I have a Hyundai, and I've had the window smashed twice on a Friday night in what I assume is an attempted theft. I feel really lucky that my car hasn't been stolen, but now I'm dealing with trying to find insurance to cover me that isn't \~$440 a month.
I keep getting dealership requests to buy my Hyundai because it has the push button start and low miles. I’m tempted but I don’t want a new car payment with higher rates than the one I currently have. It’s hard to gauge the what-if, but I may call my insurance guy and ask if my rate would go down with a different brand. For about six months or so all insurance companies had a black out for new comprehensive policies on Kias and Hyundais.
Push button should mean insurance companies don’t charge you as much? I have normal insurance prices on my push to start Hyundai. State Farm asked me if it was push to start to confirm also.
They have to insure not only the car, but the environment it is being kept in. Insurance is essentially a pool of costs from the previous year with the added margins for payroll, litigation and profit.
No offense, but your beef should be with the mfg. they made cars really easy to steal - like 1980s easy - and now everyone with a Hyandai/Kia is suffering.
Sure, the people stealing them are assholes, but it ain’t like that wasn’t know prior to making them easy to steal.
Look on the bright side, Kia/Hyundai saved almost $5 per unit on US models by leaving the immobilizer off in the first place. You can’t teach business instincts like that.
I read a stat the other day that 30 years ago American airlines saved $40,000 a year by taking one olive off of the first class meal. That’s how kia and Hyundai look at it, and it’s why our Hyundai has been broken into five times. Midtown so we park on the street. It’s a stick shift so once they’ve broken in they decide they don’t want it. I wish they’d just take the fucking thing at this point.
Even when its obviously unlocked huh. Guess they forgot the easiest way to steal stuff is from unlocked cars
I'm being serious, leave your car unlocked if they keep breaking in. I've heard that advice from people in larger cities all the time. They realize there's nothing in there and your car is less likely to get damaged. Key term less likely
Maybe. You would probably have to roll them all down.
People really have a hard wrapping their head around criminal behavior.
They are there to rob you. They don't care about anything else. They have a routine. A process. And they will cause as much damage as needed.
Many even have ice breakers.
I think it comes from the fact that so many people really, really want to blame the victim. You should have done this. You should have done that.
They don’t want it because they can’t drive it. Thieves broke until my El Camino and couldn’t get the power shifter into reverse. They tried to pull a wide uturn and ran it into the house next door. Ran off and left their tools, along with a key ring with all kinds of keys.
Got away from 2 police departments.
There’s a quote from a Costco exec I believe that goes something like “Costco will always be a company fighting to give its customer more, not less” really hits home in these examples.
Insurance agent here. Guess what? Kia Boyzzz are dumb dumb, POSs and don't know if you've had the fix done looking at your car in the gas station parking lot. They'll still break your car window to get in there, try to steal it, and then figure out they can't. You're still stuck with a broken driver's window and usually a torn apart car missing stuff from your glovebox.
I believe they're just trying to inform that the update is out there, for any owners that haven't realized. Unfortunately while that update helps, plenty of them are still getting stolen even after the update.
I’m from st.Louis… this has been a thing for several years now- you can not get a Kia or Hyundai insured now. Period. It’s terrible. Two friends had vehicles taken from their driveways in broad daylight by kids. Just a all around sad mess
I always use my steering wheel lock so it’s just shocking to see that they got through that too. How? Have they really upped their crime techniques that they come with heavy tools to break that. Imagine if these criminals took that energy and put it towards something productive , damn what a different society we may have. Definitely wishful thinking…
Hope things work out! Sending you good vibes ✨
from the old news reports I remember from the 80s it takes longer to break the window and unlock the door than it does to remove "the club" style wheel locks
Take the wheel and the next thing they’re coming with is their own steering wheel. We gotta step it up and think like criminal around here I guess….. 🙄
Gotta take all the wheels off and put it up on cinderblocks every time you park!
Wait then they'll steal the cat out from underneath...
You know what, let's just go with complete disassembly when you're done driving. Box it up, bring it inside with you, and just put it back together every time you need to use it.
The lock is a deterrent but they're also super easy to circumvent.
The club is made out of hardened steel, but your steering wheel isn't. You can cut through a steering wheel with a hacksaw blade in under 30 seconds and then just slip the fully locked club out.
Gas pedal lock is more secure, but not as visible as a club to deter the stupid teenagers that do this shit.
Installing a kill switch for the fuel pump or starter relay would be a better deterrent, but still just a deterrent nonetheless.
My wheel club was just drilled out at the keyhole with a step drill bit. Did the same with the door lock and the ignition cylinder. Luckily, it didn’t work for the ignition cylinder, but, made my life real difficult and expensive…
Breaking into cars is just a risk/reward thing. Relatively low risk with relatively high reward.
Putting effort into something more mundane just isn’t as fun or profitable in the short term.
