Thanks in part to popular social media posts, thieves all around the United States are targeting Hyundai and Kia cars because they are simple targets. Basically, they can start the car and go in less than a minute if it’s a modern car from one of those automakers that doesn’t use push-button start. The only equipment needed is a USB charger, which can be found in almost all cars.
Over the past year, more thefts of both brands have been reported in a number of states. This is consistent with the rise in viewers and sharers of films of the Milwaukee-based “Kia Boyz” speeding around in snatched Korean vehicles.
Videos demonstrate the exact procedure they’re using, which entails removing the steering column cover and disassembling the key hole. The vehicle can then be started, the steering lock released, and the ignition tumbler turned using a USB cord. As a result, the Hyundai or Kia can be started and driven away at any time by utilizing the same cable. The thieves target Korean vehicles with physical key slots in particular because push-button start variants are more difficult to circumvent.
According to reports, vehicles that employ a physical key are vulnerable to this technique because they lack an immobilizer, a factory-installed anti-theft mechanism. These immobilizers check the authenticity of a key against an automobile’s ECU using a chip, or transponder. This implies that the vehicle cannot be started unless the transponder has been matched with the vehicle, even if a thief has copied the physical cuts on a key. The vulnerable Hyundai and Kia vehicles purportedly lack an immobilizer, allowing the thieves to accomplish the same feat on an automobile from the 1980s by simply forcing the ignition cylinder.
Hyundai and Kia representatives claim that the 2022 vehicles are exempt from the technique. Despite this, numerous news organizations have continued to record automobile thefts. When there are no stylistic changes, it’s unlikely that a would-be thief would be able to distinguish a 2022 from a 2021, therefore owners may still be targeted and vandalized even if thieves are unable to drive away.
Milwaukee is probably one of the worst cities in terms of thefts, even though it is not the only one. In fact, more than two-thirds of all vehicle thefts in the city involve Korean cars, and they’ve grown by 2,500 percent annually. Since the situation has “a significant harmful impact on the quality of life for [its] inhabitants,” city alderman Michael Murphy told WISN, Milwaukee has even considering legal action against Hyundai and Kia. A different class action case was filed last June under seal against the automakers and their parent firm, alleging that inadequate security measures are used in the production of the automobiles.
A higher level of security may be something affected Hyundai and Kia owners want to think about adding. For instance, they might decide to buy a wheel lock shaped like a club or an aftermarket immobilizer system. Even if it doesn’t necessarily address the root cause, this does contribute by thwarting potential crimes of opportunity.
In This Article...
TikTok challenge causes an increase in auto thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles
- Certain types and models of Kia and Hyundai cars from 2010 to 2021 that require mechanical keys rather than key fobs and push buttons to start the car are being targeted by thieves.
- Young kids are the majority of the burglars, and they hot wire the automobile using a USB cord.
- Using the hashtag “Kia Boys,” which has received more than 33 million views on TikTok, they broadcast videos on social media showing them driving and stealing the automobiles.
Young kids are being challenged to steal specific cars off the street using a USB cord, and this dangerous challenge is becoming viral on TikTok and other social media platforms, putting car owners and police departments on high alert across the nation.
Hyundai and Kia vehicles are being stolen quickly by thieves across America.
Some Hyundai and Kia models can be stolen in as little as a minute, and it happens all over the nation.
Why it matters: Owners are currently forced to use a traditional steering wheel lock in order to secure their vehicles due to the widespread issue, which is thought to be caused by design defects in the cars.
- Hyundai advises clients that they must pay for a specialist security kit if they wish to protect their vehicle.
- Starting on October 1, Hyundai automobiles will be able to purchase the equipment—a “starter interrupt and siren” that “targets the technique of entry criminals are using”—for an undisclosed price.
- According to Kia, a security kit is not currently available.
The ignition is made visible when a window is broken and a portion of the steering column’s cover is removed. They use a flathead screwdriver or USB plug to start the car after breaking the ignition cylinder.
- The technique is compatible with Hyundai and Kia vehicles from 2016 to 2021 that employ steel keys rather than push-button start and a fob. According to the automakers, they are focusing on vehicles lacking engine immobilizers, which prevent a vehicle from starting without the proper smart key being present.
- Hussein predicts that damage could cost $2,000–$3,000. He adds that it might take some time to get the car returned because some parts are on backorder as a result of the increasing demand.
The mystery: Authorities connect some of the thefts to a pattern highlighted in a popular Milwaukee-based YouTube video that features interviews with “Kia Boys” members. They show how swiftly they allegedly take the autos.
- According to the Detroit police department, 111 Kias were taken in July and 22 in the first nine days of August. This is an increase from 23 in June and 11 or less in each of the other months of 2022.
- 156 Kia and Hyundai thefts have been reported by Charlotte, North Carolina, police since June 20, a 346% rise from 35 instances during the same period last year.
