Technology

59300 readers

4699 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

456

Hyundai and Kia car thefts fall sharply after software upgrade, study finds (www.cbsnews.com)

submitted 3 months ago by lemmee_in@lemm.ee to c/technology@lemmy.world

94 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A social media trend, dubbed the "Kia Challenge," has appeared to compound the automakers' problems in recent years, with people posting videos showing how to steal Hyundai and Kia cars. At its height, the Kia Challenge was linked to at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities, according to figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

About 9 million vehicles have been impacted by the rash of thefts, including Hyundai Elantras and Sonatas as well as Kia Fortes and Souls. Hyundai and Kia earlier this year agreed to pay $200 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by drivers who had their vehicles stolen.

Technology is helping foil car thieves making life miserable for owners of Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia upgraded their cars' anti-theft tech in early 2023. Vehicles equipped with the enhanced software will only start if the owner's key, or an identical duplicate, is in the ignition.

The rate at which the Korean automakers' cars are stolen has fallen by more than half since the companies upgraded their anti-theft software, according to new research from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI). Hyundai and Kia thefts have soared in recent years after criminals discovered that certain car models lacked engine immobilizers — technology that has long been standard in other vehicles.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They were vulnerable because they didn't use chipped keys therefore people could break the ignition cylinder off and rotate the actual switch behind it to start the car. Cars with immobilizers still wouldn't start even if you removed the lock cylinder because the sensor didn't detect the chip. This is basically how most all cars worked prior to the 90s/00s which is where the trope of "using a screwdriver to steal a car" came from.

I'm really curious how they were able to add this in using software alone since you'd need some sort of sensor to detect the key along with keys that have a chip embedded in them.

[–] Petter1@lemm.ee 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

😄so, my dacia spring can be stolen like that as well? It has one key without even a battery 🤣 (I think) Luckily I live in peaceful Switzerland, so I don’t even have to lock the car overnight..

Edit: it locks the steering wheel if not started, maybe that would be enough?

[–] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You might have an immobilizer as no battery is needed in the key, it's just a little chip embedded inside.

As far as the steering wheel lock, I think it can be defeated as well as those were used at least as far back as the 1970s and cars were still stolen then too. I believe people just hammered a screwdriver into the ignition to be able to bypass it.

You should Google your model of car to see if it has an immobilizer.

[–] Petter1@lemm.ee 0 points 3 months ago

I see 😁👌🏻 good to know