Kia And Hyundai Under Legal Attack After It’s Revealed You Can Steal Their Cars With A USB Stick
There’s currently a number of class action lawsuits being fought against Hyundai and Kia after it was revealed that there are many cars built by these companies that can be easily stolen.
In fact, thanks to viral social media content, the theft of Hyundai and Kia vehicles soared as more and more people started to learn how to steal these cars themselves. The issue comes from the cars that aren’t fitted with an immobiliser, a simple piece of tech that’s fitted to most non-budget cars. And to prove just how easy this can be done, Donut Media set their sights on an Elantra.
They removed the plastic cover from behind the steering first by removing two screws, although they realised that it could just be pulled off with a hard yank. Under there you’ll find the ignition cylinder and by pushing a small pin, you can separate the part into two pieces.
The first piece is where the key slides in, and the second has a gap that allows a USB to be inserted almost perfectly. Well, they did just that, and with a quick twist of the wrist, the car starts. The YouTube channel presenters believe this is likely down to cutting costs by fitting this simplistic ignition cylinder.
Hyundai has told customers that have complained about this that they can replace the cylinder with an aftermarket version costing ‘just’ $170. But with the majority of owners not knowing how to do this, they’d also have to pay hundreds of dollars to get it done professionally. This is, obviously, a rubbish level of post-sale service from the company who has instead given out wheel locks to its customers.
Kia is yet to offer an aftermarket option, but is also giving out wheel locks.