A potential solution is on its way for millions of Hyundai and Kia drivers whose vehicles are more vulnerable to theft, but safety advocates believe the free fix may have come too late and doesn’t go far enough.
Both automakers Hyundai and Kia announced on Feb. 14 that drivers will be eligible for a free software upgrade that they hope will prevent certain vehicles' engines from starting without a key present, a security flaw that was exposed by thieves last year in several social media videos that went viral.
In the months following those social media posts, police departments in major cities across the U.S., including Chicago, saw a considerable increase in the number of Hyundai and Kia vehicles stolen, as well as crimes involving those stolen vehicles.
Federal regulators say the Hyundai and Kia theft wave has led to at least 14 accidents and eight deaths nationwide. Safety advocates fear those figures are a drastic undercount.
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While the announcement of a free software upgrade is good news for drivers who previously faced costly options for fixing the problem, auto safety groups tell NBC 5 they believe federal regulators should have done more to protect the public.
"It's caused death and injuries. It's happening all over the country," said safety advocate Sean Kane with Strategies & Research, Inc. "And the watchdog agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has apparently brokered a deal that doesn't require [the automakers] to do a recall."
Chicago Drivers Caught In The Middle
After a painful lesson last year, Shawnesse Evans out of North Lawndale said she no longer leaves the home without her large and heavy steering wheel lock.
“If I’m making a quick run in, I’m putting a lock on,” Evans explained.
The device acts as her security blanket after her Kia Sportage was stolen right from outside of her home last October. Chicago police discovered the vehicle a day later, badly damaged with the engine still running, Evans said.
“It was traumatizing when you go through that experience,” she shared.
Evans is not alone.
Monique Savage-Russell also had her Kia Sportage stolen from her suburban Markham home last December, leaving her without words.
“I felt violated, I was shocked,” Savage-Russell said. “I didn’t think anyone would come in my driveway and steal my Kia.”
Certain Hyundai and Kia models made from 2010 to 2021 lack a device called a standard engine immobilizer, which prevents a car from starting without the key present.
As a result, thieves discovered they could start and steal these cars easily, in some cases using just a USB cord.
After their cars were stolen, both Savage-Russell and Evans turned to a Facebook group called “Illinois Kia/Hyundai Theft-Vandalism Victims,” which was created to share emotional support and resources with hundreds of other Hyundai and Kia drivers statewide, looking for solutions.
Highlighting the need for a social support group, crime reports to Chicago Police illustrate the scale of the problem.
Data analyzed by NBC 5 Responds found in the months after social media videos were posted showing how to steal certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles last May, reports of stolen Hyundais and Kias increased by more than 890% in Chicago, from 119 thefts in June to 1,180 thefts in November 2022.
In fact, for the month of November 2022, Hyundai and Kia thefts amounted to more than half, or 59%, of all Chicago motor vehicle thefts recorded, according to data reviewed by NBC 5 from the Chicago Police Department (These figures do not include hijackings.)
The rise in thefts led to some police departments offering free steering wheel locks to drivers, but supplies were limited, leading many drivers, like Evans, to go out and have to pay for one themselves.
Now, Hyundai and Kia hope they have a free fix to the problem.
Free Software Upgrade Announcement
Federal regulators, along with Hyundai and Kia, announced last week that they now have an optional free repair for drivers that will start rolling out in the coming months.
Hyundai and Kia said the anti-theft service campaign includes a software patch that will “activate an ‘ignition kill’ feature so the vehicles cannot be started when subjected to the popularized theft mode.”
The service upgrade will also extend the amount of time that the vehicle’s alarm sounds for and include a window sticker stating the car’s been equipped with these features.
While the software update could curb thefts, auto safety advocates believe the automakers and federal regulators did not go far enough.
“It’s long overdue,” said Sean Kane, the executive director of Safety Research and Strategies, Inc., a research firm that specializes in motor vehicle safety.
Kane believes Hyundai and Kia should have issued an open safety recall for the vehicles vulnerable to theft, versus a customer service campaign.
“The way it’s being done is of significant concern to us because it’s not being handled as an official safety recall; it’s simply a customer service campaign,” Kane explained. “Why does that matter? Well, it matters because the federal rules dictate that if you present an unreasonable risk to Motor Vehicle Safety, you've got to do a safety recall. It's not an option.”
Michael Brooks with the Center for Auto Safety agrees.
“Hyundai and Kia will not be obliged to notify their owners in the same way they would if it was a recall,” Brooks told NBC 5. “My concern is you may not get the consumer participation in it that you would get if it was a recall.”
Safety advocates believe the security risk at the heart of all of this – the lack of an engine immobilizer allowing a car to start and run without a key present – violates federal safety standards.
Specifically FMVSS 114, which requires all vehicles in the United States to “have a starting system which, whenever the key is removed… prevents the normal activation of the vehicle's engine or motor.”
Kane questions whether the vehicles comply with this standard, given thieves figured out how to start them without a key present.
“This rule was implemented, you know, decades ago, in response to the very thing we're seeing today,” Kane said.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA,) which regulates the auto industry, did not answer NBC 5’s questions regarding how regulators determined the automakers’ vehicles were in compliance with these safety standards.
Instead, the agency said it “will continue to closely monitor the situation and the manufacturers’ efforts to address the issue.”
Hyundai told NBC 5 Responds that all of its vehicles are in compliance.
“The recent rise in thefts of our vehicles without engine immobilizers has been caused by irresponsible social media ‘challenges,’” said Ira Gabriel with Hyundai Motor America. “It is no way indicative that our vehicles are not in compliance with the legal and engineering performance requirements of FMVSS 114.”
Gabriel added that the software upgrade “further supplements the required anti-theft protections… by equipping eligible vehicles with an ignition kill feature similar to that found on vehicles equipped with engine immobilizers.”
Kia also said its vehicles comply with federal standards, adding that, “Because all Kia vehicles comply with FMVSS 114, and because there is no defect in any of these theft-prevention features on Kia vehicles, a recall is neither appropriate nor warranted under federal law.”
Safety advocates hope the free fix will work, avoiding further dire consequences.
“This is an epidemic, as you know; you’ve seen in Chicago the number of thefts, the crashes, the deaths and the injuries that are occurring here,” Kane said. “This is clearly a safety hazard.”
When Can Drivers Schedule Their Free Upgrade?
Hyundai and Kia said they are taking a “phased approach” for which drivers are eligible for the software update at certain times.
The automakers say they are “working to maximize completion rates” among impacted drivers by notifying those who are eligible by mail, email and on phone.
Hyundai customers with their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) can use an online tool at this website here to see when they are eligible to schedule their upgrade.
Here’s the general timeline for when Hyundai drivers can schedule their free upgrade:
| Phase | Vehicle | Software Availability |
| 1 | 2017-2020 Elantra 2015-2019 Sonata 2020-2021 Venue | February 14, 2023 |
| 2 | 2018-2022 Accent 2011-2016 Elantra 2021-2022 Elantra 2018-2020 Elantra GT 2011-2014 Genesis Coupe 2018-2022 Kona 2020-2021 Palisade 2013-2018 Santa Fe Sport 2013-2022 Santa Fe 2019 Santa Fe XL 2011-2014 Sonata 2011-2022 Tucson 2012-2017, 2019-2021 Veloster | June 2023 |
Kia told NBC 5 it “anticipates making [the software upgrade] available for most of the impacted models in the coming months… Kia owners with questions may contact our Customer Care team directly at 1-800-333-4542 (4Kia) or online via the Owners Portal on KIA.com.”
