(CNN) A coalition of attorneys general for 17 states and the District of Columbia on Thursday called for a federal recall of Hyundai and Kia vehicles they say are unsafe and too easy to steal.
Attorneys general requested the recall “after the companies continued to fail to take adequate steps to address the alarming rate of theft of their vehicles,” according to a press release from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the coalition.
In a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the coalition called for a recall of “unsafe” Hyundai and Kia vehicles manufactured between 2011 and 2022, “whose easy-to-bypass ignition switches and lack of immobilizers make them particularly vulnerable to theft.” .
The vehicles in question, Hyundai and Kia models from 2015 to 2019, such as the Hyundai Santa Fe and Tucson as well as the Kia Forte and Sportage, if they are equipped with turnkey ignitions – as opposed to cars where just a button is pressed to start must be stolen – are stolen about twice as often as other vehicles of a similar age. According to the Highway Loss Data Institute, an industry group that tracks insurance statistics, many of these vehicles lack some of the basic anti-theft car technology found in most other vehicles even in those years.
NHTSA responded that this was not the type of thing the agency could request a recall for.
“This particular matter involves intentional criminal conduct within the purview of law enforcement,” the Auto Safety Agency said in a statement. “However, since last year, NHTSA has met repeatedly with Hyundai and Kia to discuss the causes that contribute to theft vulnerability, review the scope of different software and hardware in the affected models, and receive regular updates on the companies’ action plans.”
These models became the subject of a viral social media trend, with thieves filming themselves and others stealing and driving around Hyundai and Kia vehicles. In some parts of the country, the problem got so bad that some insurance companies refused to issue new policies for these Hyundai and Kia models in places where thefts had become very common.
The models in question do not have electronic immobilizers, which rely on a computer chip in the car and another in the key communicating to confirm that the key belongs to that vehicle. Without the right key, an immobilizer should do just that – stop the car from moving.
“Hyundai and Kia have announced that they will initiate voluntary service campaigns to offer software updates for certain vehicles with this starting system vulnerability. Unfortunately, however, this is an inadequate answer to the problem and does not adequately address the safety concerns of vehicle owners and owners,” the letter to NHSTA said.
In a statement on Friday, Hyundai said it was “committed to ensuring the quality and integrity of our products.”
“A subset of Hyundai vehicles on the US road today — mostly ‘base’ or entry-level models — are not equipped with push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices,” Hyundai said. “It is important to clarify that a motor immobilizer is an anti-theft device and that these vehicles fully meet federal anti-theft requirements. Thieves discovered a special method to bypass the vehicles’ security features, and then documented and promoted their exploits on TikTok and other social media channels.”
The automaker went on to say that it has taken “comprehensive measures” to support customers. This measure includes, in part, the standardization of immobilizers for all vehicles from November 2021 and the introduction of a software upgrade to “prevent the method of theft two months ahead of schedule”.
Kia did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The two South Korean automakers have created a software patch to fix the problem, the automakers said. Hyundai and Kia operate as separate companies in the United States, but Hyundai Motor Group owns a large stake in Kia, and various Hyundai and Kia models share much of their engineering.
The patch installs for free on models that require it, with software that requires a real key in the ignition to turn on the vehicle. The software also blocks the vehicle from starting after the doors have been locked with the key fob remote. The vehicle must be unlocked before it can be started.
The software also extends the length of the alarm tone from 30 seconds to a full minute. Hyundai dealers also put window stickers saying the vehicle has anti-theft software.
“The bottom line is that Kia and Hyundai’s failure to incorporate standard safety features into many of their vehicles has put vehicle owners and the public at risk,” Attorney General Bonta said. “We are now asking the federal government to require these companies to correct their mistake through a statewide recall and help us in our continued efforts to protect the public from these unsafe vehicles.”
Recalls are ordered by NHTSA or, more commonly, by automakers to address safety-related deficiencies. The attorney general’s letter alleges that the ease of theft of these Hyundai and Kia vehicles poses a security risk and that the vehicles do not meet federal theft prevention standards.
“Furthermore, thieves drove these vehicles recklessly, speeding and performing wild stunts, causing numerous accidents, at least eight deaths and significant injuries,” the letter reads.
CNN’s Aaron Silverman contributed to this coverage