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Owners of several Kia and Hyundai models will be eligible for free anti-theft hardware upgrades in the new year, following a lawsuit settlement between the automakers and several states, including Minnesota.
Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a settlement with the companies Tuesday, stemming from a lawsuit filed in 2023, in the wake of widespread reported thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles. More than 30 states joined the suit. Ellison said the settlement will help keep the streets safer.
“The individual offenders were caught, were held accountable in our criminal justice system exactly as they should have been,” Ellison said. “But Kia and Hyundai weren’t, even though they had created the conditions that allowed for this criminal behavior to occur.”
That criminal impact was big, according to Twin Cities officials. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said up to 40 percent of stolen vehicles in the city were Kias and Hyundais between 2020 and 2022, with similar statistics across the river in St. Paul.
Several models of Kias and Hyundais sold between 2011 and 2022 did not have hardware that makes cars harder to steal. According to the lawsuit, the companies were selling those models with the anti-theft hardware in other countries and had data to show it was effective, but they sold them without it in the United States.
The thefts were tied to dozens of shootings and robberies and hundreds of crashes in the Twin Cities.
One of those crashes killed 70-year-old Phoua Hang, a St. Paul resident, in 2022. A 15-year-old was charged with stealing a Kia and hitting a car Hang was riding in. Her daughter, Pakou Hang, said the settlement announced Tuesday is good news for safety.
“If she had a choice, my mother would never have left her family,” Hang said. “It’s too late for my mom now, but it’s not too late for those of us still here.”
St. Paul resident Michael Christenson said his Kia has been stolen nine times — most recently on Monday night, just hours before Ellison announced the settlement.
“Every day I park my car, I’m worried, ‘is it going to be there?’” Christenson said.
He said he’s looking forward to the upgrades, and the ease in his worry over his car.
The settlement requires Kia and Hyundai to notify owners of eligible cars in early 2026. They’ll then be able to make an appointment at a local dealership to get the anti-theft hardware installed. Owners whose cars were damaged by thieves are also eligible for restitution.
The companies also agreed to equip all vehicles sold in the future with industry-standard anti-theft technology.
English (US) ·