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Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comments from Hyundai.
Indianapolis has joined other cities in suing Kia and Hyundai, accusing the automakers of cutting costs by forgoing security features, which has led to an increase in thefts.
The suit — City of Indianapolis v. Hyundai Motor America and Kia America, Inc., 8:23-cv-00989 — was filed June 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Hyundai and Kia are headquartered in California.
The two-count lawsuit accuses the automakers of negligence and creating a public nuisance.
According to the lawsuit, the automakers have “failed to keep up with the times” by skipping out on immobilizer technology that makes cars more difficult to steal. Instead, Hyundai and Kia cars can be stolen with tools as simple as a USB cable, the suit alleges.
From the beginning of this year to March 3, there has been a 314% increase in Kia and Hyundai thefts in Indianapolis compared to the same time period in 2022, according to the lawsuit, which points to viral how-to videos that show how simple it is to steal the cars.
“Hyundai’s and Kia’s decision to put cost-savings and profits over public safety has had devastating consequences for the City of Indianapolis and its residents, as it has in other cities,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint says Hyundai and Kia distributed cars between 2011 and 2022 that didn’t have engine immobilizers.
“This presents a risk not only for property damage, but to public safety, as thieves often engage in reckless driving, as well as other dangerous criminal conduct, including robbery and firearm thefts,” the lawsuit says.
As one example, the complaint points to a stolen Hyundai Sonata in February that was involved in a police chase, which ended when the vehicle crashed on Interstate 465. The 17-year-old driver and 14-year-old passenger fled, and police found six guns, a backpack of ammunition and a grenade launcher.
The lawsuit says Hyundai has started rolling out a software update rather than installing immobilizers — and that Kia has a similar update planned — but called the approach “too little, too late.”
Indianapolis’ case is related to multidistrict litigation in In Re: Kia Hyundai Vehicle Theft Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, 8:22-ml-3052, also in the California Central District Court.
Other cities that have filed a lawsuit include Seattle, Milwaukee and Baltimore, among others, along with insurance companies and individual consumers.
In May, the automakers agreed to a $200 million settlement in a consumer class-action lawsuit that included about 9 million vehicles. The settlement also included a commitment to the software update.
In a statement sent to Indiana Lawyer, Hyundai said, “Hyundai is committed to the comprehensive actions we are undertaking to assist customers and communities affected by the persistent theft of certain vehicles not equipped with push-button ignitions and engine immobilizers. Our dealers across the country are maximizing the number of anti-theft software installations that can be performed on a daily basis, contributing to steadily increasing completion rates, which we report to NHTSA weekly. Hyundai will soon be piloting a mobile service center to further scale and speed installation of the software upgrade. We remain committed to ensuring the quality and integrity of our products, all of which are fully compliant with federal anti-theft requirements. Engine immobilizers are now standard on all Hyundai vehicles produced as of November 2021. For more information, please visit www.hyundaiantitheft.com.”
Indiana Lawyer has reached out to a representative for Kia for comment.
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