As car thefts surge, Kansas City sues Hyundai and Kia over lack of preventative devices

Kansas City filed a lawsuit Monday against Hyundai and Kia, alleging the car manufacturers’ failure to install basic technology has led to a surge in vehicle thefts.

Those thefts were preventable, the city contends, and the cars’ lack of a common anti-theft mechanism has created a serious public safety problem.

“These vehicle thefts inherently endanger Kansas Citians and constitute a drain on already-strained public services,” lawyers hired by the city wrote in the federal lawsuit, which seeks monetary damages. “Vehicle thefts are associated with reckless driving, reckless conduct, increased violence, and the depletion of scarce emergency resources.”

From 2011 to 2021, the two companies made vehicles without ignition immobilizers, meaning they could be stolen with tools “no more advanced than a USB cable,” according to the lawsuit. That flew in the face of industry standards, the city alleged.

Despite the theft epidemic, as some have called it, Hyundai and Kia have done nothing of significance, such as a recall, according to the lawsuit. That has left owners to address the problem themselves, the city’s attorneys contend.

Hyundai said it has taken “comprehensive action” to help customers, such as developing a software upgrade and making anti-theft devices a standard feature on all cars made since late 2021. The vehicles being stolen are also compliant with federal anti-theft requirements, a spokesperson added.

“Thieves discovered a specific method by which to bypass the vehicles’ security features and then documented and promoted their exploits on TikTok and other social media channels,” Hyundai spokesperson Ira Gabriel wrote in an email.

In a statement, Kia said affected customers can receive additional benefits, noting that it continues to provide free steering wheel locks to owners who are not eligible for the software upgrade. Kia also said such lawsuits filed by municipalities are “without merit.”

“Like all Kia vehicles, the specific models at issue in this case are subject to and comply fully with the requirements outlined in applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards,” including one that “governs theft protection measures,” a spokesperson said.

After the security flaw was revealed online, the companies earlier this year unveiled theft-deterrent software for about 8 million of their vehicles and planned to give it to owners for free, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Despite that effort, data compiled by The Associated Press from seven cities months later showed that the cars continued to be stolen at an “alarming rate.”

In Kansas City, more than 380 Kia vehicles were reported stolen in 2022. But in January of this year alone, that figure had already surpassed 100. Thefts of Hyundai cars have seen a similar trajectory.

“If the thefts of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in Kansas City maintain their current pace — a likely occurrence as the summer months continue — the 2023 thefts will dwarf the 2022 thefts and more than double the previous rate,” the city’s lawyers wrote.

Meanwhile, thefts of Kias and Hyundais skyrocketed across Missouri from 1,207 in 2019 to 6,120 last year, according to the lawsuit.

Other cities, such as Seattle and New York City, have also sued the companies in recent months.

In Johnson County last week, six juveniles were arrested for allegedly stealing a 2020 Kia Optima that had been reported stolen out of Kansas City. The group was also connected to a second stolen vehicle, a 2017 Hyundai Sonata reported stolen in Overland Park, police said.