Hyundai and Kia Offer Free Steering Wheel Locks After Rise in Vehicle Thefts

Some Hyundai and Kia conveyance owners are capable to person escaped steering instrumentality locks arsenic portion of the company’s ongoing efforts to combat a caller spate of conveyance break-ins. The locks volition beryllium distributed alongside an upgraded anti-theft exertion which the institution rolled retired past month to eligible vehicles including the 2017-2020 Hyundai Elantra, the 2015-2019 Sonata, and the 2020-2021 Venue.

The fig of Hyundai and Kia conveyance thefts accrued aft the TikTok ‘Kia Challenge’ went viral past year. The situation gives step-by-step directions to interruption into the conveyance utilizing household tools similar a USB port, taking vantage of the key-start feature.

Some older Hyundai and Kia vehicles don’t person an motor immobilizer which stops drivers from starting the car without a key. Cities crossed the state person reported an uptick successful stolen Hyundai and Kia vehicles, including New York City wherever Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said successful a property league that astir 100 of these cars were stolen successful December alone, CNN reported. “Before past we were averaging astir apt 10 to 12 thefts of these cars a month, and by December we were up to astir 100.”

Surprisingly, New York City’s numbers are conscionable the extremity of the iceberg, with a reported 509 Hyundai and Kia vehicles stolen successful Buffalo, New York since the opening of the year, and two-thirds of the 8,000 palmy and attempted thefts successful Columbus, Ohio were Hyundai and Kia models.

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Hyundai did not instantly respond to Gizmodo’s petition for comment.

Hyundai’s efforts to ramp up anti-theft features successful the affected vehicles person been taken up by constabulary departments successful some Dublin, Ohio, and Baltimore, Maryland who are hosting steering instrumentality fastener giveaways astatine their respective section constabulary stations. Hyundai volition besides reimburse each customers who bought the steering instrumentality locks and is supporting constabulary efforts by providing the diagnostic to instrumentality enforcement agencies to distribute.

In a connection to Bloomberg, the institution said, “Hyundai Motor America is committed to ensuring the prime and integrity of our products.”

Hyundai rolled retired its different anti-theft features past period that would widen the car’s alarm by 30 seconds and requires the cardinal to beryllium inserted into the ignition earlier it volition powerfulness up. These features antecedently outgo customers $170 but could emergence to arsenic overmuch arsenic $500 to screen the installation and labour costs.

Bloomberg reported Hyundai said successful a connection connected Friday that the bundle has truthful acold been rolled retired to 1 cardinal customers and volition go disposable to different 3 cardinal customers successful the coming weeks.