Social media is a dual-edged sword where it can help people connect, but also where people attempt to gain fame by any possible method. One of the more automotive-related TikTok challenges encourages and shows app users how to steal a Hyundai or a Kia with a USB cord and a screwdriver. Thanks in part to the social media challenge that’s called the Kia Challenge, vehicles from Kia and Hyundai are now some of the most sought-after and often stolen vehicles on the road, reports the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
According to 2021 insurance claims data that the IIHS analyzed, vehicle theft claims for vehicles from Hyundai and Kia from the 2015 to 2019 model year were nearly double the number of vehicle theft claims for all other automakers. As the organization points out, the majority of 2015 to 2019 Hyundai and Kias lack electronic immobilizers that prevent thieves from breaking into the vehicles and bypassing the ignition. Interestingly, the majority of vehicles from other automakers during the same period have the necessary features to deter thieves from stealing vehicles in the same manner.
While the Kia Challenge is relatively new on TikTok, the IIHS claims that car thefts during the pandemic spiked. “These numbers tell us that some vehicles may be targeted because they’re fast or worth a lot of money and others because they’re easy to steal,” said Highway Loss Data Institute Senior Vice President Matt Moore.
Kia and Hyundais were and continue to be easy targets for thieves because they lack an electric electronic immobilizer. “Our earlier studies show that vehicle theft losses plunged after immobilizers were introduced,” said Moore. “Unfortunately, Hyundai and Kia have lagged behind other automakers in making them standard equipment.”
The IIHS claims that immobilizers were standard on 62% of models from other automakers beyond Kia and Hyundai in 2000. By the 2015 model year, immobilizers were standard on 96% of vehicles from other automakers. For Hyundai and Kia, only 26% of its vehicles had immobilizers on its vehicles by that date. “Our earlier studies show that vehicle theft losses plunged after immobilizers were introduced,” said Moore. “Unfortunately, Hyundai and Kia have lagged behind other automakers in making them standard equipment.”
Once the Kia challenge went viral on social media in 2021, the number of Kias and Hyundais that were stolen skyrocketed. The IIHS claims that in Wisconsin, the viral challenge caused overall losses from thefts involving cars from the South Korean automakers to rise to more than 30 times the level in 2019.
Both Kia and Hyundai are in hot water over the viral challenge, but have put out statements claiming that their vehicles meet federal standards. Still, TechCrunch reports that victims are suing Kia and Hyundai. A national class action lawsuit was recently filed against the automakers over a defect that allows thieves to steal the vehicle. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Orange County, California and alleges that Kias from 2011 and 2021 and Hyundais built from 2015 to 2021 with an ignition that utilizes a traditional key were “deliberately” built without “engine immobilizers,” states TechCrunch.
The Kia Challenge is still incredibly popular and vehicles from both Kia and Hyundai are being stolen at an alarming rate. The IIHS claims that the manufacturers are working with local police departments to make steering wheel locks available to owners. Hyundai claims that it has identified a security kit that it believes will lessen the chance of a theft that can be purchased and installed at a Hyundai dealer or other authorized installers starting in October.