Kia and Hyundai settlement: See if you qualify for part of the $200 million payout

By Weston Blasi

Some U.S. cities have reported that 60% or more of all their auto theft reports now involve Hyundais or Kias

Hyundai Motor America and Kia America have agreed to a class-action lawsuit settlement worth approximately $200 million after numerous complaints that their cars are overly vulnerable to theft.

The settlement will resolve a lawsuit involving about 9 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles that, in recent months, were broken into due to a lack of anti-theft immobilizers, the settlement release said The surge in break-ins coincided with several viral TikTok videos where users outlined a step-by-step process on how to infiltrate these cars.

Here's a list of all the Hyundai and Kia cars whose owners could participate in the settlement:

The car companies said they will compensate owners "who incurred theft-related vehicle losses or damage in addition to reimbursement for insurance deductibles, increased insurance premiums, and other theft-related losses."

In terms of compensation, owners who experienced a complete loss of their vehicle could be entitled to as much as $6,125 and people who had their car or property inside damaged could receive $3,375.

In addition to compensation, which varies per car owner depending on what theft or damages occurred, Kia also said it will provide security software to all owners in order to stop future break-ins and provide steering wheel locks to customers.

"This agreement is the latest step in a series of important actions, in addition to providing a free security software upgrade and distributing over 65,000 steering wheel locks, that Kia has taken to help customers whose vehicles have been targeted by criminals using methods of theft popularized on social media," Kia said.

The safety software upgrade will be automatically installed at any service or maintenance appointment at your dealership.

Customers whose vehicles are not able to install the new security software will receive an additional reimbursement of $300 to purchase their own anti-theft devices. The car companies did not say which cars are not compatible with their new safety software in its release.

The settlement announcement is another step in the class-action lawsuit, and impacted vehicle owners will be notified in the future regarding further details about their potential payment, a Kia spokesperson told MarketWatch.

The viral social-media trend outlining how to gain access to these cars -- using only a screwdriver and a USB cable -- has been linked to eight deaths, according to a letter written to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 17 state attorneys general last month.

Increases in car thefts involving the affected vehicles spiked this year in cities including Minneapolis, Cleveland, St. Louis, New York, Seattle and Atlanta. As of May, Minneapolis police have received 1,899 Kia and Hyundai theft reports, nearly 18 times the number for the same period in 2022.

Some U.S. cities have reported that 60% or more of their auto theft reports now involve Hyundais or Kias, according to the Associated Press.

"The scope of the problem is only expanding and is exponentially worse than it has been in the past," Brian O'Hara, the police chief of Minneapolis, said about the thefts. "We have some weeks where nearly as many Kias and Hyundais are stolen in a week as had previously been stolen in a year."

-Weston Blasi

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05-19-23 1513ET

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