(The Center Square) — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has launched a consumer protection investigation into automakers Hyundai and Kia after hundreds of the vehicles have been stolen across the country.
As part of the investigation, announced on Wednesday, Tong seeks records and information on certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles sold in Connecticut, including complaints, internal reports on the company’s decision-making, and anti-theft software and internal communications.
Tong alleges that the companies’ decision not to install “engine immobilizers” as standard equipment on several vehicle models sold between 2011 and 2022 and, as a result, the vehicles are “being stolen at high rates, harming consumers and contributing to an erosion of public safety.”
“We have called on Hyundai and Kia over and over again to make this right and address the glaring public safety vulnerabilities in their vehicles,” he said in a statement. “Whatever they have done to date is clearly not working.”
Tong said there are videos on the internet showing how to hotwire the vehicles “in a matter of seconds” and “glorifying reckless driving that has resulted in injuries and multiple deaths nationwide.”
“These cars are such sitting ducks that some insurers are reportedly now refusing to insure them, rendering them essentially undriveable,” he said.
In a statement, Hyundai Motor America responded that it had taken several “comprehensive” steps to improve security features on its vehicles, including a software upgrade with an “ignition kill” feature designed to prevent theft.
The South Korea-headquartered company said only a “subset” of its vehicles in the U.S. are not equipped with push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices.
“It is important to clarify that an engine immobilizer is an anti-theft device and these vehicles are fully compliant with federal anti-theft requirements,” the company said. “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.”
In a separate statement, Kia said that “contrary” to Tong’s allegations, it “has taken and continues to take action to help our customers by making it more difficult for criminals to use methods of theft popularized on social media to steal certain vehicle models.”
The company pointed to security software upgrades designed to restrict the operation of the vehicle’s ignition if a criminal tries to steal it without the key. Kia said more than 418,000 customers have already received the free update.
Last year, Tong and 15 other AGs called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to force Hyundai and Kia to recall models manufactured between 2011 and 2022 that do not have anti-theft technology.
In May, the companies agreed to settle a class action settlement for $200 million that covers an estimated 8 million cars and owners affected by the trend. The settlement is pending approval by the courts.
