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CDA
March 29, 2023
Kia and Hyundai will update 8.5 million of their cars to prevent them from being stolen, something that had gone viral on TikTok.
In recent months, a trend has become popular on TikTok showing how a Kia (and Hyundai) vehicle could be stolen. using only a flat screwdriver and a USB cableusing the USB connector to start the car.
This went viral and the thieves became known as “Kia boys” and displayed, with the hashtag “thekiaboyz” on the Chinese social network, how they stole korean brand cars. The success of this “trend” was brutal: the hashtag accumulated 7,000 million visits.
8.5 million Kia and Hyundai cars will be updated
Models susceptible to being stolen lack electronic immobilizerswhich confirm that the key belongs to that vehicle, and use a key rather than a button ignition system, so the thieves had been using USB cables to start the cars.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that these thefts had caused at least eight deaths and 14 accidents in the country in the past year.
This has provoked, of course, the reaction of Kia and Hyundai, which have offered owners of potentially “removable” vehicles steering wheel locks and a software update to prevent these thefts.
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The changes will be implemented in 8.5 million units of Kia and Hyundai cars and involve certain software adjustments that include the need to have the key and insert it into the ignition to start the vehicle. If it is not detected, it will not turn on.
At the same time, the update will mean that the alarm sounds longergoing on to ring for one minute instead of the current 30 seconds.
Be careful with the new strategy of thieves to rob us in the car
The list of affected models is extensive and includes Accent, Elantra, Kona, Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster and Tucson from 2015 to 2021 from Hyundai. On the Kia side, the models included are Forte, Optima, Rio, Sedona, Soul, Sorento and Sportage from 2015 to 2021.
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