The Old-School Club May Be the Best Answer to TikTok-Inspired Car Thefts

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Beyond infecting the minds of young people and potentially opening dangerous back-door data access to Americans’ phones, TikTok has also gifted the world with the knowledge of how to steal older Hyundai and Kia models easily. The problem has gotten so bad that some insurers won’t cover the cars, and owners have been left scrambling for a fix. The Korean automakers have a few ideas, including issuing free steering wheel locks and upgrading the anti-theft software on millions of vehicles.


Several Hyundai and Kia models are vulnerable to the issue, and some municipalities have reported that the majority of stolen vehicles come from one of the manufacturers. To help prevent thefts, Hyundai Motor Company is giving owners steering wheel locks, which make the cars harder to steal. While they’re not foolproof, the locks can create enough of a deterrent to make thieves look elsewhere.


Hyundai and Kia are issuing software upgrades to patch some of the vulnerabilities that allow the TikTok-inspired thefts, and said they had covered one million vehicles so far. Another three million vehicles can receive the update in the future, and the automakers said they would reimburse owners for steering wheel locks they’ve already purchased. 


Without an immobilizer, thieves can steal the vehicles by removing the plastic steering column covers and inserting a USB cable. The videos went viral on TikTok, amassing millions of views and enlightening would-be car thieves to a new honeypot. Stealing a Hyundai or Kia with this method is so easy that police say thieves can get into the vehicle and drive off in under 30 seconds.


[Image: Hyundai]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Thehyundaigarage Thehyundaigarage on Apr 03, 2023

    I wonder how much longer it’s going to be before TikTok videos about all the other key start vehicles you can steal come out. Many brands lack immobilizers, not just Hyundai and Kia vehicles.


    It’s stupid that Hyundai and Kia didn’t equip key start models with immobilizers, but other brands have done so too.


    When we install remote starters, the application guides list “Canadian market” or “US market” vehicles, as it’s not legally required to be there for the US. Hyundais, Kias and certain Toyotas and Nissans lack immobilizers.


    Here in Canada, no immobilizer from factory=you don’t get to sell your cars here..


    I guess $20 in savings per car in parts savings ads up pretty quick

  • Zipper69 Zipper69 on Apr 04, 2023

    2017 Sportage

  • Dartman “That’s right Kwik; if you’re not paying for it you are the product-even on TTAC. May I help you with anything else? If we’re done here I need to call Siri- goodbye!”
  • Jalop1991 “We left nothing to chance during development and tested the new 911 under all sorts of conditions all over the world."Except for idiot end users. Trust me, the first one on the streets will break quickly and hard in ways the engineers will struggle to understand.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Information is power and makes money for those who sell it. Right Alexa? 🤪
  • Colin Car companies have been selling your data to anyone who will buy it. We’ve know that for a while. That’s the reason for lte hotspots, onstar and others. To collect telemetry and sell your information. There are lots of threads now on how to block telemetry uploading. As well as the rash of flock cameras that every little authoritarian municipality is fond buying recently. Don’t worry your information is safe in our databases. But for a fee we can tell you where that person that has a restraining order against you where they are at.
  • Dartman Flex, time for your medicine and nap…
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