Hyundai and Kia are launching a major campaign of software upgrades, targeting 8 million vehicles insurance companies, such as State Farm and Progressive, have decided are too easy for car thieves to drive away with by simply following along with “how-to” videos found on social media.
But the software updates will not be available until June for some of the most popular — and affordable vehicles — now in circulation, according to Hyundai and Kia, which has increased their sales and market share in the U.S. thorough the pandemic as the prices for new vehicles generally have involved.
Wide range of vehicles targeted
Targeted for the updates, which are free for current owners, are a slew of both brands’ subcompact, compact and midsized vehicles because their key-operated ignition switches are not equipped with immobilizing anti-theft devices, which is now standard around the industry in the U.S.
In response to increasing thefts of its vehicles without push-button ignitions, Hyundai has prepared an anti-theft software upgrade to prevent the vehicles from starting during a method of theft popularized on TikTok and other social media channels.
“Hyundai is committed to ensuring the quality and integrity of our products through continuous improvement and is pleased to provide affected customers with an additional theft deterrent through this software upgrade,” said Randy Parker, CEO, Hyundai Motor America.
“We have prioritized the upgrade’s availability for owners and lessees of our highest selling vehicles and those most targeted by thieves in order for dealers to service them first,” Parker said.
All Hyundai vehicles produced since November 2021 are equipped with an engine immobilizer as standard equipment. Hyundai is also providing free steering wheel locks to law enforcement agencies for distribution to residents who own, or lease affected models.
Technology upgrade planned
Hyundai said its service campaign, however, is aimed upgrading the technology in 4 million vehicles. It began this week with the upgrade rolling out first to more than 1 million model year 2017-2020 Elantra, 2015-2019 Sonata and 2020-2021 Venue vehicles.
The software upgrade is scheduled to be available for the remaining eligible affected vehicles by June 2023. The upgrade will be performed by Hyundai dealers and will take less than one hour for installation, according to Hyundai.
Following completion of the upgrade, each Hyundai vehicle will be affixed with window decals to alert would-be thieves the vehicle is equipped with enhanced anti-theft technology.
Kia is promising to make similar changes to its vehicles, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, but won’t be offering window stickers.
NHTSA said Hyundai and Kia have developed theft deterrent software for their vehicles, which lack an immobilizer. The software updates the theft alarm software logic to extend the length of the alarm sound from 30 seconds to one minute and requires the key to be in the ignition switch to turn the vehicle on.
Social media phenomenon
The effort is in response to a TikTok social media challenge that spread nationwide and resulted in at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities. NHTSA urges owners of these vehicles to contact Hyundai (toll-free at 800-633-5151) or Kia (toll-free at 800-333-4542) for information on the free update.
Hyundai will also provide its customers with a window sticker alerting would-be thieves that the vehicle is equipped with anti-theft protection. Hyundai will send the stickers and roll out software updates in a phased approach beginning later this month, with subsequent phases during the next several months.
Both companies have been working with law enforcement agencies to provide more than 26,000 steering wheel locks since November 2022 to 77 law enforcement agencies in 12 states. NHTSA encourages interested vehicle owners to contact local law enforcement to see if a wheel lock is available.
As tdb explained in an earlier post, the fundamental problem is that the Hyundai and Kia products being targeted use conventional metal keys, rather than remote key fobs or standard keys that contain encrypted chips. Those digital alternatives prevent thieves from hotwiring a vehicle, especially when paired with a device called an immobilizer.
Immobilizers make it all but impossible to operate a vehicle when it is not started using the correct key or key fob. Even in vehicles with encrypted keys or fobs, the addition of this technology has been shown to further reduce thefts by as much as 40%.