The service center will cover two of the stadium’s parking lots. Technicians will be on-site to install and complete the software upgrade, a process Hyundai estimates will take less than an hour.
Gabriel said the clinic is the first in what could be a series of events and is a response to its dealer network being swamped with customers asking for the software update.
In a statement, Hyundai said the clinic is “intended to complement Hyundai’s nationwide network of dealerships and drive further installations of Hyundai’s free anti-theft software upgrade for customers who continue to be affected by the thefts.”
To execute the event, Hyundai is partnering with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith.
The upgrades are part of a campaign Hyundai and Kia America launched in February to protect 7 million of their vehicles from the 2011 through 2022 model years that can be easily hot-wired because they lack engine immobilizers, a theft prevention technology that prevents a car from starting without the key in the ignition.
Though the patch covers most of the affected vehicles, about 700,000 Hyundai vehicles and 1.3 million Kia vehicles are ineligible for the software update because they lack an internal alarm system, which is what the upgrade enhances.
To limit exposure of this subset of vehicles, the companies have been providing free steering wheel locks to owners.
