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| Photo Credit: AP. |
DETROIT (AP) — Some Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs are missing a “key” anti-theft device, and thieves know.
An insurance
industry group says these cars are stolen at nearly twice the rate of the rest
of the auto industry because their keys lack computer chips for theft
“immobilizer” systems.
The thefts
apparently started in the Milwaukee area two years ago and spread to multiple
Midwest cities and as far away as Colorado and New Mexico after instructional videos
appeared on social media.
The Highway
Loss Data Institute, a unit of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
found that Hyundais and Kias without immobilizers had a vehicle theft claim
rate of 2.18 per 1,000 insured vehicle years. The rest of the industry combined
had a rate of 1.21. An insured vehicle year is equal to one vehicle insured for
one year.
The
institute, which issued its findings on Thursday, compared vehicles from the
2015 through 2019 model years. It studied vehicle theft claims from 2021.
Chip keys,
which started to show up in the 1990s, communicate with another chip in the
ignition switch. If they match, the engines will start. If they don’t match, a
thief can’t start the engine.
Keys don’t
have an immobilizer system in several lower-priced versions of vehicles from
the two South Korean automakers such as the Kia Rio and Sportage and the
Hyundai Accent, the institute said.
“Our earlier studies show that vehicle theft
losses plunged after immobilizers were introduced,” said Matt Moore, senior
vice president of the institute. “Unfortunately, Hyundai and Kia have lagged
behind other automakers in making them standard equipment.”
In the 2015
model year, immobilizers were standard on 96% of other manufacturers’ models,
the institute said. But they were standard on only 26% of Hyundai and Kia
models. The carmakers haven’t explained their decision to not include
immobilizers on some models.
Videos show
thieves prying the ignition cover off the Hyundai and Kia vehicles, then using
a screwdriver or USB cable to start them and drive away.
Last year in
Milwaukee, 66% of the 10,476 stolen vehicles were Hyundais or Kias, according
to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper. The number of thefts has slowed in
the city so far this year. Through Sept. 12, 6,048 vehicles were taken, but 58%
of them were Hyundais or Kias, Milwaukee police said Thursday.
One
17-year-old theft suspect in a viral video about Kia thefts was arrested after
police used the video and an anonymous tip to track him down, the Journal
Sentinel reported. He could face up to 22 years in prison.
Hyundai and
Kia both conceded in statements that thieves are stealing some of their
vehicles and said they meet federal safety standards. “It is unfortunate that
criminals are using social media to target vehicles without engine immobilizers
in a coordinated effort,” Kia said.
All 2022
Kias got immobilizers either at the start of or during the model year. Hyundai
said all models produced after Nov. 1, 2021 have immobilizers as standard
equipment.
Kia says
it’s working to provide steering wheel locks at no cost to authorities in affected
areas to deter thefts. Hyundai said it’s also providing the locks to police,
and that in October, it will start selling a security kit that targets the
thieves’ methods.
The
institute’s Moore said the vulnerable Hyundais and Kias rank among the 20 most
popular vehicles with thieves, a distinction normally reserved for high-powered
or expensive vehicles, or pickup trucks. The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat had the
highest rate of theft claims.
Many of the
vulnerable Hyundais and Kias are often bought by lower-income people. “These
are relatively inexpensive vehicles when purchased new,” Moore said. Owners of
some of the models may have dropped comprehensive insurance to save money, and
may have had to replace the cars on their own, he said.
To help prevent
theft, owners should roll up windows, lock doors and take the key or fob with
them, the National Insurance Crime Bureau says. They should park in
well-lighted areas or a garage. If they have to park outdoors, owners should
consider installing motion-sensor lights.