Although the sibling automakers say they are taking corrective actions to get owners’ vehicles fixed, the drumbeat is getting louder.
This month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of 17 other AGs, including Minnesota’s Keith Ellison and Michigan’s Dana Nessel, sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requesting the agency “institute a recall of unsafe Hyundai and Kia vehicles … whose easily-bypassed ignition switches and lack of engine immobilizers make them particularly vulnerable to theft.”
The plea was backed by theft data that shows an 85 percent rise in thefts of Hyundais and Kias in Los Angeles in 2022. These vehicles made up 20 percent of all stolen cars in the city in 2022 compared with 13 percent in 2021. In Berkeley, thefts of Hyundais and Kias accounted for 38 percent of vehicle thefts since the end of 2022.
Bonta’s letter also said vehicles without immobilizers represent an “unreasonable risk to public safety” and are taking a toll on local law enforcement and first responders.
Ellison, who in March announced an investigation into Hyundai’s and Kia’s sale of the affected vehicles to consumers in that state, said the stolen vehicles have been used in the “furtherance” of violent crimes, including five homicides, 13 shootings, 36 robberies and 265 motor vehicle accidents in Minneapolis alone.
A Kia spokesperson said in a statement that the company remains focused on this issue and continues to take action to address the concerns raised by the attorneys general.
Earlier this year, the city of Seattle, in Cantwell’s home state, separately filed a suit against Hyundai and Kia in U.S. District Court in Seattle, citing a 363 percent rise in thefts of Hyundai vehicles and 503 percent increase in stolen Kias in 2022 compared with the previous year.
Eight other cities have taken the same step, including San Diego and Columbus, Ohio. All point to an extreme surge in theft of the affected vehicles.
