Kia and Hyundai Agree To $200 Million Settlement for Making Cars Viral Theft Targets
Hyundai and Kia will pay out $200 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement, compensating roughly 9 million people for their losses after a 2022 social media trend revealed how relatively simple it was to steal certain models. From a report: As reported by Reuters, $145 million of the payout goes to the out-of-pocket expenses of those whose cars were stolen. Many Kias made between 2011-2021, and Hyundais from 2015-2021, lacked electronic engine immobilizers, which would prevent a car from starting unless an electronically matched key was present. Without the immobilizer, the car could be started by turning the ignition with other objects, such as a USB-A cable that thieves discovered was a perfect fit. Customers whose cars were totaled are eligible for up to $6,125, while damaged vehicles and property can receive a maximum of $3,375, along with costs for raised insurance, car rental, towing, tickets, and others. Kia and Hyundai had previously pledged to provide free software upgrades to vehicles and free wheel locks (i.e. The Club), typically in coordination with regional police departments. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in February that the companies have given out 26,000 wheel locks since November 2022. A September 2022 report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) showed that immobilizers were standard on 96 percent of cars sold in the US by 2015 but only 26 percent of Kias and Hyundais. Cars with immobilizers were stolen at a rate of 1.21 per 1,000 insured vehicles, according to the IIHS; those without immobilizers had a 2.18 per 1,000 rate. Kia and Hyundai's far-too-thrifty design decisions might have been simply a balance sheet story were it not for the "Kia Challenge," a 2022 TikTok trend that detailed theft techniques and joyrides. By February 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attributed 14 crashes and eight deaths to challenge-inspired thefts.
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