What kind of world do you live in when you can’t buy a used, basic car because crime has gotten out of control and no one in power will do anything about it? What if, instead of demanding those individuals in the community take responsibility, you instead blamed the victims?

You’d have modern-day America in many of the largest, bluest cities right now.

Thefts of many Korean-made cars are up by as much as 1600% in some cities. In cities like Minneapolis, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, and Orlando, major auto insurance companies like State Farm and Progressive are refusing to issue new policies for drivers of many KIA and Hyundai model cars from 2011 to 2021 due to an easily exploitable design in the steering column that allows for ignition using a USB connector, not the key.

News of the vulnerability spread like wildfire on social media sites like Tik Tok, where “the KIA Challenge” in 2021 began by encouraging people out there to try their hand at stealing a car since it was so easy, especially when you have a how-to video showing you the most important details of the task.

And let’s get something straight: these aren’t sports cars. These are your run-of-the-mill, 4-cylinder, fuel-efficient vehicles. They’re the daily workhorses of paralegals, nurses, and dental assistants, the most basic and boring of cars by all means. 

But instead of the mayors and leaders of these many towns addressing the real issue, they’re suing the car manufacturers.

Key Takeaways:

• According to a National Insurance Crime Bureau report, the number of stolen Hyundais and Kias has increased by more than 50% in the past year. According to the report, older models’ lack of security features is to blame for the rise in thefts. 
• In St. Paul, MN, KIA thefts were up 1300% and Hyundai thefts were up 584% in 2022, encouraged and shown how by car thieves in viral Tik Tok videos
• Mayors of Madison, WI, Minneapolis, MN, Cleveland, OH, and Milwaukee, WI, are now suing the car manufacturers, saying these cars lack “industry-standard” equipment

America doesn’t have a Korean car problem. It Has a “Woke” Problem.

Stealing Hyundais and KIAs is bad enough for the communities and lives the criminals harm.

But often, the thieves don’t stop at car theft. They also take these KIAs and crash them into GameStops or other types of stores, then loot and steal everything on the shelf that they can before fleeing the scene. Or, they’ll simply go on a rampage that destroys or seriously damages the car itself, then abandon it.

This all results in higher insurance premiums for existing auto policyholders, and refusals to cover these models by a growing number of major car insurance providers.

Hyundai and KIA Car Models Insurance Companies are Refusing to Issue New Policies For

After last summer, the St. Petersburg, FL, Police Department said that 41% of all car thefts were either KIA or Hyundai, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). In Chicago, KIAs and Hyundais made up 38% of all vehicle thefts.

The Hyundai and Kia models being refused new insurance policies in many states and cities are as follows:

Hyundai Models Affected by Increase in Theft

2015-2021 Hyundai Accent (all trims)

2015-2021 Hyundai Elantra (two-door and four-door)

2015-2021 Hyundai Kona

2015-2021 Hyundai Santa Fe

2015-2021 Hyundai Tucson

2015-2018 Hyundai Veloster

KIA Models Affected by Increase in Theft

2015-2021 Kia Forte

2015-2021 Kia Optima

2015-2016 Kia Optima Hybrid

2015-2021 Kia Rio (all trims)

2015-2021 Kia Sedona

2015-2016 Kia Sorento

2015-2021 Kia Soul

2015-2021 Kia Sportage

Most Pre-2021 Hyundai and KIA Cars Lack an Engine Immobilizer Function

There are some contributing factors that make these models the target of predators. Many cars today are push-button-to-start and have an engine immobilizer. Because the majority of last decade’s Korean made cars had a standard key ignition, they are susceptible to auto theft, similar to the days when people would jack into a car’s steering column with a screwdriver.

If your car is a 2008 model or older, you’re ten times more likely to be a victim of auto theft, according to Houston police. That’s probably not helped by the lack of keyless ignition and immobilizer devices, which may have helped cut down auto thefts overall around 2009 as they became more common.

But the fact remains: You can’t blame the Koreans for what scumbags in America’s failed, lawless cities do. People could have always stolen a car, had they wanted. People still do in fact steal cars, and lots of vehicles on the road in the U.S. lack immobilizers, which is why older model pickup trucks are one of the top vehicles for auto thieves.

But that’s not how some of America’s most progressive mayors and city councils see it.

Are Record Police Resignations in the U.S. Related to the Rise in Crime?

USA Today has reported that crime is up over 4% per year since 2020. Vehicle theft is up over 11% between 2019 and 2020, according to BankRate.com. As a personal anecdote, this is around the same time I started seeing a rise in package thefts related to my online business, which ultimately led to some hard decisions for myself.

NPR has reported that since 2020, police departments have experienced massive losses of sworn, trained officers, likely making them more reluctant to serve and put their lives on the line for a justice system that won’t have their back when facts don’t appease a “woke,” angry mob. But it’s not just New York City or Minneapolis, according to the Miami Herald, where the fallout has now hit red states as well, including Florida and North Carolina, where entire police forces have resigned.

After all, if you even beat a progressive, “woke” attorney general eager to make a public case out of a controversial event, you still face double jeopardy in the form of an overzealous federal justice department in Washington, D.C.

Public Sector Opportunists Join Hands and Sue KIA and Hyundai

The Minnesota Attorney General has even given knee-taking Mayor Jacob Frey an assist with this matter too, linking the KIA and Hyundai thefts to homicides and launching an official investigation. 

And we all know what comes after this. By the same flawed reasoning that progressives use, in countries without cars, there are no cars used in crimes. 

First, there was gun control. Next, get ready for car control.

