New York City sues Hyundai, Kia over TikTok theft spree

By failing to equip their older vehicles with immobilizers found in most other competitor models—in order to save costs—officials argued in a complaint filed on Tuesday they had “opened the floodgates to vehicle theft, crime sprees, reckless driving and public harm.”

Thanks to a TikTok challenge made popular by the “Kia Boyz” in Milwaukee, teenagers learned how to easily steal certain cars like a Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tucson that still employed a conventional ignition by using tools worth little more than a few dollars, such as a screwdriver to jimmy open the steering column and a USB cable plug to fool the steering lock mechanism.  

One Milwaukee journalist, whose daughter was affected, claimed the 2017 Hyundai Elantra she borrowed in March 2022 was stolen in just two minutes.

Since almost all modern cars from other manufacturers only start if there is a matching radio identification signal from the owner’s chipped key fob, the resulting epidemic of auto theft specifically targeted those two brands when the social media challenge began to spread starting in 2021.

Milwaukee reportedly saw a 2,500% increase year-on-year in the number of Hyundai and Kia cars stolen as a result. Seattle meanwhile filed a complaint, calling the cars “sitting ducks” that forced it to “divert funds and risk officer safety.” 

Every day, the NYPD works to make our city safer and keep driving major crimes down in New York City. But we’re continuing to see problems with grand theft auto. Join us now at 1 Police Plaza.
https://t.co/4zyhYIcIf7

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) March 30, 2023

In April, 17 states urged the federal government to recall millions of Hyundai and Kia models as a result. 

For his part, NYC Mayor Eric Adams has urged residents to put Apple Airtags in their cars as a preventative measure. He has also came out in support of a TikTok ban due to the Kia Boyz challenge, convening a summit this week to discuss the harmful effects from social media on youth.

“TikTok must be [held] responsible,” he was quoted by a New York Times reporter as saying in March. 

In the meantime, both Hyundai and Kia began incorporating immobilizers on their cars as standard starting in the second half of 2021.   

In statements to Reuters, the two Korean carmakers said they were taking measures to reduce the risk of theft, including working together with NYC law enforcement. Recent attempts to update vehicle software to make it more difficult, however, have not proven effective. Kia claimed separately the lawsuit was “without merit.”

The duo, which operate independently in the market but share much of their engineering to save on costs, already agreed in May to settle a class action lawsuit out of court by paying $200 million to some 9 million affected customers.