Nearly 40 cars stolen from Dayton in one week; Almost half Kias and Hyundais

DAYTON — Dayton Police are asking for the community to stay vigilant following the latest wave of car thefts, the police department said in a social media post.

39 cars were stolen in Dayton this past week, February 13-19, and 19 were Kias and Hyundais.

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Car thefts increased last July when the “Kia Challenge” became popular on social media platforms and hasn’t slowed down since. Dayton police said they are fighting the crime wave, but a lot of car owners that have to park on the street or in driveways are still being victimized.

There were also 17 additional Kias and Hyundais broken into and attempted to be stolen, Dayton Police said.

Dayton Police have made numerous arrests in relation to the stolen cars .

22 cars were stolen the previous week of February 6-13 in Dayton and 15 were Kias or Hyundais.

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Dayton Police have encouraged Kia or Hyundai owners to get software upgrades to try and prevent them from being easily.

Hyundai and Kia have started rolling out software updates to stem a raft of auto thefts related to a TikTok challenge that authorities believe has led to at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities.

Both Kia and Hyundai have each sent letters to owners of vehicles telling them they can offer computer upgrades to protect them against theft.

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About 3.8 million Hyundais and 4.5 million Kias are eligible for the software update, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last Tuesday.

In addition to getting the security upgrade, Dayton Police is asking people who own Kias and Hyundais to consider getting a steering wheel lock, glass-break sensors or battery disconnect sensors.

They are also asking people to not leave your keys in the car, especially when it’s left running and to stay vigilant.

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News Center 7′s Mike Campbell previously reported cities began devoting huge amounts of police resources to fight the car theft problem, including Montgomery County forming an Autotheft Suppression Task Force.

The City of Columbus filed a lawsuit on February 15 against Kia and Hyundai Wednesday citing an uptick in thefts on vehicle models that lack industry anti-theft technology.

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Campbell asked City of Dayton leaders if they would do the same and was told, “As of right now, the city of Dayton has no plans to join the lawsuit.”

We will continue to provide updates.

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