![]() The method of theft, which involves serious damage to the ignition system, indicates that these cars are being stolen for fun rather than for resale, according to the HLDI. “TikTok does not condone this behavior which violates our policies and will be removed if found on our platform,” a TikTok spokesperson said recently. Some videos posted on TikTok showed allegedly stolen Hyundai and Kia vehicles being driven recklessly and even crashing. ![]() ![]() In Wisconsin, where it first became popular, theft claims of Hyundais and Kias spiked to more than 30 times 2019 levels in dollar terms. The auto theft trend spread widely on social media last year, according to HLDI. Hyundai and Kia operate as separate companies in the United States, but Hyundai Motor Group owns a large stake in Kia and various Hyundai and Kia models share much of their engineering. Vehicles that have push-button start systems, rather than relying on metal keys that must be inserted and turned, have immobilizers, but not all models with turn-key ignitions do. Immobilizers were standard equipment on 96% of vehicles sold for the 2015-2019 model years, according the HLDI, but were standard on only 26% of Hyundais and Kias. Without the right key, an immobilizer should do just that – stop the car from moving. These models don’t have electronic immobilizers which rely on a computer chip in the car and another in the key that communicate to confirm that the key is authentic and really belongs to that vehicle. The reason is many of these vehicles lack some basic auto theft prevention technology included in most other vehicles, even in those years, according to the HLDI. In fact, 2015-2019 Hyundai and Kia models are roughly twice as likely to be stolen as other vehicles of similar age. Now, data from the Highway Loss Data Institute, which collects information on insurance claims, confirm these South Korean models are far more likely to get stolen than others. ![]() Stealing older model Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs became a scary social media trend. ![]()
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