SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council will consider a resolution that would urge a recall of two carmakers' vehicles that have been involved in a stunning number of thefts.
Councilmember Lisa Herbold's resolution would call on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall certain Hyundai and Kia models more susceptible to thefts. Some vehicles made between 2011 and 2021 lack immobilizer technology, allowing them to be very easily stolen.
Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison first filed a lawsuit against the two companies in January, alleging their failures to install anti-theft technology in some vehicles contributed to an exponential rise in thefts.
A city release said thefts of Kia and Hyundai cars increased by 363% and 503% from 2021 to 2022, respectively. The lawsuit alleged Kia and Hyundai knew of the public safety concerns from the spike in thefts of their vehicles and neither company took meaningful steps to address the problem.
Some of Seattle's most frequented auto body and repair shops told KING 5 in October they are getting slammed with Hyundais and Kias hit by thieves.
Comprehensive car insurance coverage protects against damage to a car, not caused by a crash, and is not the owner's fault. A car being stolen falls into that category. A TikTok Challenge has been blamed for the increase in thefts.
The challenge shows how easy it is to steal the cars. Videos on social media have shown how people can start these cars with a screwdriver and a USB cord.
As for what the car companies are doing to respond to the steep rise in thefts? Hyundai announced it would hold five free clinics across the country to provide anti-theft software upgrades. None of the clinics were held in the Pacific Northwest, however.
Kia said it would offer free software upgrades on most of the affected vehicles, but Councilmember Herbold said there are still some owners whose cars are not eligible.
"Not all vehicles are sort of compatible with the software fix that they're promoting," Herbold said during a virtual press conference Monday. "There are, you know, tens, hundreds of thousands of vehicles that are still out there that that fix won't work."
If passed, Herbold said Seattle would join cities like Baltimore and Philadelphia which have passed similar resolutions.
Herbold said the Council is expected to vote on the resolution during Tuesday's full meeting at 2 p.m.
Herbold shared a graph with media Monday illustrating how many car thefts in Seattle are of Kias and Hyundais.
