Columbus, Ohio, to sue Kia and Hyundai over surge in vehicle thefts

Officials in Columbus, Ohio, say a surge in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles is costing the city a lot of money, and they plan to sue the automakers to recoup those expenses.

Columbus city attorney Zach Klein announced Monday he will file a lawsuit against the manufacturers, pointing to a 450% surge in the number of Kia and Hyundai thefts in the city over the past year. He said models of the sister brands account for nearly two-thirds of all vehicle theft attempts in the city in 2022 so far.

Several cities have sounded the alarm this year over thefts of Hyundais and Kias after videos shared on TikTok demonstrated how the ignition systems in mainly 2011-2021 Kias and 2015-2021 Hyundais with physical keys could be easily hacked using a screwdriver, pliers or the end of a USB cable because the vehicles are not equipped with immobilizers that require the presence of a key fob with a transponder to work.

"For years, Kia and Hyundai cut corners and sold vehicles they knew were so unsafe they could be stolen with ease by a teenager with access to simple tools and a TikTok account," Klein said in a statement. 

HYUNDAIS AND KIAS STOLEN NEARLY TWICE AS OFTEN AS OTHER VEHICLES, NATIONAL STUDY FINDS

"Kia and Hyundai's negligence in pursuit of corporate profit is unconscionable," he continued. "It's time we held these automakers accountable for cheating customers and passing the buck and responsibility to clean up the mess they made onto the rest of us."

Klein's press release said Kia and Hyundai's failure to correct the issue led to the "surge in thefts and millions of dollars in costs passed on to costumers and the city itself."

Columbus is the second city to threaten Kia and Hyundai with a lawsuit this year. St. Louis officials said in August they were planning to sue the vehicle manufacturers over the same alleged defects.

Additionally, the automakers are facing a federal class action lawsuit filed by MLG Attorneys at Law in Orange County, Calif.

When reached by FOX Business for comment, Hyundai shared a statement saying "We remain concerned about the increase in thefts of certain Hyundai vehicles that have been targeted in a coordinated social media campaign. Currently, Hyundai provides steering wheel locks, as available, to law enforcement agencies in impacted areas."

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The company also said it is offering two other options for Hyundai owners of the earlier model year vehicles as a fix, including a glass break sensor security kit available for purchase and installation at dealerships across the country. 

The second option is a software update that will provide further security for the targeted vehicles that is expected to be available for certain models as early as the first half of next year. 

In response to the larger theft issue, Kia issued a statement saying, "Kia remains concerned about the recent trend among youth in some areas, encouraged by social media, to target certain Kia cars with a steel key and ‘turn-to-start’ ignition systems. In many cases, the vehicles are stolen solely for the purpose of operating in a reckless manner. Such criminal conduct endangers our local communities and violates property rights."

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Kia also said it makes steering wheel locks available to customers through interested law enforcement agencies at no cost subject to availability, and "also continues its efforts to develop additional solutions for vehicles not originally equipped with an immobilizer, including the development and testing of enhanced security software."

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
HYMTF	HYUNDAI MOTOR CO. LTD.	55.35	+0.33	+0.59%

FOX News' Gary Gastelu contributed to this report.