The social media trend Kia Motors and Hyundai suffered from in 2022 should give consumers pause before purchasing certain models as major insurers are now stepping away.
If you frequented TikTok anytime in the last couple of years there's a good chance you caught a glimpse of the "Kia Challenge." It's a viral trend showing just how easy it is to steal certain Kia and Hyundai models.
The "Kia Boyz" problem has gotten so bad that State Farm and Progressive (PGR), two of the largest insurers in the country, have confirmed that they no longer write policies for some Kia and Hyundai models manufactured between 2015 and 2019.
While Progressive and State Farm confirmed to CNN that the companies are refusing to write policies in certain cities, it did not tell the news service which cities are affected.
The vehicles being stolen lack electronic mobilizers that can make it harder for a thief to steal a car by just bypassing the ignition, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute.
"Hyundai Motor America is concerned about the recent rise in auto thefts of certain Hyundai model vehicles," a Hyundai spokesperson told Car Scoops in 2022.
"Criminals are targeting our vehicles without engine immobilizers. Immobilizers became standard on all vehicles produced after November 1, 2021."
Police Departments Raise the Alarm
The trend became so popular that police in St. Petersburg, FL., said during a period in July that half the 56 cars stolen in the city were Kia/Hyundai model years from 2021 and before that used key fobs to start.
The trend reportedly started in Milwaukee, but thanks to the power of social media it is now national, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
In August, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a community alert over the "Kia Challenge."
Kia and Hyundai comprised almost 13% of all vehicle thefts in the city in 2021. In 2022, they accounted for 20% of all thefts in the city, according to KTLA.
More than 1,800 Hyundais and Kias were stolen in the city of St. Louis as of August 2022. But to crystallize just how viral the problem is, about 2/3 (1,200) of those thefts came in the months of July and August alone.
In July, the city averaged 21 Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts a day. At the same time the previous year, just 183 Hyundais and Kias had been reported stolen in St. Louis.
Cities Go After Automakers
Cities and citizens that have not been able to stop the problem through law enforcement now are looking to the courts.
The city of Seattle filed a complaint in federal court against Hyundai and Kia for failing to install adequate anti-theft technology, according to Car and Driver.
Lawyers representing claimants in the Hyundai lawsuits are looking for more people to join the class action.
"Engine immobilizers have been widely available since 1992, and there seems to be no good reason for Hyundai not to add them to cars," according to Select Justice.
In Iowa, Ann Brady of Poly County and Leah Price of Decatur County are suing Kia because the companies make vehicles that are "easy to steal, unsafe, and worth less than they should be," the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.
Meanwhile, St. Louis has said that if the companies don't do something about the thefts by Sept. 19, the city will be filing a lawsuit against them.
“With this letter, the city demands that Kia and Hyundai mitigate the defective conditions providing thieves – including teenagers as young as 13 – the instrumentalities by which they are destroying property, endangering city drivers and themselves, and, in some cases, committing violent felonies,” City Counselor Sheena Hamilton wrote in an Aug. 19 letter to the companies, KSDK reported.
