OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Dec. 15, joined a bipartisan coalition of 36 attorneys general, announced a settlement with Kia America (Kia), Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai), and affiliated entities for selling millions of cars that contained significant security weaknesses, including a lack of industry-standard, anti-theft technology. These security failures made Hyundai and Kia vehicles easy to hotwire and steal, resulting in a surge of car thefts and joyriding across the country that continues to threaten public safety to this day.
The settlement resolves allegations that the companies violated federal motor vehicle safety standards and California’s Unfair Competition Law. Under the proposed settlement, which is pending court review and approval, Hyundai and Kia have agreed to equip all future vehicles sold in the United States with appropriate anti-theft technology and offer ignition cylinder sleeve anti-theft updates, free of charge, to owners or lessees of eligible vehicles. The settlement also requires Hyundai and Kia to pay additional restitution to eligible consumers whose cars are damaged by thieves.
“Today, my office announced a settlement with Kia and Hyundai for failing to equip millions of cars with industry-standard, anti-theft technology,” said Bonta. “This led to an epidemic of car thefts that threatened public safety and disrupted the lives of Californians — and it was illegal. My office stepped in, and as part of our settlement, Hyundai and Kia will install a free security update and further compensate eligible consumers who had their cars damaged by thieves.”
From 2011 to 2022, Kia and Hyundai manufactured and sold cars with easily bypassed ignition locks and without anti-theft devices called engine immobilizers that were a standard feature in almost every other new car manufactured during that period, including the same Hyundai and Kia models sold in Canada and Europe. In Los Angeles, for instance, thefts of Hyundai and Kia cars increased by approximately 85% in 2022 and constituted approximately 20% of stolen cars in Los Angeles in 2022, up from 13% in 2021. In 2024, Hyundai and Kia models were the first, second, and fifth most commonly stolen vehicles nationwide.
Under the settlement, Hyundai and Kia have agreed to:
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Equip all future vehicles sold in the United States with industry-standard, engine immobilizer anti-theft technology;
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Offer free zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protectors to owners or lessees of eligible vehicles, including vehicles that previously were only eligible for the companies’ software updates;
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Provide up to $4.5 million in additional restitution to eligible consumers whose cars are damaged by thieves; and
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Pay $4.5 million to the states to defray the costs of the investigation.
Eligible consumers will be notified by the companies that they will have one year from the date of the notice to make an appointment to have the zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector installed at their local Hyundai or Kia authorized dealerships.
