New York sues Hyundai and Kia over ‘explosion’ of car thefts

New York City is suing Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia for negligence and a public uproar over complaints about a “virtual explosion” of stolen cars blamed on a lack of anti-theft equipment.

New York’s lawsuit comes after several other major US cities sued South Korean carmakers on similar grounds.

New York blames Hyundai and Kia for failing to install devices called immobilizers on most of their cars between 2011 and 2022, claiming “vehicle theft, rampant crime, reckless driving and public harm.” opened the doors”.

Some Hyundai and Kia models are vulnerable to theft because they use mechanical keys instead of key fobs and lack the immobilizers present in other vehicles. The immobilizer has a transponder in the car’s key fob that transmits a code when the car is started. The car will not start until it has the correct code.

The city said in a statement that it aimed to “hold the two companies accountable for refusing to equip certain models of their cars with standard anti-theft measures” following an increase in car thefts, adding that Hyundai and Kia Cars lack such devices. is “almost unique” among manufacturers.

Theft of both vehicles followed by a blast in the last four months of 2022 tiktok video Showing how to steal cars that lack immobilizers and push-button ignitions went viral. According to the New York City Law Department, Hyundai thefts increased from 12 to 104 in New York, while Kia thefts increased from 10 to 99.

The law department said thieves are breaking the ignition covers of Hyundai and Kia vehicles and are able to bypass the ignition sequence using any external device such as a USB.

Hyundai acknowledged these problems with some of its models but insisted that its vehicles fully conform to US federal requirements. The company said it has taken “extensive” measures to assist its customers and the immobilizer will be standard on all vehicles produced from November 2021.

It has also provided a software upgrade to all around 4 million vehicles without immobilizers to prevent the popular method of theft. It is also providing free steering wheel locks to owners of affected vehicles.

Kia is also taking similar steps for more than 3 million vehicle owners and said lawsuits filed by US cities against the company are “without merit.”

The carmaker reached a $200mn consumer class action settlement last month in a theft case involving nearly 9mn vehicle owners in New York.

Analysts noted that car thefts were continuing despite software upgrades and that Hyundai and Kia were likely to see more lawsuits than other US cities.

“The issue will negatively affect the carmakers’ brand image, driving some customers away from Hyundai and Kia cars,” said Lee Hang-koo, a consultant at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute. “The ballooning legal costs and compensation amount will also eat into their finances.”