Vulnerability drove nearly 300% spike in auto thefts; automakers to offer free hardware fix
Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced today that a bipartisan coalition of 35 attorneys general, led in part by Delaware, has reached a settlement with automobile manufacturers Hyundai and Kia for their sale of millions of vehicles that lacked industry-standard, anti-theft technology. This failure resulted in an epidemic of car thefts in Delaware and across the country that continues to threaten public safety.
“Delaware’s car owners, communities, and police footed the bill for Hyundai and Kia’s neglect,” said AG Jennings. “This vulnerability singlehandedly drove a statewide increase in auto thefts—and the entire episode was preventable. The technology to prevent these thefts was industry-standard for every major manufacturer but one; now, finally, that discrepancy is being corrected. I hope this settlement closes a very frustrating chapter for law enforcement.”
Under the settlement, Hyundai and Kia have agreed to:
- offer free zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protectors to owners or lessees of eligible vehicles, including vehicles that previously were only eligible for the companies’ software updates;
provide up to $4.5 million in restitution to eligible consumers whose cars are damaged by thieves; and
equip all future vehicles sold in the United States with industry-standard, engine immobilizer anti-theft technology.
Hyundai and Kia chose not to include anti-theft engine immobilizers in millions of their vehicles sold throughout the United States, including in Delaware. Engine immobilizer technology prevents thieves from starting a vehicle’s engine without the vehicle’s “smart” key, which stores the vehicle’s electronic security code. According to one report, in 2015 only 26% of the vehicles Kia and Hyundai sold in the United States were equipped with engine immobilizers, compared to 96% of the vehicles sold by other manufacturers.
Car thieves, aided by viral social media, exploited a quick and simple way to access the vehicles’ ignition cylinders and start these cars without a key. As a consequence, Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts surged throughout the nation. The public safety impact of these thefts was compounded by the use of many of the vehicles in connection with other crimes and traffic collisions.
Hyundai and Kia were slow to respond to the crisis, waiting until 2023 to launch a software update for most of the affected vehicles. Hyundai and Kia initially limited an offer to install zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protectors to only the small percentage of vehicles that were ineligible for a software update. While the companies claimed that the software update would prevent the viral theft method, the states alleged that the software update could be, and in fact was, easily bypassed by thieves.
By then, the issue had already become dire in Delaware, where thefts and attempted thefts of the vehicles increased 54 percent from 2021 to 2022, and 284 percent from 2022 to 2023. Kia and Hyundai thefts represented more than one-third of all auto thefts in 2023, driving an increase in auto thefts even as other crime broadly declined. Excluding thefts of these two makes, auto thefts were on track to plateau or decline in 2023, but the dramatic rise in Hyundai and Kia meant that auto thefts as a whole increased.
Today’s settlement provides eligible consumers with free installation of zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protectors, which prevents thieves from accessing the ignition assembly. Eligible consumers will be notified by the companies that they will have one year from the date of the notice to make an appointment to have the zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector installed at their local Hyundai or Kia authorized dealerships. AG Jennings urges consumers to schedule the installation as soon as possible.
In addition, consumers who previously installed the software update on their vehicles (or were scheduled to do so) but nonetheless experienced a theft or attempted theft of their vehicle on or after April 29, 2025, are eligible to file a claim for restitution for certain theft and attempted-theft related expenses. For more information about eligibility and how to submit a claim for compensation, please visit the following:
- For Hyundai: Visit www.HKMultistateimmobilizersettlement.com
- For Kia: Visit https://customercare.kiausa.com/SWLD or call (800) 333-4KIA (4542)
The multistate effort was led by a team of states that included, along with Delaware, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Hampshire, California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, and Washington, with an additional 25 jurisdictions also joining the settlement.