BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The City of Buffalo announced it has filed a lawsuit against Kia America, Inc. and Hyundai Motor America.
According to the city, it intends to join other cities such as Seattle, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, St. Louis, Madison, and Milwaukee in multidistrict litigation that "seeks to hold Kia and Hyundai accountable for placing profits over safety and manufacturing, distributing, and marketing cars that are dangerously easy to steal."
The city said thefts of Kias and Hyundais have jumped significantly in Buffalo, increasing over 2,000% in January 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. In addition, in the last three months, they have made up between 57% and 67% of all vehicle thefts in Buffalo.
“These vehicles are being stolen at an alarming rate due to the lack of immobilizing technology. This has resulted in a significant issue that impacts our police resources and the community that we serve."
In October 2022, four people were killed in a crash on Route 33. Police say they were in a stolen Kia. Two others were injured including a 16-year-old boy who is accused of being behind the wheel of the Kia and is facing multiple charges.
Kia and Hyundai each released statements to 7 News, which you can find below.
"Kia remains deeply concerned that car theft targeting certain models – encouraged by social media content promoting criminal conduct – is an issue. To address these crimes, we continue to roll out a free, enhanced security software upgrade to restrict the unauthorized operation of vehicle ignition systems and we are also providing steering wheel locks for impacted owners at no cost through local law enforcement agencies. To date, Kia has already contacted nearly 2 million owners and lessees of Kia vehicles to let them know of the availability of the software upgrade and to advise them to schedule a free installation at any Kia dealer. We have also shipped or are in the process of shipping over 28,000 free steering wheel locks to nearly 200 law enforcement agencies across the country, including close to 2200 locks to police departments in the Buffalo area, and we will continue to provide additional free locks as needed.
All Kia vehicles are subject to and comply fully with rigorous testing rules and regulations outlined in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, including under FMVSS 114 that governs ignition security systems and theft protection.
Lawsuits against Kia by municipalities are without merit. Kia has been and continues to be willing to work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies in Buffalo to combat car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it.
Customers should visit https://ksupport.kiausa.com/ConsumerAffairs/SWLD for more information on their eligibility for the upgrade or to learn more about directly obtaining a steering wheel lock."
"Hyundai Motor America is committed to ensuring the quality and integrity of our products.
In response to increasing and persistent thefts targeting our vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices in the United States, Hyundai: (1) made engine immobilizers standard on all vehicles produced as of November 2021; (2) introduced a free software upgrade to prevent the method of theft involved; (3) rolled the software upgrade out to more than 1 million customers, with the remaining approximately 3 million affected customers to be eligible for the upgrade within the coming weeks; (4) initiated a program to reimburse affected customers for their purchase of steering wheel locks; and (5) continues to provide free steering wheel locks to law enforcement agencies across the country for distribution to local residents who own or lease affected models.
Owners can visit this website for more information: Hyundai Anti-Theft - Anti-Theft Software Upgrade (hyundaiantitheft.com) [hyundaiantitheft.com]"