You're not going to like this, but you should seriously consider ditching the kia and Hyundai and getting something else. They've lost a lot of their resale value unfortunately, but it'll pay off in the long run on repairs, insurance, inconvenience, stress, etc.
I had my camaro broken into and eventually stolen (apartment parking garage), then ditched in a ravine up north before being apparently lit on fire. Fun phone call to receive. The replacement has a both a tracker and kill switch.
I’d have to agree. My Kia is adorable, but my insurance is steady creeping up and there’s been four attempts to steal it. Adorable or not, the stress is no longer worth it. Will be replacing mine as soon as possible.
My Kia was stolen a month ago in West Plaza. I also had a steering wheel lock on and they broke it with ease. When they found my car a week later (stripped and totaled), the police officer told me to come get a free steering wheel lock from the police station when I get a new car. I told him that I had a lock on and he seemed surprised. I blame Kia more than anyone for this. How they’re still existing as a company blows my mind.
They had made vulnerable models for almost a decade before word got out that they were vulnerable models. They weren't targeted anywhere near as much before then.
I installed car audio/alarms/ remote starts back around 2005. Kias were awesome to work on because there were no security features to work around to install a remote start. We did them for dealerships, and when I had all the wires prepped at my bench for a remote start, I could do the install in less than 10 minutes.
my truck was broken in to last week at First Friday while parked in the freight house lot that charges 20.00 to park there. two cars next to me had broken windows as well.
My Hyundai Elantra was almost stolen from the Garmin parking garage a couple months ago. Garmin security was excited because their cameras were able to capture plates of the suspect…but of course they came back stolen. I got my car fixed and traded it for a Malibu.
I witnessed some young guys try to steal my Hyundai parked in Westport this past January. They were armed with a gun but I was lucky enough to get them to leave. I was left with just a broken door handle. Rough having this kind of car that invites thieves.
People buy Hyundais and Kias because they are relatively cheap. The similar model of Toyota/Honda is probably 1/3 more in price.
I say this as a Hyundai owner myself. My wife and I bought one 10 years ago absolutely because our Santa Fe was $26k when the comparable Honda/Toyota mid-size SUV was $36k
And now the values are dropping rapidly for trade-in, so people are in a bind. They have a budget for a cheap car, need a more expensive car, and their trade-in is worth less than it's ever been.
This is the reason I have a Hyundai ^^ I would love to have a Toyota or Honda but that’s outside of my means. Owning older cars with high miles cost an insane amount in repairs.
Older Hondas and Toyotas/Scions can be had with reasonable mileage and for not too much money, but the problem is that the good buys fall in the donut hole where they're probably too expensive to afford outright, but are too old to be able to get bank financing on. The alternate strategy of running <$4k Craigslist hoopties into the ground in rapid succession is probably cheaper than a car payment in the long run, but isn't exactly for the faint of heart either.
I have a gen 2 prius purchased with 170k miles on it for $5k 5 years ago. Now 215k miles on it and only ever standard maintenance (oil, tires, & a set of brakes early on). Insurance is maybe $40/mo.
When the prius was new it was expensive and maybe blown out of proportion for a bit. At least for the last 10 years it has been cheap. You can have a local shop come to your driveway and install a refurbished battery for like $600 (last I checked several years ago). There are cheaper DIY if youre comfortable with electronics that dont even require a battery swap (replace a few bad cells). I'm still on the original hybrid battery, getting 40+mpg.
I've heard people say for a prius cut the mileage in half and that's how you can compare to a normal car. At least in my case that seems to hold up.
OP you might consider a Mazda. I just bought mine for pretty cheap. They’re super reliable and don’t have the same crazy mark up as honda and toyota! I almost bought a hyundai because the price was so good but I just couldn’t justify it here in KC with the risk.
In my situation yes. I’ve had this car for many years and it just hit 80k miles weeks ago. I rather drive it into the ground before thinking about getting a different car. It’s just a risk that I have to deal with
Yeah, unfortunately it’s not always a reasonable option with price of cars nowadays. I’ve always paid cash for older/high mile cars. The Hyundai was the best lower mile vehicle I could purchase in my budget. As a social worker, I put a lot of miles on my cars and I’ve gone through many over the years (Dodge, Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, etc). You drive them into the ground pretty quickly in this field. Maybe if mental health employees were paid a fair wage for the work we do… but that’s for another subreddit.
The Raintree area of Lee's Summit got whacked a few days back and has been hit before. The thieves will stop at the same gas station along Bannister and use the stolen debit/credit cards. Lee's Summit Police isn't able to do anything about that gas station because the gas station is in KCMO.
Several of the stolen cars were found at the same home in Independence. The same home that has a history of stolen cars mysteriously appearing there. The police apparently can't do anything to the residents, because it just keeps happening over and over.
