The City of St. Louis is the latest municipality to sue automakers Kia and Hyundai in federal court alleging they failed to manufacture cars with anti-theft devices, making it easier for teens to steal them.
The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require manufacturers to implement theft-protection standards in U.S. vehicles, but a TikTok video challenging teens to hotwire Kia and Hyundai cars with a USB cord has gone viral, according to media reports.
“Defendants’ careless disregard for the safety of the public has created a public nuisance in the City of St. Louis, resulting in an explosion of auto-related crime that is injuring citizens, taxing St. Louis’s resources, and jeopardizing the public health, safety, and peace of all who live, work and visit St. Louis,” the March 27 complaint states.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
“Unfortunately, the City cannot comment on this pending litigation,” said Erin McGowan, associate city counselor.
The subset of Hyundai cars manufactured prior to 2021, primarily “base trim” or entry-level models, did not have engine immobilizers, but Hyundai has provided alternatives to prevent the vehicles from starting during a method of theft popularized on TikTok and other social media, according to company spokesperson Ian Gabriel.
“Thieves discovered a specific method by which to bypass the vehicles’ security features and then documented and promoted their exploits on TikTok and other social media channels,” he said in a written statement. “In response, Hyundai has taken comprehensive action to assist our customers.”
Those methods include making engine immobilizers standard on all vehicles produced as of November 2021 and rolling out a free software upgrade to prevent the method of theft two months ahead of schedule.
“Hyundai is committed to continuing our efforts in completing the software upgrade for all affected vehicles in the most effective manner possible,” Gabriel added. “We are communicating with the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) on our many actions to assist our customers.”
Hyundai also has introduced a program in partnership with AAA insurers to offer insurance options, has initiated a program to reimburse affected customers for their purchase of steering wheel locks, launched a website to provide owners with information on all of the support options available, and created a dedicated customer service support team at 888-498-0390 to help owners who have been impacted.
"Lawsuits against Kia by municipalities are without merit. Kia has been and continues to be willing to work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies in the greater St. Louis area to combat car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it," said James Bell, Kia company spokesperson.
Kia further said in a statement online that it contacted more than 2.8 million affected car owners for a software upgrade and more than 200,000 eligible customers have had the upgrade installed.
"In addition to supplying more than 41,000 free steering wheel locks to over 320 law enforcement agencies across the country for distribution to impacted Kia owners – including more than 880 locks to police departments in the St. Louis area – we have shipped nearly 15,000 locks directly to impacted owners as well," Bell added. "We will continue to provide additional free locks as they are needed."