A viral social media trend showed that many Kias and Hyundais were manufactured lacking engine immobilizers, a safety device that prevents vehicles from being hot-wired, and the City of Cleveland has seen the effects of this.

Hyundai Motor America and Kia America Inc., two separate car company’s manufactured in South Korea, merged in 1998. Between 2011 and 2021, many of the cars were made without proper engine immobilizers. These immobilizers are required by law in Canada, but not in the United States.

In late 2021, a viral video was spread on TikTok that showed viewers how to quickly steal Kias and Hyundais using a screwdriver and USB cable. 

The easy access to car theft was not only made known by TikTok, but the platform, combined with other areas of social media, allowed the trend to gain popularity.

Groups of people, dubbed as the “Kia Boys,” have posted the thefts online, stealing Kias and Hyundais across the country. The popularity of these videos allowed the trend to increase in many cities.

As seen in data provided by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, the number of Kias stolen in January of 2023 surpassed the number of other non-Kia and Hyundai stolen vehicles combined. 

The city of Cleveland filed a lawsuit against the cars’ company in March of 2023, months after the theft was at an all-time high between October and December 2022. 

Keller Rohorback L.L.P, a Seattle-based law firm, was hired by Cleveland to file the federal lawsuit. Garrett Heilman, a partner at the law firm, said Cleveland does not have any comment on the matter at this time. 

In a statement from the City of Cleveland, Cleveland’s Mayor Justin Bibb accused Kia and Hyundai of prioritizing profit over their customers. Bibb claimed this was because they chose not to install immobilizers in the vehicles. 

Cleveland is among many cities across the nation that are choosing to sue the automakers.

In another statement from the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Harold Pretel described the severity of this problem.

Pretel said the issue is nationwide, not just in Cleveland, and the increase in car theft is taking resources from the police. In the same statement, the City of Cleveland wrote that they recognize the burden this has caused owners of these vehicles.

Heather Axtell was visiting Cleveland from Fulton, New York for her granddaughters’ cheerleading competition when her Kia was stolen. 

Axtell stayed in a hotel in downtown Cleveland for one night. After, she woke up to find only glass remaining where she parked her car.

“It was scary, infuriating, and left me with a feeling of violation,” Axtell said. 

Axtell said officers came immediately to search for the car, and found it an hour later in what was described as a hot spot for dumping Kias after the initial theft.

Since 2023, the manufacturers of both Kia and Hyundai have begun hosting free events nationwide to install anti-theft software. The events and installations are free to the car owners. 

Axtell said she was one of the customers who had the free update installed after her Kia was stolen, but it did not offer her any more peace of mind. 

“I did get the security upgrade, but I didn’t feel safe taking it anywhere, so I ended up trading it in,” Axtell said. 

People from other states, such as Arizona and Minnesota, reported having their cars stolen even after the software update provided by the company, which is why Axtell said she ultimately chose to trade in her Kia.

“The company did not care to recall the vehicles and fix the problem, but offered a pitiful bandaid solution.”

Heather Axtell

“They were still being stolen with the upgrade,” Axtell said. “The company did not care to recall the vehicles and fix the problem, but offered a pitiful bandaid solution.”

After trading her car in, Axtell said she still had to pay $15,000 for her new car loan and a $500 deductible for her car being stolen, which she said she views as Hyundai Motor America and Kia America Inc. at fault for.

“Kia should be held responsible, as they knew this was a problem and still sold the unsafe vehicles,” Axtell said.

James Bell, Kia’s head of corporate communications, said the company believes the real reason to blame for the increased theft is the criminals committing the thefts, not the car company. 

“It’s a shame that criminals have decided to take advantage of Kias and Hyundais in this way.”

James Bell

“This is a crime issue,” Bell said. “It’s a shame that criminals have decided to take advantage of Kias and Hyundais in this way.”

To mitigate the risks associated with vehicle thefts, Kia announced in December a new software upgrade designed to deter the increased level of thefts. 

The upgrade is provided free of charge to Kia owners. It extends the duration of the alarm and disables the ignition system, rendering the vehicle inoperable to potential thieves. 

“Because we are very conscious and concerned about our owners and their comfort, we have established a new software upgrade,” Bell said. “It will basically raise the level of theft deterrence in the vehicle.”

Since the anti-theft software upgrade was first introduced in the beginning of 2023, data provided by the Cleveland Division of Police shows that thefts of Kias and Hyundais has decreased significantly.

In the first three months of 2024 there were 474 Kias and Hyundais stolen, whereas there were 1,058 stolen during the same period of time the previous year.

This decrease in theft also came at around the same time that the Cleveland Division of Police began distributing free anti-theft devices. The devices distributed were steering wheel locks, which were given on a first-come first-serve basis to those who own a 2015-2021 Kia or Hyundai.

Cities around Cleveland were also affected by the increase of car theft due to the lack of immobilizers in Kias and Hyundais, notably in Cuyahoga County.

Data compiled by Cleveland.com shows that in 2022 many of the other cities surrounding Cleveland had a rise of overall car theft. The car theft decreased in 2023 as well.

Whether it be from the software upgraded installed from the car company or the anti-theft devices provided by Cleveland Division of Police, the trends stayed similar in the surrounding cities to how they did in Cleveland, showing that the decrease in car thefts is not isolated to one area.

Bell contributes the decrease in theft to Hyundai Motor America and Kia America Inc.’s efforts, as he said over 1.1 million vehicles have undergone their upgrade nationwide since its introduction, which the corporation is seeing results from. 

“There has been, I would say, less interest in stealing a Kia because people are aware now of the fact that the vehicle may be upgraded.”

James Bell

“It’s a crime issue, so cars are always being broken into, but we do see less theft,” Bell said. “There has been, I would say, less interest in stealing a Kia because people are aware now of the fact that the vehicle may be upgraded.”

A separate settlement against is close to being reached by Hagens German, another Seattle-based law firm. The settlement funds will go to owners of affected vehicles that did not have expenses covered by insurance.

The final hearing is set for July 15, 2024, and the deadline to submit a claim is January 11, 2025.