Now thieves can get tutorials on how to steal your car on TikTok. How convenient. https://www.yahoo.com/autos/hyundai-kia-models-higher-risk-144900962.html Law enforcement officials are asking owners of some Hyundai and Kia models to take extra precautions when parking due to a rise in thefts attributed to a recent trend on social media. It's possible to steal certain cars using little more than a USB charging cable. As reported last year, the trend began in Milwaukee in 2021 when a group of thieves realized it's stunningly easy to steal some late-model Hyundai and Kia cars that are not equipped with a push-button ignition. The thieves break into the car, remove the trim under the steering column to access the ignition, and use pliers or a USB charging cord to start the engine. Tutorials posted on social media sites such as TikTok made the trend a national phenomenon.
I've never owned one but Hyundai and Kia are commonly used as rental cars, so I've driven several of them. I've always like them, but never owned one. Interesting that they're so easy to steal, though.
The sad thing is that idiots on TikTok feel that they need to post directions on how to steal them. Good grief.
I was reading about this just the other day. It's insane to think someone could get into your car, and you likely have the tool they need to steal it just laying there. I believe that the manufacturers' response have been underwhelming...althouth I don't know exactly what they are supposed to do. The recommendation is to use a steering wheel lock to make the thief look for an easier target.
Yeah the steering wheel lock was a very good invention and it goes way back. Things are just progressively getting worse by the day. Going back to the mid 70s it was the insurance industry that caused a sudden jack up for certain vehicle makes, Cadillac was having all their nice hub caps stolen and the insurance thieves cried about it and paid off a lot of thieving politicians who in turn forced the car manufacturers to produce locking hubcaps. I cannot tell you how much wasted time was spent by the mechanic waiting for the owner to bring the da ned key to get the tires off. Any time politicians get involved in anything other than sleeping you can bet your pocketbooks will be thinner. Many early Lincolns and Mercury's had locking ignitions.
First, both cars are way to small for me, well, compared to our Durango SLT. When we first moved to Colorado, in 2002, my wife had The Club she used on her steering wheel on her 4-Runner she kept outside in So. California. We bought our old, now sold, Dodge RAM 1500 and used The Club on it's steering wheel. While leaving her job in Colorado, an employee seen her take The Club off and asked her why she uses it. His comment was, "this isn't Los Angeles". So, she stopped using it and the truck was fine kept outside. After moving to Florida, started using The Club again on the truck, kept outside. When we sold the truck, The Club went with it. We have nothing on our Durango, because it has a very effective alarm and we put it in a rented garage here in the apartment complex.
Funny you should mention this. Earlier this week we had all six tires replaced on our motorhome by a mobile tire service. They sent installers to the storage facility and changed them where the vehicle sits. The first thing one installer asked my husband was for the "key" to the lug nuts. We were like, "whaaaaa???" Luckily I had put all the random "not sure what this thing is but we aren't throwing it out" stuff in a tupperware container in a cabinet in the RV and the "key" was in there. It looked like a type of socket that was made to fit on the locking lugs. And now, back to the Hyundai and Kia topic...
GM had a socket pack containing all of the keys for dealerships but they usually were all stolen before they were a month old, each car of course had one and by vin number one could be replaced but like I said it was a problem for servicing. The only thing that was really noticed was the tip of the round shaft going thru the socket, it had a sharp pointed tip that would rip your hands if you tried to spin the socket off after loosening. Insurance companies are the biggest rip off for consumers. Like today the law does nothing to thieves and there was and is not any deterrence to steal property. Just about every law written for theft has the consumers charged for replacement and it also gave the insurance thieves the incentive to target customers simply by keeping a list of areas with the most theft. It is in my opinion the real crime. I hate insurance companies. Instead of each car insured the person is insured and if anyone can figure out how with 330 million plus people paying all that money, he can't figure out why it takes that much money to repair or replace their vehicles when it totals into billions in a very short order nation wide. How many wrecks do you pass or see daily ??? One of the largest cases of corporate theft ever imagined and like sheep we still allow it to happen. Not to mention that the politicians that voted the bill for mandatory insurance they all got a very good back door monthly bonus. Only one example why they all retired with huge bank accounts just from one source. Instead of being named a thief they are named Lobbyist who hand out the money. I remember mid 70s when Ford started putting plastic wheel covers on the T-Bird, first time I went to service the brakes on one I ripped half the hubcap off with my impact because it looked real. I was not charged for it the dealer said not to worry about it and replaced it, there was no information warning service personnel of the new crappola Ford decided to sell. Now they are much worse I have to say.