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* So, according to this, the equivalent of 10 percent of all registered Kias and 7 percent of all registered Hyundais in Chicago were stolen last year? I knew the problem was bad, but whoa…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 22 attorneys general, today called on Kia America (Kia) and Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) to take swift and comprehensive action to help remedy the crisis of car thefts that has occurred as a result of the companies’ failure to equip vehicles with anti-theft immobilizers.
From approximately 2010 to 2021, Hyundai and Kia failed to equip base vehicle models with anti-theft immobilizers, which prevent the vehicle from operating without a key or key fob. In 2022 alone, there were over 7,000 Hyundai and Kia thefts in Chicago, which account for 10% of all registered Kia vehicles and 7% of all registered Hyundai vehicles in the city.
Kia and Hyundai recently announced a customer service campaign to upgrade the software of affected vehicles; however, Raoul and the coalition said in a letter that the plan is insufficient, incomplete and long overdue.
“I urge Kia and Hyundai to accelerate a software upgrade to ensure consumers’ vehicles are properly equipped to guard against theft. Additionally, these companies need to provide free alternate protective measures to owners with vehicles that cannot support the software upgrade,” Raoul said. “I stand committed to protecting consumers and our communities, and I urge these car companies to do their part to prevent these thefts.”
Raoul and the attorneys general explain that Kia and Hyundai chose not to include anti-theft immobilizers as standard equipment on several vehicle models sold in the United States, despite including the immobilizers on the same affected models sold in other countries. As a result, the number of thefts and the use of stolen vehicles to commit other thefts in the U.S. significantly increased.
Raoul and the attorneys general are urging the companies to accelerate the planned software upgrade because in addition to dealing with the risk of their vehicle being stolen, Hyundai and Kia owners now face the threat of being unable to insure their vehicles. According to the coalition, several major insurance companies are now refusing to insure the Hyundai and Kia models most susceptible to theft.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in submitting the letter were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, along with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.
* From the letter…
In 2020 there were 895 thefts of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in Milwaukee. In 2021, there were 6,970
Holy moly.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 9:48 am
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Someone put a step-by-step procedure to steal those models on social media.
Comment by DuPage Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 9:59 am
HB 1527 would ban the use of “disablement technology” on every vehicle. Supported by the Cook County Sheriff. Holy moly indeed.
Comment by Franklin Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:00 am
The city of Madison, WI is actually suing Kia and Hyundai, saying their unwillingness to address this glaring theft problem has resulted in dedicating way more city resources to car thefts than they would otherwise. I hope other cities and states follow along. It’s been almost a year of this now.
Comment by Roadrager Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:01 am
Videos and social media have instructions on how to steal them. You don’t need much knowledge.
It’s almost like the 1960’s, when all you needed was a piece of wire for the coil and a screwdriver to trip the solenoid … not that I would know anything about how to do that.
Seriously, I’ve been surprised the insurance companies haven’t been all over Kia and Hyundai about this instead of just penalizing the car owners.
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:07 am
So how much of the increased car theft during the pandemic was directly attributable to this? Seems like we’d need better/more data to know for sure.
Comment by Homebody Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:07 am
I guess if my house gets broken into I should sue my builder for not installing adequate security devices that would deter thieves. Maybe the government should do a better job in crime prevention and enforcement. But they have given up and chosen to mask incompetence by shifting blame. Typical of Democrat led governance.
Comment by Captain Obvious Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:11 am
I wonder how the insurance companies will react if you have one of these cars.
Comment by Steve Rogers Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:13 am
I’m not sure what basis there is for a lawsuit.
Comment by Perrid Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:15 am
== I wonder how the insurance companies will react if you have one of these cars. ==
By raising rates and / or refusing to insure those brands / models.
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:18 am
===I guess if my house gets broken into I should sue my builder for not installing adequate security devices that would deter thieves. Maybe the government should do a better job in crime prevention and enforcement. But they have given up and chosen to mask incompetence by shifting blame. Typical of Democrat led governance.===
Please tell me how the builder of your home allowed it to be entered with the use of a USB cable and then refused to fix the problem.
I certainly don’t see this as blame shifting.
Comment by historic66 Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:19 am
Re: Captain Obvious
The fact that anti-theft devices were not part of *every* make/model of the affected vehicles means that it was a conscious decision by the automaker. Establishing contributory negligence should be a slam dunk.
Comment by The Dude Abides Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:20 am
the way to steal is all over Tik Tok so criminally inclined got educated how to do it. maybe have video of criminals getting caught doing this go viral.
Comment by Amalia Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:22 am
I own a Kia that is ripe for the taking, as they say. Thank God I own a garage or most likely it would have been stolen months ago.
I contacted my local Kia dealer a few weeks back and said, hey, what can I do to improve my odds here, do you have anything yet to make my vehicle less easy to steal, is there anything in the works.
