Hyundai, Kia providing steering wheel locks, software updates as thefts continue

JUNIATA PARK - All those Kia and Hyundai car thefts being reported for months have gotten so out of hand, the car companies are installing software updates.

Home surveillance video shows a person busting out some dance moves. But, Kelly McDade says he’s part of the ploy in stealing her red Kia.

After about a minute, he walks over to McDade’s car, then the lights turn on as he runs off.

"Just like dancing and then he apparently breaks the back of our car window," McDade explained. "And, then him and another kid come back 45 minutes later. My vehicle is gone within three minutes of them gaining entry and my car that we had just purchased – we had just made the first payment on it."

For months, Kias and Hyundais have been targeted by thieves after a "How-To" video was posted on TikTok.

This past Sunday, surveillance video in Fishtown shows a group stealing a Kia Optima. The suspect’s feet are dangling tin the air as he dives in through the back window.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says Kia and Hyundai now have theft deterrent software for millions of vehicles, which extend the length of the alarm sound and requires the key to be in the ignition switch to turn the vehicle on.

McDade comments, "I feel like it’s a little too late."

Kia and Hyundai have been working with law enforcement to provide thousands of steering wheel locks since November, including departments in the region like Jenkintown.

"Hyundai provided us with 48 locks. We’ve given out probably 10 already and we’ve only publicized it about a week ago. So, you can see citizens are really concerned about losing their vehicles," Jenkintown Police Department Chief Tom Scott explained.

Data from the Philadelphia Police Department says less than 50 days into the new year, more than 2,500 auto thefts have been reported.

"Years I’ve been doing this, we never had this many stolen cars in our area," Chief Scott said. "The problem is that it’s such an easy target and it got such mass production on social media, it literally created this epidemic."

Two weeks later, McDade finally managed to get into a rental. Her Kia was found the morning after it was stolen, the back window punched out and damage everywhere. "Not even three miles from our house. Crashed and left in a laundromat parking lot."