After watching a TikTok challenge showing how to easily hot-wire a Kia or a Hyundai vehicle using just a screwdriver and a USB cord, thieves went on a theft spree, pushing up auto theft rates over 700 per cent. This has spurred annoyed owners to ask why this was possible, and MLG Attorneys at Law have launched a class action suit against the OEMs this week in Orange County called Stephanie McQuarrie, et al. v. Kia America, Inc. and Hyundai Motor America.
“It’s time to centralize the fight with Kia and Hyundai,” said Jonathan Michaels, founder of MLG Attorneys at Law. “We filed the class action in federal court in Orange County to bring it to the doorstep of these two massive auto manufacturers.”
The lawsuit alleges that cars manufactured between 2011 and 2021 by Orange County-headquartered car makers Kia and Hyundai were built without engine immobilizers or any anti-theft devices. According to the complaint, “engine immobilizers are critical, yet inexpensive anti-theft devices that prevent cars from being hot-wired, which have been used by virtually every car manufacturer over the last twenty years – except Kia and Hyundai.”
The damage to consumers has been substantial. Chicago reported a 767 percent increase in car thefts in July 2022 compared with the same time-period last year, and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kias and Hyundais now account for nearly 67 percent of all stolen cars.
“The wrath of car thefts is likely to destroy the secondary market for Kias and Hyundais,” says Michaels. “Now that the defect has been so widely publicized, it is unlikely the thefts will stop anytime soon.”
The class action lawsuit seeks monetary damages against the automakers, as well as initiation of a nationwide recall. Further information can be found at www.mlgaplc.com/tiktok
