By Michael Elkins
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as well as attorneys general of 17 other states on Thursday, call on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall Hyundai (KS:005380) and Kia (KS:000270) vehicles, saying they are more likely to be stolen because they lack safety features that are standard in other cars.
Hyundai and Kia vehicles represent a large share of stolen cars in multiple U.S. cities, according to data from police and state officials. While most cars in recent years have been installed with industry-standard anti-theft devices, some entry-level models from the Korean automakers were not equipped with engine immobilizers or push-button ignitions.
"Kia’s and Hyundai’s failure to install standard safety features on many of their vehicles have put vehicle owners and the public at risk," Bonta, who is spearheading the push by the states for a recall, said in a statement. The states have written to the NHTSA with their concerns.
TikTok videos that show how to steal Kia and Hyundai cars without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices have spread nationwide, leading to a raft of car thefts.
Hyundai argued that while some of its vehicles lacked immobilizers, they were compliant with federal anti-theft requirements as engine immobilizers are not federally mandated.
"These specific models comply fully with all applicable federal standards, a recall is neither appropriate nor necessary under federal law," said Kia in a statement.
Bonta said the carmakers included the industry standard immobilizer in the same models in Canada and Europe but chose to "carve out" the United States.
"Instead of taking responsibility with appropriate corrective action, these carmakers have chosen instead to pass this risk onto consumers and our communities," Bonta said.
Kia and Hyundai said in February that they would offer software upgrades to 8.3 million U.S. vehicles to help curb thefts. However, according to Bonta, those upgrades will not be available for many of the affected vehicles until June. Even then, the upgrades cannot be installed on some 2011-2022 models.