Technically, it could be done with any sort of tool, but USB cables are cheap (or free, if one is already in the car) and everywhere. The thief then twists the ignition and starts the car. That USB cable isn’t doing anything special it’s just there to grip onto what’s left of the ignition. The thief then breaks apart the vehicle’s plastic steering column shroud, pulls out the ignition cylinder, then shoves in a USB cable. Thieves get into a targeted vehicle by opening an unlocked door, or if locked, breaking a window, which doesn’t trigger the vehicle’s alarm system. For a recap, the process works like this: Thieves target a Hyundai or Kia vehicle built in the past decade with a keyed ignition. ![]() We’ve written about how the thieves are doing it. That’s to say that it’s important to try to slow this down. And perhaps the worst, people are getting killed in crashes involving these stolen vehicles. Some people can’t even get their cars insured by a major insurance provider anymore. Those suits not only seek monetary damages, but a recall of affected cars. Kia’s attorney reportedly declined, suggesting that the problem isn’t car security, but a new kind of thief. Louis demanded that the automakers install anti-theft devices, or face a lawsuit from the city. These thefts are a nightmare that have spawned 15 lawsuits against the automakers in 14 states. Parents are shocked when they find that their teens are caught up in stealing cars. These people are sometimes left with repair bills in the thousands of dollars, if they even get back a car that’s working in the first place. Hyundai and Kia owners have gotten cars back that have been ransacked, crashed, or destroyed. The thefts are a major headache for everyone involved. Recent reports out of Milwaukee show a slight decline in thefts in 2022, but an average of six Hyundai and Kia vehicles are still stolen every day in the city. ![]() Unfortunately, word has spread outside of Milwaukee, and thefts have seen a sharp rise all over the country from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Chicago, Illinois, and all of the way to Los Angeles, California. These thieves often call themselves the Kia Boyz, and it’s been horrifying to be able to watch car theft get turned into a social media sensation. The alleged thieves of these vehicles have been posting videos of their actions (and even tutorials) all over social media from YouTube to TikTok. As a result, two-thirds of the vehicles stolen in the Milwaukee in 2021 were Kias and Hyundais. Why did the number of stolen vehicles double in just a year? Thieves, some as young as teenagers, figured out that certain Hyundai and Kia models could be stolen rather quickly. That number is up from 2020’s statistic of 4,500 thefts. ![]() That year, some 10,479 vehicles were stolen in the city. But there’s a catch, and it’s that you have to pay for it.īack in 2021, news stations and police in Milwaukee, Wisconsin reported on a strange, yet alarming issue. According to a new report, Hyundai now has a fix that will hopefully stop or at least slow down these thefts. Thieves have discovered that a number of Hyundais and Kias could be stolen in a minute or less, sometimes using nothing more than brute force and a USB cable. One of the biggest, perhaps weirdest bit of news this year is that some people can’t stop stealing Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
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