The Cleveland City Council just passed a resolution urging Mayor Justin Bibb to sue the car companies, which he did not hesitate to do. Kris Harsh, who by the look of his LinkedIn has never worked a day on the free market himself and is one of the most vocal proponents of the lawsuit, even called the ordeal a “manufacturer’s defect.”

That’s big talk from someone who has never built anything.

Cleveland (Crime) Rocks, and No Heads Roll

Meanwhile, in the very same Cleveland, more “teens” can be seen on dirtbikes pointing guns at a police station there when not terrorizing neighborhoods and children with reckless speeds and inane antics, with absolutely zero consequences and a bewildered public.

Regarding KIA and Hyundai thefts in Miwaukee, Mayor Johnson said, “The crimes damage the city’s reputation,” stating the lawsuit was drafted to “recoup some of our costs due to the fact these cars are so easy to steal and the damage that has ensued because of it.”

No comment was made about whether or not the people in Milwaukee committing the crimes were damaging the city’s reputation. No. It’s the Koreans again. Milwaukee’s glaringly obvious Korean problem.

How could I have not seen it this whole time?

And in the Florida Panhandle, nimble night prowlers are dismantling the doors off of Kenworth trucks and reselling the components for thousands of dollars in a another clearly thought out heist. This not only creates a problem for the trucks, it legally renders them inoperable according to the law and regulations. The thieves are literally stealing jobs away from the productive public and small businesses.

And that leaves one less service truck to complete those road repairs, trim that tree to prevent a power outage during a windy thunderstorm, or to clear out that septic tank. So much for that first-world, first-rate civilization we had at one time in recent memory.

New Orleans Mayor Further Lowers the Bar

But instead of holding these elected officials to a higher standard, New Orleans is doing just the opposite, with the mayor of New Orlands flipping off a provocative float participant in the recent Mardis Gras parade, caught on video, and completely blamed on the moron who flipped off the mayor first.

And people wonder why in Louisiana, over 9% of the New Orleans Police Dept. has resigned since 2020, their call response time has gone up to 2.5 hours, and over 2% of paid police activities involving 29 officers is under investigation for payroll irregularities, or potentially stealing from the taxpayer, in other words.

Los Angeles: Homeless Concert in the Park?

Of course, Los Angeles has now resorted to piping in classical music to defeat homelessness in Los Angeles, using weapons-grade Mozart to deter criminals modestly trying to enjoy a bowl of crack on a subway platform. And before you say “That sounds crazy,” just realize they’ve been doing the same thing in Central Florida. It’s really a sad situation when you have to go to a 7 Eleven in Pine Hills to hear the symphony, if you don’t get shot, then shot again by the same person later on that day when covering the initial shooting on the news.

KIA Reminds It Is Not Legally Responsible for Giant Increase in Car Thefts

KIA released a long statement saying that they would work to alleviate the problem by slowly rolling out a software update to enhance the existing security mechanisms and prevent theft by the popularized method. 

As for recalls, KIA had this to say:

“Because there is no defect in the security features in any of these vehicles and because all Kia vehicles, including these models, comply fully with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, a recall is neither appropriate nor necessary under federal law. “

And legally, they’re in the right. It’s the left that expects them to retrofit their product with technology to keep the savages at bay. Basically, big “woke” American cities have a crime problem, and they refuse to deal with the real cause. 

And that’s the elephant in the room that no one dares address. 

The Cult of “Woke” Rears Its Ugly Head, Even at KIA Dealerships

However, KIA and Hyundai are not immune from “woke” themselves. Many of the people who work at their dealerships often do not know what is going on or which models are affected, as I experienced myself when I visited a dealership in person in Florida. 

But it wasn’t a lack of diversity that seemed to be the problem. No, there was plenty of that, alright. As of 2023, if these companies are really doing a software rollout, it’s not on my car’s CarFax, which usually lets you know about official recalls. And when I asked if there was anything the staff member could do to help, they just said to look for a recall.

Clearly, that’s not a solution, but it is an easy out for an employee with red-dyed colored hair, whom, were I a leftist and the world a fair place, I could accuse of cultural appropriation, but I don’t have protected, capitalized adjectives, so I digress for now. The employee was clearly successful at getting me out the door, which is usually the “woke” employee’s first recourse to any customer issue. Anyone who’s used Airbnb lately knows that much.

At any rate, KIA is slow-playing this software update to minimize as many costs as possible, or they just aren’t that interested.

KIA’s Shoddy Workmanship and Made-in-Mexico Factories Known to Produce Common Defects

I’m definitely not saying these car manufacturers couldn’t have done better. As of right now, my car, which was designed in Korea but manufactured in Mexico, is still missing its rear radio antenna cover, which popped off in a car wash. Imagine my surprise when I researched the topic of this happening to KIAs, and then the next week I saw two more KIAs with their antenna covers missing as well. I wasn’t in all that big of a town either.

And that was just the icing on the cake for the experience of making a car purchase with Carvana, who are about to go bankrupt as a company and have their own flaws.

Conclusion: America Doesn’t Have a Korean Car Problem

Certainly, we can all do better. But to put the blame squarely on the shoulders of some Koreans because America can’t get its little “woke” problem under control.

The truth remains. No one is forcing these “teens” as the news conspicuously calls them instead of drawing more pertinent conclusions, to break open a car, destroy it, steal it, and then run it into a retail storefront.

It isn’t justified. It isn’t responsible. It isn’t functional. It isn’t viable.

But it is “woke af.”

And with all the wokeness, all the forced inclusion, the lack of accountability and responsibility and an observable shift in values from hard work and meritocracy to what we have today, Atlas eventually will shrug.

Frequently Asked Questions – KIA and Hyundai Thefts On the Rise