Hyundai to provide software upgrade for certain vehicles after spike in thefts

(KMOV) -- Certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles have become the most stolen vehicles in St. Louis by far. One possible solution may be on the horizon.

After months of pressure and lawsuits, Hyundai claims to be working on a fix to a defect that allows thieves to steal vehicles without having the keys. The problem is largely with cars made prior to 2020 that don’t have immobilizers. A simple USB drive is all that is needed to start the vehicle.

Car insurance rates have spiked because of the systematic effort by groups of thieves to steal Kia and Hyundai vehicles. Hyundai told News 4 Monday that “this software upgrade will be available in the very near future and will be provided at no cost to customers. We will soon be providing more details regarding the timing and vehicles eligible for this software upgrade.”

Hyundai also tells News 4 Investigates it is providing free steering wheel locks as they are available to law enforcement agencies across the country. We are working to find out if St. Louis-area departments will be getting those.

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