There are thousands of people who can only afford a car if it’s a base model or other economic option, and while having dependable wheels is important, many of these cares have serious security concerns.
Which are not going to helped, necessarily, by the people on TikTok detailing exactly how easy it is to steal them.
In particular, Hyundai and Kia have been the targets of these “helpful” thieves due to both the affordability of their products and the number of those products on the road.
Image Credit: iStock
In fact, 67% of the 10,471 vehicles stolen in the US last year were one of these two brands.
A group of teens named Kia Boyz have been running around boosting the the cars with nothing besides a screwdriver and a USB cable, in fact.
Image Credit: YouTube
The issue is that the lower models of Hyundai and Kia are missing an engine immobilizer or theft deterrent system because it helps them save on manufacturing costs. They can also be operated with a traditional mechanical key, which almost all higher end models have moved away from in recent years.
Donut Media did a video showing how simple stealing one of these cars is – they unscrewed the steering column case and exposed the wires and ignition cylinder, pulled out the latter until they found a twist lever that fits into the slot of a USB-A cable.
Image Credit: YouTube
Once inserted, they rotated the unit in a clockwise motion until the car started.
That’s it.
So, are Hyundai and Kia planning to make the necessary adjustments that would make these models more secure?
The answer is sort of.
Hyundai has announced they have collaborated with a third-party security agency named Compustar to provide a $170 anti-theft security kit consisting of a kill switch, glass-break sensor, and an alarm.
It will cost owners around $500, though, because they’re not offering to pay for it.
You can also grab a good aftermarket wheel lock yourself, or a steering lock, or both.
If you already own one of these cars it definitely seems as if you’d rather be safe than sorry.
