AG Tong launches probe into Hyundai and Kia over auto thefts

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has launched a consumer protection investigation into Hyundai and Kia after reports that vehicles from the manufacturers are being stolen at abnormally high rates.

According to Tong”™s office, Kia and Hyundai did not engine immobilizers as standard equipment on several vehicle models sold in the U.S. between 2011 and 2022 ”“ however, the immobilizers were installed on the same model vehicles sold in Canada and Europe. An anti-theft immobilizer is an electronic device which prevents a car from being hot-wired and stolen by someone who doesn’t have the key.

Thefts of the vehicles made by the companies have spiked following a proliferation of social media videos showing the ease for would-be miscreants to hotwire the automobiles. Tong noted that many stolen Hyundai and Kia vehicles have been involved in crashes and fatalities across the nation.

“We have called on Hyundai and Kia over and over again to make this right and address the glaring public safety vulnerabilities in their vehicles. Whatever they have done to date is clearly not working,” Tong said. “We”™ve got viral videos all over the internet teaching kids how to hotwire these cars in a matter of seconds and glorifying reckless driving that has resulted in injuries and multiple deaths nationwide. These cars are such sitting ducks that some insurers are reportedly now refusing to insure them, rendering them essentially undriveable.”

Tong added his office will “figure out exactly how this public safety threat came to be, and we will not hesitate to hold Hyundai and Kia fully accountable for addressing this disaster.”