Hyundai and Kia sued after car theft wave

In a wave of lawsuits filed against Kia Corp. and 000270 0.58% Hyundai Motor Co., HYMLY 0.00% a number of cities have blamed the auto manufacturers for the surge of joy riders that are stealing people's cars, causing property damage and draining police resources. 

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At least five cities, including Cleveland, Seattle, and St. Louis, have accused automakers of not installing anti-theft technology in their vehicles in order to reduce expenses. The decision by the government made it easier for thieves to steal the cars and made cities less safe, officials said. It is unclear how much the cities want Kia and Hyundai to pay as damages as part of the lawsuits. 

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As a result of the lack of immobilizers on the vehicle, a driver without the correct key will be unable to start the car. Cars that have steel keys and turn-to-start ignition systems have been the primary targets of the thefts.

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“It has been stated that the security system on these vehicles is so substandard that a middle-schooler could exploit it without any problem,” said a lawsuit filed in February by the city of Columbus, Ohio.

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It has been claimed by Kia that the lawsuits are without merit. The Hyundai Motor Company said Thursday that it is committed to the quality and integrity of the products that it manufactures and that the company "meets and exceeds all federal safety requirements." Hyundai owns about one-third of Kia, which is based in Seoul. 

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The two car companies haven't done enough to fix the problem since thefts started taking off, which was inspired by social-media videos explaining how to steal vehicles with a screwdriver and a USB charger, according to city officials. Officials say that many of the thieves are teens, and sometimes even younger. It has been said that many social media platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, have removed such videos, which are in violation of their policies.

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Based on the information provided by the car companies and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the problem affects about 4.5 million Kias built between 2011 and 2021, and about 3.8 million Hyundais built between 2016 and 2021. 

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It has been reported that State Farm has stopped accepting new customer applications for some Kia and Hyundai cars, citing a rise in insurance costs. People who have leased or bought Hyundais and Kias have sued the companies, arguing that the security features of the cars should not have been left off the cars when they were sold. Both Kia and Hyundai have said that they will continue to offer free steering wheel locks and software updates to customers.

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Last year, both Kia and Hyundai provided steering wheel locks to police departments for distribution to Kia and Hyundai drivers. A software fix is being rolled out by the companies in February, which must be installed at the dealerships in order to make it work. In fact, some models are not yet eligible for the update, and in some cases, the software cannot even be installed on the model at all. 

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Almost two dozen state attorneys general sent a letter last week to both automakers urging them to offer a quick fix to those who have not received the software yet, as well as to make more steering wheel locks available to those who have not yet received the software.

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”We urge you to acknowledge the company's role in this issue and to take swift and comprehensive action to correct the situation as soon as possible,” the letter read. 

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Nancy Laird's silver 2018 Hyundai Sonata was stolen three weeks before she was scheduled to get the software update for the vehicle. It has been reported that a 75-year-old social worker has had her car stolen from an auto-repair shop where she had left it overnight last month for another issue. According to Ms. Laird, an auto-repair shop employee told her there were only shards of glass left behind after the accident. 

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Despite the fact that police found her Hyundai, she said it could not be driven, and it was unrepairable. As a result of the accident, the front grill and bumper were gone, the ignition of the car was on the floor, and both of the car's airbags had been deployed. Her car was stolen from her when a thief hit it with another vehicle and then struck a stone wall after it crashed into another vehicle.

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"It was torn to pieces and back to hell and back," said Ms. Laird, who resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. In March of this year, the city filed its lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai. 

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As of February, there have been at least eight deaths and 14 accidents linked to these thefts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

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Mara Elliott, a city attorney in San Diego, says she filed a lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai last month because she does not believe that the companies are taking the issues seriously enough. 

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"Sometimes we have to litigate a case to get a business to act in a fair and responsible manner," said Ms. Elliott. "Our officers need to be able to focus on the day-to-day crime, not the crimes that occur because of a car manufacturer's desire to save money on a production line."