Kia, Hyundai Vehicle Theft Dangerous and Damaging Class Action

This is another in a long list of class actions that have been filed against Kia America, Inc., Hyundai Motor America, and/or Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc., alleging that in recent years, Kia and Hyundai vehicles have been made without immobilizers. The complaint alleges that this has resulted in a rash of thefts, a great deal of damage, a shortage of parts to repair the damage, and higher prices for insurance or refusals to provide insurance at all.

The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons and entities that bought or leased a 2011-2022 Kia or 2015-2022 Hyundai (the class vehicles). Illinois, Virginia, and Louisiana Classes have also been defined for persons and entities who bought or leased the class vehicles in those states.

At issue in this complaint is Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 114, which tries to prevent auto theft by requiring, among other things, a system that, when the key is taken out of the starting system, will prevent “(a) Normal activation of the car’s engine or other main source of motive power” as well as “(b) Either steering or self-mobility of the car, or both.” Immobilizers are the devices that usually perform this function.

Why should this be considered a safety standard? The complaint quotes the Federal Register for April 27, 1968 as saying that “the approximate [accident] rate for stolen cars would be some 200 times the normal accident rate for other vehicles.”

The complaint alleges that Kia and Hyundai claim that safety is important to them and tout the safety of their vehicles. For example, the complaint quotes Hyundai as saying that it has “made huge investments into making [its] vehicles among the safest on the road.”

However, the Kia and Hyundai vehicles at issue in this class action are easily stolen, the complaint alleges: “Viral videos on TikTok and YouTube give step-by-step instructions on how to steal Class Vehicles without a key. In fact, the ‘Kia Challenge,’ widely shared on social media platforms, dares people to break in and use a USB cord to start the cars.”

This has led to an increase in Kia and Hyundai thefts well out of proportion with their market share. For example, the complaint claims, “In Milwaukee, Wisconsin thefts of Kias and Hyundais increased 2,500% in January-June 2021 (2,890) compared to the same period the year before (111).”

Damages have increased at the expense of the insurers, owners, and lessees of these vehicles. One of the plaintiffs in this case had his Hyundai Sonata stolen and damaged: “Plaintiff Scott received an initial quote of $3,200 for damage to his Defective Hyundai after it was stolen the first time, but has since receive multiple supplemental estimates due to other damage. After [he] repair[ed] the damage, Plaintiff Scott’s Defective Hyundai was stolen a second time and has not yet been located.”

This has led to a parts shortage. Also, some insurance companies will no longer insure these vehicles, while others have raised prices.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Automobile
Tags: Defective Automobile, Immobilizer