They took my number, said they would get back to me, and never have.
Comment by ZC Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:23 am
Slightly off topic but … I still remember years ago when I bought my wife one of the VW convertibles she’s owned, I phoned the insurance company to add it, and the words out of the agent’s mouth was “you do realize that is the most stolen model the past several years?”
No, I didn’t. And it was never stolen either …
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:24 am
Thank you for posting the AG letter. Very informative and upsetting. Unfortunately there was no distinction made between “thefts” where an immobilizer would likely have make a difference (such as from street parking or a parking lot) and “carjacking theft” where the criminal obtains the key/key fob from the victim often by force. This wouldbe useful info to know.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:25 am
Historic66, that sounds like a good reason to use a different builder, it sounds like a good reason to badmouth them until you’re blue in the face, I’m not sure it’s grounds for a lawsuit. There are laws around car safety and recalls, I don’t know any about anti-theft devices.
Comment by Perrid Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:27 am
Glad I chose the most basest of base models (manual transmission, one lock on driver’s side door w/old school key) when I bought my Kia way back when.
Comment by Loyal Virus Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:28 am
=I guess if my house gets broken into I should sue my builder for not installing adequate security devices that would deter thieves.=
You do realize that we all pay higher insurance premiums because Hyundai/Kia made the conscious decision to forgo anti-theft devices in the U.S. that other automakers (and Hyundai/Kia outside of the U.S.) consider standard? You might otherwise consider this socialism.
Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:29 am
A buddy works for one of the big insurance companies and said that the already late, proposed “fix” is easily bypassed by the Kia boys.
@ Homebody
There is a direct correlation between the release of the Tik Tok “Kia Boys” video with an increase in motor vehicle theft and reduction in car jackings in Chicago. Obviously, I don’t have a peer-reviewed study, but a lot of folks have been pointing this out every time the CPD commander started crowing about the decrease in car jackings since mid-2022.
Comment by Chicago Blue Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:46 am
== I guess if my house gets broken into I should sue my builder for not installing adequate security devices that would deter thieves. Maybe the government should do a better job in crime prevention and enforcement. But they have given up and chosen to mask incompetence by shifting blame. Typical of Democrat led governance. ==
Just goes to show that there’s not a problem in the world that someone won’t use as an opportunity to exercise some Olympic-level mental gymnastics in order to somehow make corporate mal/non-feasance the fault of the Democratic Party.
Comment by Leap Day William Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:46 am
==I guess if my house gets broken into I should sue my builder for not installing adequate security devices that would deter thieves. ==
It may be considered a defect that they would be responsible for.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/consumer/safety-advocates-say-hyundai-kias-anti-theft-upgrade-doesnt-go-far-enough/3078577/
== Specifically FMVSS 114, which requires all vehicles in the United States to “have a starting system which, whenever the key is removed… prevents the normal activation of the vehicle’s engine or motor.” ==
I think a better metaphor would be a company that sold electronic door locks that could be disabled by touching them with a nine-volt battery. It seems to be a fit-for-purpose/design issue.
Ended up getting both of my kids The Club to deal with the risk for now.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:50 am
In February both State Farm and Progressive stopped temporarily taking new policies on certain Kias and Hyundais.
Comment by Product of the '60's Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:52 am
= Glad I chose the most basest of base models (manual transmission, one lock on driver’s side door w/old school key) when I bought my Kia way back when. =
The manual transmission alone will thwart most car thefts.
Comment by cover Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 10:59 am
Figure 4 gives a pretty good idea of the theft split between Kia/Hyundai and the rest of the industry.
https://www.iihs.org/media/0e14ba17-a3c2-4375-8e66-081df9101ed2/opm7QA/HLDI%20Research/Bulletins/hldi_bulletin_38-28.pdf
Comment by Henry Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:04 am
That’s outrageous. And Capt. Obvious, as the risk (nay, certainty) of completely wasting my time —
A better analogy is that my builder constructs my house, hands me the keys, assures me that the doors are fastened securely - and then brings a duplicate of my keys to the local hardware store and tells them they can cut and give away duplicates of my house keys to anyone who asks.
Then my builder goes out and constructs identical (or near identical) versions of my house, for easy identification by thieves. And they’re all accessible via these duplicated keys that the hardware store keeps giving away.
Yeah, I’d be mad at my builder. Real mad.
Comment by Soccermom Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:09 am
==But they have given up and chosen to mask incompetence by shifting blame==
Yeah. This is the government’s fault. You obviously have no clue as to what the exact issue is or you wouldn’t make such a dumb comment. Captain Oblivious strikes again.
Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:09 am
=I guess if my house gets broken into I should sue my builder for not installing adequate security devices that would deter thieves. =
No equivalency.
If you’re not happy with the locks on your house you can change them.
Hard to do that on a car.
Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:24 am
My wife wanted to visit her friend in Clinton, IL. She drove halfway there in our Palisade before she realized she had left her car keys at our house.
Comment by ChrisB Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:32 am
Read somewhere that owners are being advised (not by the manufacturers) to buy steering wheel locks. I wonder how difficult it is these days to install a simple kill switch. It was easy 40 years ago.
Comment by Original Rambler Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:38 am
===The city of Madison, WI
State of Minnesota too. They account for most of the increases in car theft over the last couple years.
—The manual transmission alone will thwart most car thefts.
Friend had a jeep in Saint Louis and I asked him how it was never stolen–because most car thieves today can’t drive stick.
===I guess if my house gets broken into I should sue my builder for not installing adequate security devices that would deter thieves.Typical of Democrat led governance.
Someone cannot enter my house and move it. If you want to say that basic consumer protection is Democratic led governance, who am I to argue?
Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:40 am
== If you’re not happy with the locks on your house you can change them.
Hard to do that on a car. ==
Depends on the car and your (mostly software) tools. Not the physical keys, but if you have a laptop, the interface cable, and software that can flip every bit, you can do some interesting stuff to features on modern cars. Plus there are a number of (often pricy) modules you can add to some brands to give extra features / functionality to the key fobs that the manufacturer did not envision or offer. It’s a whole new world of hacking and tuning …
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:43 am
== I wonder how difficult it is these days to install a simple kill switch. It was easy 40 years ago. ==
Still doable, but takes a bit more knowledge and reading a wiring diagram. Probably the easiest spot on the newer cars is a kill switch in the electric fuel pump circuit.
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:46 am
==== I wonder how the insurance companies will react if you have one of these cars. ==
By raising rates and / or refusing to insure those brands / models.==
This has already started:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/kia-hyundai-models-insurers-refusing-cover-high-theft/story?id=96766632
Comment by Anon324 Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:47 am
===Historic66, that sounds like a good reason to use a different builder===
The analogy between cars and houses is laughable.
Are you saying that those who bought these cars without knowing there would be theft issues should just sell them/trade them in and get something else? That sounds like 20-20 vision in hindsight. It also sounds like you want to blame someone without fixing the problem.
Comment by historic66 Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 11:49 am
Las Vegas, NV police are handing out free steering wheel locks to owners of 2011-2021 Kia or Hyundai automobiles.
Comment by In_The_Middle Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 12:07 pm
==I should sue my builder for not installing adequate security devices==
You would if the builder installed saloon doors on the front of your house.
Comment by Jocko Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 12:12 pm
I think the worst thing about these thefts is Kia’s (and Hyundai’s) complete abdication of responsibility. I’ve heard nothing from the company or my local dealer about this. When I had my ‘21 Kia serviced a few months ago, I asked what they were doing to fix the problem. They referred me to an auto parts shop for a steering wheel locking mechanism, which they admitted isn’t foolproof. I asked when immobilizer software would be available, they couldn’t give an answer beyond “we’re looking into that”. In the meantime, I have received a letter from my insurance company warning me of the problem and I’m afraid to look at my next insurance bill.
Total PR disaster on their part. I hope a class action lawsuit on behalf of the owners is in the future.
Comment by Wensicia Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 12:27 pm
=It’s a whole new world of hacking and tuning …=
Tell me about it.
Wish they had senior tech workshops at CPL.
Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 1:41 pm
on the phone now with Kia corporate. I have a 2020 KIA Soul and I am being told there is no patch available. I then called my local police department who sounded like they had no idea what I was talking about. When Kia said they are providing locks to local police departments, was told mine wasn’t one of them. NOW WHAT?
Comment by education first Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 1:43 pm
== Wish they had senior tech workshops at CPL. ==
It’s pretty much brand / automotive group specific … so no real generic instruction. I’m just learning about all the VW / Porsche / Audi group stuff, pretty much by others experiences, and trial and error. Just so I can repair the wife’s VW Eos when needed.
Because the models use shared software, you can occasionally get weird errors like showing a rear door open on a 2 door, or similar stuff. Luckily the engineers who designed it were smart enough to build in simple reset procedures for most of the error conditions.
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 2:30 pm
==NOW WHAT?==
Call 800-333-4542 and hope your car falls under the software update. In the meantime, spend $55 and use ‘The Club 3000′ whenever you’re outside your garage.
Comment by Jocko Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 3:33 pm
I found out about this early last fall, and advice was “get a Club that goes on the steering wheel.” Got one, used it religiously, and as of last week have had the 2014 Kia Sorrento stolen, driven into a fire hydrant, with $5000+ worth of damage now. The Club? they literally drilled out the lock on it. They left the Club with a hole where the lock was. So much for a deterrent. There is no way to stop it from being stolen.
Comment by thrudasmog Tuesday, Mar 21, 23 @ 5:58 pm