Kia and Hyundai stub their toes big time by skipping immobilization feature

Lawsuit claims flaw in Kia and Hyundai allow them to be stolen with just a USB cord


When Kia and Hyundai came to the US with their cars, they tried to meet US demand for various features. And I think overall they were doing a good job, particularly by offering a 1000,000 mile warranty. But occasionally they were tempted to cut corners to increase profits. And now one of those cost saving moves they made over ten years ago has come back to haunt them as their cars are being targeted by thieves big time.


An Independence, Missouri attorney has filed a federal class action lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai in Missouri and Kansas.

The suits filed on behalf of residents in both states claim the automakers intentionally didn’t install an anti-theft device in many of their late model vehicles to save money. Thee immobilizer are found in many other brands.

Specifically, the suits claim Kia and Hyundai didn’t install immobilizers in their vehicles, Kia in 2011-2021 models and Hyundai in 2015-2021 models.

Immobilizers have a mission—they read a computer chip in either a key or fob to allow the engine to start.

But now car thieves realize Kias and Hyundais don’t have them prior to 2022.

Thieves jimmy open the door, all a thief ha to do to start the car is use a USB cord, like people leave in their car to charge the phone.

It is hot-wiring but using a cord most people already have in their car.

One police official said Los Angeles area thefts of those brands have gone up 85%. You have t wonder what impact Jia and Hyundai’s cost saving move is having on the re-sale of these cars and the insurance rates?

Kia and Hyundai have admitted there’s a problem and now 2022 models are equipped with immobilizers.

The suits call on Kia and Hyundai to either fix or replace the models without the immobilizers.

What made it worse than usual is how fast the word spread after someone posting on Tik Tok showed they could get in a Kia or Hyundai in one minute and start the car without a key. So nationwide many youthful offenders took up the challenge.

I think Tik Tok should be policing their websites, not allowing posts that advocate anything breaking the law. I remember before Tik Tok came to America some politicians were against it, since it’s based in China. (Early last year, Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, and Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, met to talk over China’s industrial policy. Mr. Rubio expressed his worries about Beijing’s influence over TikTok, the Chinese-owned viral video app.

But now we’ve seen how just one suggestion on Tik Tok –how to steal two brands of cars—has caused havoc. I am not ordinarily for censorship but somebody’s got to take the blame and pay for all those stolen cars.

I think Hyundai and Kia have hurt their image. They had most Americans convinced their cars were equal in reliability to Japanese cars. But then they decided to not offer something other brands do. Something that compromises the integrity of the car’s anti-theft ability. And Americans realize they cut corners. It will take a long time to regain their reputation. One positive thing they could do would be to compensate owners of cars that were stolen. And not cut corners anymore….What say you?