Kia and Hyundai’s antitheft software update seems to be working
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The Kia Boys may have met their match.
A software update that first rolled out last year to owners of Hyundai and Kia vehicles without electronic immobilizers has cut theft rates by more than half, according to a new analysis from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).
The automakers first began implementing the update in February 2023 in response to a wave of car thefts that started during the covid pandemic, when instructional videos on how to steal the cars first started going viral on TikTok and other social media platforms.
Thieves calling themselves “the Kia Boys” would post instructional videos about how to bypass the vehicles’ security system using tools as simple as a USB cable. About 9 million vehicles have been impacted,...