DAYTON — After Kia and Hyundai rolled out anti-theft fixes for vehicles, various owners say they’ve had problems trying to get the companies’ software upgrades to protect their vehicles.
The problem began last summer with social media challenges and videos detailing how to steal vulnerable vehicles that don’t have immobilization devices. Many owners of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have said the company moved too slow and solutions are still not available.
Emma Travis, an owner of a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, said her car was stolen right after the videos appeared on social media. Two days after it was returned to her and repaired, it was stolen again and crashed.
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“They ripped out my steering column the second time,” Travis said.
Her bumpers and windshield were also damaged.
She told News Center 7 that realizing that she and thousands of other vehicle owners do not have immobilization devices on their vehicles leaves her with a helpless feeling.
“What can you do to protect the vehicle if the company is not doing anything?” Travis asked.
Travis said she was excited when she learned Hyundai was rolling out anti-theft computer updates, but was told her car wasn’t eligible when she went to a dealer service center.
“I asked why not. They said ‘We can’t tell you,’” she recounted.
News Center 7′s Mike Campbell reached out to Hyundai Wednesday and they said the company is “committed to ensuring the quality and integrity of our products.”
“All Hyundai vehicles meet the anti-theft requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114. In response to increasing thefts targeting Hyundai vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices in the U.S., Hyundai has introduced a free anti-theft software upgrade to prevent the vehicles from starting during a method of theft popularized on TikTok and other social media.
All Hyundai vehicles produced since November 2021 are equipped with an engine immobilizer as standard equipment. Hyundai is also providing free steering wheel locks to law enforcement agencies for distribution to local residents who own or lease affected models,” the statement from a Hyundai spokesperson read.
The company then provided a timetable for software availability the indicated Elantras made between 2017 and 2020, like Travis’, should have had software available staring last month.
Travis does have a company representative assigned to her case now, but she hasn’t gotten any answers yet. She thinks this all should have been avoided.
“$20, the ruined thousands of people’s vehicles for no reason other than they wanted to save money,” she said.
Travis told News Center 7 that she doesn’t even park her car in front of her apartment now out of fear of it being stolen for a third time. She wants her car fixed or the compensation for all she’s been through.