Hyundai And Kia's Fix For The Viral TikTok Car Theft Hack Is Software And Stickers

If you've been around for any length of time and you've observed the rise of social media, you'll know that sometimes things can get weird. Some of the strangest things to come from social media have been viral challenges and trends. Some, like the "ice bucket challenge," were born out of good intentions, while others, like "planking," were just really awkward attempts to be funny, and others still were born out of pure malice. One of the latest car-related TikTok trends that takes advantage of a design flaw in certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles is certainly born out of malice rather than harmless fun. 

The #kiaboyz hashtag that exploded in popularity on TikTok in 2022, receiving over 33 million views, started as a group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, breaking into Kia and Hyundai vehicles and using the male end of a USB Type-A cable or flash drive to start and steal the car. It has since spread, and owners are reporting thefts happening in Chicago and New York City. In St. Petersburg, Florida, the #kiaboyz trend and its related theft method were responsible for a third of all vehicle thefts in July 2022. Owners of affected vehicles are certainly concerned, and generally speaking, a solution to the problem would be installing additional security measures, like an aftermarket immobilizer, but Hyundai is now aiming to assist owners free of charge. 

A class-action lawsuit was filed against Hyundai and Kia regarding the vulnerability, and although the auto-maker denies any fault, it now includes immobilizers as standard, and it is issuing software updates at service centers to deter vehicle thefts using the #kiaboyz method. In a press release, Hyundai announced that it will address the theft vulnerability with a free software update to affected models released between 2011 and 2022, which include the Elantra, Genesis, Kona, Palisade, Santa Fe, Sonata, Veloster, Venue, and Tuscon on the Hyundai side. 

Kia has not listed which vehicles are included in the program, but the NHTSA advises in its own press release that all owners contact their nearest Hyundai or Kia service center to confirm if they need the update and schedule a visit as soon as possible. The update, which must be applied at a service center, adds functionality that makes it impossible to start the vehicle without unlocking the vehicle with the key fob and inserting the key into the ignition. 

Essentially, the software will do the job of an immobilizer — behavior that many would argue should have been the default from the factory. It also extends the alarm siren to 60 seconds, and service centers will add a sticker to the window to inform would-be thieves that the vehicle has an advanced security system. Both Hyundai and Kia are issuing the updates in a phased manner starting on February 14, 2023.