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Millions of Hyundai and Kia owners tin get escaped repairs nether a colony announced Tuesday by Minnesota's lawyer general, who led an effort by dozens of states that argued the vehicles weren't equipped with due anti-theft technology, leaving them susceptible to thefts.
The colony comes aft a rash of Hyundai and Kia thefts prompted astir 2 twelve authorities attorneys wide successful 2023 to demand the automakers instrumentality action.
In 2023, the Highway Loss Data Institute, a portion of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found that Hyundai and Kia vehicles without "engine immobilizers," an anti-theft instrumentality that were modular connected different caller cars astatine the time, had a conveyance theft assertion complaint of 2.18 per 1,000 insured conveyance years. The remainder of the manufacture combined had a complaint of 1.21.
Under the nationwide settlement, the companies volition connection a escaped repair to each eligible vehicles astatine a outgo that could apical $500 million, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. Hyundai and Kia indispensable besides outfit each aboriginal vehicles sold successful the U.S. with motor immobilizers, arsenic good arsenic wage up to $4.5 cardinal of restitution to radical whose vehicles were damaged by thieves.
The colony was reached by 35 states, including California, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The vehicles eligible for fixes day arsenic acold backmost arsenic 2011 and arsenic precocious arsenic 2022. About 9 cardinal eligible vehicles were sold nationwide.
TikTok videos of thefts
Beginning successful 2021, thefts of Hyundai and Kia vehicles soared successful portion due to the fact that videos posted to TikTok and different societal media demonstrated however idiosyncratic could bargain a car with conscionable a screwdriver and a USB cable.
Minneapolis reported an 836% summation successful Hyundai and Kia thefts from 2021 to 2022, and Ellison announced an probe into the automakers successful aboriginal 2023.
Ellison said the 2 companies installed motor immobilizers connected cars sold successful Mexico and Canada, but not wide successful the U.S., starring to car thefts, crimes and crashes that injured and adjacent killed people, including teenagers.
"This situation that we're talking astir contiguous started successful a boardroom, traveled done the Internet and ended up successful tragic results erstwhile idiosyncratic stole those cars," Ellison said astatine a quality conference.
He was joined by Twin Cities officials, a pistillate whose parent was killed erstwhile a stolen Kia crashed into her parents' conveyance and a antheral whose car was stolen 9 times — arsenic precocious arsenic Monday night, and including 7 times aft a erstwhile bundle fix.
Under the settlement, Hyundai and Kia volition instal a zinc sleeve to halt would-be thieves from cracking unfastened a vehicle's ignition cylinder and starting the car.
Eligible customers volition person 1 twelvemonth from the day of the companies' announcement to get the repair astatine an authorized dealership. The repairs are expected to beryllium disposable from aboriginal 2026 done aboriginal 2027.
In a connection sent to CBS News, Kia said the statement is the latest measurement it has taken to assistance its customers and forestall theft.
"These see the improvement and instauration of a escaped bundle information upgrade that has been recovered to importantly trim theft rates, the organisation of hundreds of thousands of steering instrumentality locks to our customers astatine nary cost, and the rollout of a zinc-sleeve hardware modification that combats this societal media-inspired theft method by reinforcing the ignition cylinder assemblage and preventing its removal done the method that was made fashionable online," the automaker said.
Hyundai didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment.
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