Hyundai security upgrade event arrives in El Paso amid car theft 'epidemic'
Editor's note: Due to inclement weather, the Hyundai anti-theft clinic will close at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7. It will resume from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Hyundai will have a large-scale mobile clinic in El Paso to upgrade anti-theft software to fix a security vulnerability making some of its vehicles easy targets in a nationwide plague of auto thefts.
The mobile anti-theft upgrade clinic will be open to El Paso-Las Cruces area residents from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7, and Thursday, Feb. 8, in the parking lot facing U.S. 54 at Camp Cohen Water Park, 9700 Gateway North Blvd. in Northeast El Paso.
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Specially trained Hyundai service technicians will be on-site to install and complete the software upgrade, which should take less than 30 minutes. Drivers will also receive complimentary steering wheel locks.
The upgrade is free. No appointment, registration, or sign-up is necessary.
There have been 420 thefts and attempted thefts of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in El Paso in the last year and the start of 2024, El Paso police officials said at a Tuesday news conference announcing the Hyundai event.
The thefts are linked to viral videos, known as the "Kia challenge," that emerged in 2021 and taught viewers how to steal cars with security flaws.
"It became an epidemic across the United States with kids being involved in auto thefts," El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said at the news conference.
The mobile clinic is part of efforts by Hyundai's network of dealerships nationwide to install free anti-theft software upgrades for customers.
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Thefts of Kia and Hyundai cars skyrocketed in El Paso and other cities nationwide since the security flaw was publicized in videos on TikTok and other social media.
A large tent will be set up at Camp Cohen with heaters, coffee and snacks for car owners as part of a 30-person team by Hyundai traveling across the country, said David VandeLinde, a vice president of campaigns at Hyundai Motor America.
El Paso is the 11th city that the Hyundai technicians and support staff team visited as part of the company's security upgrade program, which has already upgraded more than a million vehicles, VandeLinde said.
The epidemic of Hyundai and Kia thefts from New York to California was spurred by a security flaw publicized in videos on TikTok and other social media sites showing how to start the vehicles without a key.
Hyundai and Kia are part of the same South Korean corporate family.
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The cars are often stolen as a challenge for boasting and joy rides, often by teenagers, so-called "Kia boys."
Last summer, New York City filed a lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai, claiming the companies' vehicles are too easy to steal, creating potential risks to the public.
Last year, steering wheel locks were handed out to Hyundai owners in El Paso to stem the car theft outbreak. The anti-theft devices were provided by Hyundai Motor America in collaboration with the El Paso Police Department and the Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Hyundai security upgrades to help curb car theft 'epidemic'
