politics
December 20, 2025
Kia and Hyundai will spend millions fixing old cars to stop ‘Kia Boyz’ thefts
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TL;DR
- Kia and Hyundai will offer free anti-theft repairs for about nine million cars sold between 2011 and 2022.
- The repairs involve installing a zinc sleeve around the ignition cylinder to prevent "Kia Boyz" thefts.
- The settlement with US states could cost up to $500 million, plus restitution for damaged vehicles.
- Future Kia and Hyundai cars will include engine immobilizers as standard.
- The lack of immobilizers made Kia and Hyundai cars vulnerable to theft methods shared on social media, leading to a spike in thefts and crashes.
- Previous settlements included a $200 million class-action lawsuit payout and a software-based immobilizer rollout.
- The zinc sleeve installation will now be free for millions more vehicles that were previously only offered the software update.
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