Feb. 15, 2023–Hyundai and Kia are releasing a new software update to address the increase in thefts of their vehicles, Reuters reports.
In 2022, data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that theft claims in the U.S. were “twice as common for Hyundai and Kia vehicles” compared to other vehicles produced during the same time frame: 2015-2019.
A trend originated on TikTok of videos showing “how to steal cars made from 2015 to 2019 without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. People nationwide began attempting this, resulting in “14 reported crashes and eight fatalities.”
The trend took off in 2021, at first gaining particular traction in Wisconsin and then spreading. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “overall claims on Hyundai and Kia thefts per insured vehicle year soared to more than 30 times the 2019 level.”
The reason Hyundai and Kias are especially vulnerable to these thefts is due to many 2015-19 Hyundai and Kia vehicles lacking an electronic mobilizer: a device that was “standard on nearly all vehicles made by other manufacturers during that period.”
An update will be released for 3.8 million Hyundais and 4.5 million Kias in the U.S. that will update “the theft alarm software logic to extend the length of the alarm sound from 30 seconds to one minute and requires the key to be in the ignition switch to turn the vehicle on.” Drivers will also receive a sticker alerting others that the car has anti-theft protection.