- Seven of the top 10 most stolen cars in Wisconsin, according to the NICB’s 2021 Hot Wheels report, were Kias or Hyundais. But according to the 2020 study, none of those cars were in the top 10 in the state.
According to court documents and legal firms, automakers are currently facing lawsuits all throughout the country, including two-plaintiff class-action litigation in Iowa, a class-action in Wisconsin, and two class-action actions focusing on Ohio theft victims.
- Automobile owners claim that design flaws that make the vehicles simple to steal are not disclosed. Currently, despite acknowledging the issue, the firms “refuse to remedy them” or “compensate consumers,” according to the Iowa lawsuit.
- All of Hyundai’s vehicles “meet or exceed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards,” the automaker added. All of the new cars being made have immobilizers, which make them harder to steal.
- The senior editor of VOX ATL in Atlanta asked, “Who on Earth would have believed that a dad-ride like a Kia Soul would have been targeted by teenagers?”
- “It’s [because it’s] popular on social media and simple to do Lamborghinis are a little more difficult to steal.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that Hyundai Motor Group, not Hyundai Motor Co., is the parent corporation of the two brands.
Two victims of the TikTok trend show us what happened to their cars as Hyundai/Kia thefts increase.
Milwaukee has become a hub for stolen cars from Hyundai and Kia due to an odd online trend, which the automakers and police are attempting to combat with safety measures.
- People are responding in record numbers to a “Kia Challenge” on TikTok that urges them to break into and steal Hyundai and Kia vehicles with key-based ignition systems.
- Milwaukee is the epicenter of the issue, which is widespread there, but the issue now affects the entire country.
- In Milwaukee in 2021, 67 percent of all stolen vehicles were made by only two automakers.
Have you ever stopped at the gas station to pay for your fuel only to run back out as soon as your youngster or another passenger tried to open the door from inside the locked car, setting off the alarm? All contemporary automobiles are equipped with some type of security system. Teslas even have a Sentry mode that employs the exterior cameras of the car to deter would-be burglars. However, there are ways for criminals to steal an automobile despite the greatest efforts of automakers and car owners, especially if they are able to identify a flaw. You may have heard recently about the Kia Challenge, a social media craze that originated on the TikTok app. It’s becoming popular for criminals to record themselves breaking into a car, having fun driving it, and then abandoning it.
Thieves have been preying on Kia and Hyundai automobiles that employ key-based ignition rather than the push-button start seen in newer vehicles, including the majority of newer Hyundais and Kias, thanks in part to TikTok’s encouragement. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel cited the owner of an auto repair company who claimed that thieves are aware that they can break a back window on these brands of automobiles without setting off the alarm system. Within one or two minutes of getting in the car, they can have it going and be on their way.
How are Hyundai and Kia vehicles stolen?
Thieves are aware that some Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs lack a “key” anti-theft system. Because their keys lack computer chips for theft “immobilizer” systems, an insurance industry association claims that these vehicles are stolen at a rate that is almost two times higher than that of the rest of the auto industry.
What models of Hyundai are being stolen?
Long is the list of Hyundai vehicles that are impacted. According to Hyundai spokeswoman Ira Gabriel, it includes certain trim levels of the Accent, Elantra, Elantra GT, Sonata, Veloster, Venue, Kona, Tucson, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Sport, Santa Fe XL, and Palisade vehicles in the 2016–2021 model years.
Without keys, how can burglars steal cars?
A transceiver embedded inside a keyless fob can transmit and receive radio signals that are encoded. When the key isn’t close enough to open the doors, the car and the key send each other these distinct, encrypted signals to lock the doors. The opposite is also true when the key is close enough to unlock the doors. Keyless entry features enable auto thieves to enter a target vehicle without actually having the key.
Right outside your home, one of the most popular keyless auto theft methods may be completed in under two minutes. The theft is carried out by criminals using two tools.
The signal from your automobile key is first replicated or amplified, and this signal is then transmitted to a different transmitter. Even if your key is indoors, this is still relatively simple to accomplish because the technology used by criminals stretches the signal from the key inside your home, fooling the automobile into thinking it is close enough to unlock.
The automobile can then be started, opened, and driven away using this transmitter as an extra key (as long as the car also features keyless start, which is when a car starts via a button rather than the physical turning of a key in the ignition). Once the vehicle has been taken, it might be exported, disassembled for parts, or resold using forged paperwork.
Why are Hyundais and Kias stolen in such large numbers?
According to corporate executives, Kias older than 2022 models and Hyundais produced before November 2021 have been targeted because they lack engine immobilizers. Both businesses claim they are collaborating with local police departments to provide free steering wheel locks to car owners.
What do criminals do with stolen vehicles?
Some take them to scrapyards where they will be sold as pieces. Others try to sell the automobiles after stripping them of their identification numbers; these days, this usually entails doing so online to unsuspecting customers. Some theft rings concentrate on stealing expensive cars since their resale value is higher.