Hyundai and Kia are rolling out software updates to prevent a raft of car thefts linked to a TikTok challenge that authorities believe has led to at least 14 reported accidents and eight fatalities.
Free update for millions of vehicles missing key anti-theft devices, a problem exploited on social media and leading to car theft.
The released software updates the burglar alarm software logic to extend the length of the alarm sound from 30 seconds to one minute and requires a button on the ignition switch to turn the vehicle on.
About 3.8 million Hyundais and 4.5 million Kias are eligible for the software update, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday.
Hyundai said the update began Tuesday for nearly 4 million vehicles starting with a million model year 2017-2020 Elantra, 2015-2019 Sonata and 2020-2021 Venue vehicles. The software update is scheduled to be available for eligible vehicles in June.
“We have prioritized the availability of upgrades for owners and lessees of our best-selling vehicles and those most targeted by thieves in order for dealers to service them first,” said Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America.
In September, 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 1000 years of insured vehicles. The rest of the industry combined has a rate of 1.21. An insured vehicle year is equal to one insured vehicle in one year.
The institute compared vehicles from model years 2015 to 2019. It studied vehicle theft claims from 2021.
Hyundai says all models produced after November 1, 2021 will have an immobilizer as standard equipment.
The TikTok social media challenge has put the spotlight on the lack of vehicle immobilizers and has led to at least 14 reported crashes and eight deaths, according to NHTSA. The challenge showed TikTok viewers how to fasten Kia and Hyundai cars with a USB cable and a screwdriver.
In October, the police commissioner said a car crash in Buffalo, New York that left four teenagers dead may have been linked to the TikTok challenge. In the incident, a total of six teenagers were in the speeding Kia, Buffalo police said. The car was reported stolen.
Hyundai and Kia will begin software updates later this month, with the next phase over the next few months. Hyundai will also provide vehicle owners with window stickers that alert thieves that the vehicle has anti-theft protection.
Vehicle owners can contact Hyundai at 800-633-5151 and Kia at 800-333-4542 for information on software updates.
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