This US city plans to sue Kia & Hyundai after TikTok challenge triggered car thefts
As car thefts have increased dramatically in the major city of Missouri, St. Louis city’s administration decided to take legal action against Kia and Hyundai
As car thefts have increased dramatically in the major city of Missouri in recent months, St. Louis city’s administration has decided to take legal action against Kia and Hyundai over an alleged fault that makes some car models easier to steal. According to media reports, auto thefts skyrocketed in the United States after a reckless challenge circulated on TikTok and other social media platforms, which depicts young people stealing specific automobiles off the street using a USB cord.
According to the CNBC report, certain makes and models of Kia and Hyundai cars that had been manufactured between 2010 and 2021, start with a mechanical key rather than a key fob or push button. Investigators told CNBC that the nationwide trend began last year and the number of auto thefts is still on the rise.
The number of auto thefts in St. Louis has doubled this year, as per KMOV. Furthermore, the city had an average of roughly 21 thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles each day in only July. According to a recent report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that figure rose to 23 thefts a day in August.
US city St. Louis threatened to sue Hyundai and Kia
In the month of August, officials from St. Louis threatened to sue Hyundai and Kia unless they fixed a defect that they claimed made stealing automobiles manufactured before 2021 simpler. Last week, KMOV reported that there are still plans to sue the automakers for the rise in auto thefts in the city.
Indicating it, City Counselor Sheena Hamilton wrote on August 19 that “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,” Fox News reported.
As the TikTok challenge with the hashtag “Kia Boys” gained traction, thefts of Kias and Hyundais have increased significantly nationwide in recent months. People were challenged to steal specific Hyundai and Kia automobiles produced between 2010 and 2021 that lack an immobilizer, an electronic anti-theft security system. The social media trend highlights that a person will only need a USB cable and a screwdriver to steal the autos.
Besides this, as of September, over a third of all automobile thefts in St. Petersburg, Florida, since mid-July have been connected to the TikTok challenge, according to authorities. The Los Angeles officials even reported that the viral trend has increased auto thefts of Hyundais and Kias by 85% when compared to the previous year.
Notably, the lack of immobilizers in the vehicles has also been the subject of a few class action lawsuits brought against the automakers this year.
Meanwhile, Ira Gabriel, a representative for Hyundai Motor America, previously informed Fox News Digital that the firm “is concerned about the recent rise in auto thefts of certain Hyundai model vehicles.”
(Image: AP/ Unsplash)
