18 States Demand Recall of Pilferable Autos

18 states are asking Uncle Sam to force Hyundai and Kia to recall vehicles because the are too easy to steal.

www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov...

The letter, sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA), requests
NHTSA to institute a recall of unsafe Hyundai and Kia vehicles manufactured between 2011 and
2022 whose easily bypassed ignition switches and lack of engine immobilizers make them
particularly vulnerable to theft. Today’s letter calls on the federal government to step in, as the
vehicles’ systems are out of compliance with federal standards and pose an unreasonable risk to
public safety, and the companies have failed to address these safety issues.
“Car manufacturers failing to adequately address serious public safety concerns is
completely unacceptable,” said Attorney General Brown. “There is a problem with these
particular Hyundai and Kia vehicles that puts lives at risk and has even resulted in
multiple deaths. These companies must be held responsible for fixing the safety problem
without putting the burden to do so on the cars’ owners.”

I have heard nothing about this.
the thieves are getting more tech savvy and I guess some car makers aren't keeping up.

anyone know about???

a reply to: ElGoobero

Not so much that thief’s are tech savvy, and more that the automakers skimped out on 1-200 dollar devices making this form of theft unlikely.

There’s a chip that makes the car recognize a present key whether by a physical mechanism with turn key or wireless signal from a fob.

All you need is a screwdriver and usb cord to turn on some KIA’s and Hyundai’s.

The USB makes it seem technical, but it’s just the perfect shape to turn the mechanism in the steering column after you take the cover off.

They screwed the pooch and underestimated thief’s who only needed two tools to steal a car.

a reply to: ElGoobero

Smart of them to bring attention to this publicly, lol.

This letter's publicity will likely lead to more thefts than have happened up until now.

Streisand Effect, sort of.

a reply to: ElGoobero

I received a letter from KIA a couple of months ago, notifying me of this recall and advising me to contact my local dealer for an appointment to fix this.

Service cost nothing (considered under warranty) and took less than an hour.

a reply to: MykeNukem

Sadly it’s been known for a while. It’s kids a portion of the time after they saw it on Tik Tok.

Some insurance companies already said they wouldn’t insure those cars, so KIA and Hyundai are going to have to fix it if they want to continue business in the states.

By the time the government gets passed talking, it will likely be solved. Still a major fumble for them though.

a reply to: ElGoobero

I work in insurance and a bunch of our largest carriers we represent (you would recognize their names, Superbowl advertisement companies) wont provide comprehensive coverage for Kias or Hyundais due to this security flaw. These companies have already seen their loss ratios go up due to mispricing their premiums (prior to discovering the major flaw), it's pretty nuts because insurance companies are notorious for doing their homework & using actuaries to price premiums accordingly and prior to all these electronic locking systems it was a lot easier to have predictable losses.

Interesting times indeed

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: MykeNukem

Sadly it’s been known for a while. It’s kids a portion of the time after they saw it on Tik Tok.

Some insurance companies already said they wouldn’t insure those cars, so KIA and Hyundai are going to have to fix it if they want to continue business in the states.

By the time the government gets passed talking, it will likely be solved. Still a major fumble for them though.

Yea, I've seen them using SDR (digital radio) to accomplish this, but this issue seem worse, from the manufacturer, which I would imagine also makes them liable. I didn't know they were refusing to insure them, ouch.

Standards. We have them for a reason, lol.

a reply to: MykeNukem

It was a silly mistake the insurance companies are going to make them pay on.

I can’t buy a car in my state without proof of insurance. If my my car company denies it I’m probably not gonna buy that car.

It’s even worse than Volkswagen, that was an emissions thing but it didn’t lose too much distrust with customers. I have their last legal diesel model in America

Buy a #box. Get a # box...

I love an econocar as much as the next guy but I'm not sure why anyone is surprised when they find out the cheapest car on the market cut Some corners.

Should henge bought a stick shift- that is the modern day theft deterrent. Your average criminal isn't smart enough to drive it

Mercedes keys are uniquely engineered. Good luck hacking into one.