husband’s wheels got stolen this morning,” one woman lamented. Another said her wheels were swiped while she was at the movies, while a third came back from a trip to find her Camry sitting on blocks.
“Yup, I was a victim,” a fourth admitted.
“Happened in May,” added another, posting a photo of their stripped car.
Others jumped in with advice, zeroing in on the same fix: wheel locks.
“Wheel locks people WHEEL LOCKS,” one commenter insisted. “It works so well I can’t find my key.”
Another echoed, “Just to be safe, get wheel locks.”
A third urged, “Ma’am! Please go ahead and get in that car, drive it to Auto Zone, and get you some wheel locks.”
Not everyone could believe Camrys were even a target.
“Some people will do anything but get a [expletive] job,” one man fumed.
“Why [are] they doing that???” another asked.
And as one frustrated commenter put it: “I’m so sick of folks not letting us have nothing. Life [is] already hard.”
Motor1 has reached out to Jordan via a direct message on TikTok.
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