‘Vehicular crime wave’: Baltimore suing Kia and Hyundai over lack of anti-theft tech

By WBAL Staff

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — Baltimore City is suing Hyundai and Kia in federal court for actions the city says are fueling a “vehicular crime wave.”

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, claims the business decision by the automakers to not equip vehicles with anti-theft technology is behind the city’s massive spike in car thefts.

“Well, they should have provided it. Everyone else seems to provide it,” said Hyundai owner John Simms.

Thefts of those vehicles continue to trend in Maryland. Baltimore City police said car thefts are up 95% compared to this time last year, with Kias and Hyundais making up more than 40% of those stolen vehicles.

“It does make neighborhoods less safe, and that’s everywhere, not just in the Medfield area or the city itself,” Simms said.

The suit argues that the crime has put residents’ property and lives at risk, and drained city coffers in an attempt to stem the rising crime trend.

“It’s everywhere, and they should take responsibility for that,” Simms said.

Baltimore City joins a growing number of cities nationwide, including St. Louis, San Diego, Milwaukee and Seattle, who are suing the two car manufacturers.

Kia America sent 11 News a statement in response to the legal action, reading in part, “Lawsuits against Kia by municipalities are without merit. Kia has been and continues to be willing to work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies in the greater Baltimore area to combat car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it.”

Hyundai’s response pointed out they have followed all federal requirements. Instead, it blamed thieves for spreading the “how to” on social media, and made no mention of the lawsuits.

Both Hyundai and Kia have rolled out a free software patch that they said will make the cars harder to steal.

Kia sent a statement to 11 News, saying: “Kia remains deeply concerned that car theft targeting certain models — encouraged by social media content promoting criminal conduct — is an issue. To address these crimes, we continue to roll out a free, enhanced security software upgrade to restrict the unauthorized operation of vehicle ignition systems and we are also providing steering wheel locks for impacted owners at no cost to them.

“To date, Kia has contacted close to 3 million owners and lessees of Kia vehicles — covering over 90% of affected vehicles — to let them know of the availability of the software upgrade, and more than 230,000 eligible customers have already had the upgrade installed.

“Furthermore, in addition to supplying more than 44,000 free steering wheel locks to over 330 law enforcement agencies across the country for distribution to impacted Kia owners — including over 1450 locks to police departments in the Baltimore area — we have shipped over 16,000 locks directly to impacted owners as well. We will continue to provide additional free locks as they are needed.

“All Kia vehicles are subject to and comply fully with the requirements outlined in applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, including FMVSS 114 that governs theft protection measures.

“Lawsuits against Kia by municipalities are without merit. Kia has been and continues to be willing to work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies in the greater Baltimore area to combat car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it.

“Customers should visit ksupport.kiausa.com/ConsumerAffairs/SWLD for more information on their eligibility for the upgrade or to learn more about directly obtaining a steering wheel lock.”

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