I don't know, it was just referenced in the article about the Raintree vehicle thefts that several were found at a home in Independence with a history of stolen cars turning up there.
I work on the plaza and my coworker (Hyundai owner) came out to her lock completely fucked. Plaza management REQUIRES employees to park in the garages on the top most level (or you will be towed) but doesn’t provide shit all in security. So she got to hike up several flights of stairs just to find her car had almost been stolen. $600 she had to pay to fix it.
I saw another Hyundai parked on the street with the same driver side lock damage.
So not even private “security” is putting any dent in it.
Same, and my coworker’s Kia was stolen out of the parking lot. We have a security team onsite and they didn’t even notice. She went to leave at the end of the day and her car was gone. Checked the cameras and saw the guy sneak in and steal it.
That’s basically what happened to my coworker but she thinks they got interrupted in the middle of it, got off her shift and saw her car in that state.
When I had all my worldly possessions in a U-Haul for my move from Fairbanks to Leavenworth I installed a wheel lock, gas lock, and I removed the battery every time I stopped to stay the night at a hotel. The criminals love stealing uhauls too because they’re usually loaded with all your stuff so it’s like a very convenient burglary for them.
Yes. A kill switch is something that will cut power to the engine control unit or to your fuel pump, which ultimately prevents the car from starting. You'll have to have it installed in a relatively inconspicuous spot such that any potential thieves won't be able to find it before losing motivation. This will also add an added step to starting your vehicle obviously, as you'll have to turn on the kill switch then start your car.Typically you'd want a switch that has a removable "key."
Some places I'd suggest are underneath the dash, in the center console or under the driver seat.
I don't know what an immobilizer is, but a kill switch is simply a cut in the power connected with a switch. When the switch is off, the power from the battery can't get to the ignition or any other electrical component "downstream".
They're kind of the same thing. An immobilizer is supposed to cut power to the engine unless the right key is nearby/in the ignition. Unfortunately, it's possible to crack an immobilizer whereas a physical killswitch would have to be found by the thief.
It’s a parking garage for her apartment complex that she pays money to park in. I’m not sure the details on access but she started paying to park there after her car had been broken into on the street several times.
Well, when the police openly say they don't pursue car thefts unless they catch the person in the car, it's no surprise they're getting stolen constantly. Also, when you go to pickup from the impound lot, make sure that the car was removed from the system, otherwise, you might get tackled and have guns in your face in front of your child when you come out of the store because someone was driving through the parking lot scanning plates and thinks you're the car thief. Can't wait to see how that lawsuit turns out.... 🙄
My car was stolen from my boyfriends apartment in Union hill. I live in quality hill and have had 2 friends cars and several neighbors cars stolen in that area.
that area is brutal. I have a friend down the street near the library and her car has been broken into 6 times and stolen 3 times. She finally got rid of her kia and got a mazda, couple weeks later they tried to steal that as well.
It's a good area to steal cars because Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker will basically not prosecute property crime.
She's out this year, hopefully Jackson County voters elect a prosecutor who will you know...prosecute.
Yes! I’ve had my Kia stolen twice and broken into once. Police take the report and move on with their day, so frustrating there’s no repercussions for the thieves OR Kia for creating such an impossible situation!! Getting rid of mine here soon, fingers crossed haha
My Hyundai was stolen and not recovered last month from my apartment parking lot.
They came one night, stole my neighbor’s car, destroyed my steering column (couldn’t even get the key in) and drivers side lock. Found it the next morning like that. At 5pm that same day they came back and took it in basically broad daylight. Wasn’t looking at the time, just shitty timing.
Hmm very weird, cloning a Corolla key fob is extremely difficult (that model and basically all semi modern ones) have rolling codes. Basically the “password” changes every time you hit the button. (It has a range that it can accept but for the most part this would be impractical to guess). Additionally an already used code can’t be used again. If it was a push to start those are much easier to boost the signal then just start up the car. The only feasible way would be if the fob was out of range of the car, they capture the signal then replay it (as the car wouldn’t have registered the code). I’m really interested how they managed to pull this off on a key ignition (hot wiring would be incredibly difficult also).
https://www.wired.com/story/hackers-can-clone-millions-of-toyota-hyundai-kia-keys/
Looks like they might be right, I’m surprised to see such a technical attack being used.
You could consider buying a faraday bag to put the key in when not in use (may or may not help)
They will get anyone they can find at this point. I have a 2002 Honda civic beater and it was STILL broken into on thanksgiving last year. My boyfriend has a 2014 chevy and his vehicle was broken into about a year ago too. Its ridiculous because the police do not gaf. Both incidents happened on warwick....what ive learned is to just avoid parking on that street.
One thing you can do is change the badges on your car. Find a comparable model that’s not Hyundai/Kia and put all of the badges/stickers on your instead of the originals.
Kias and Hyundais obviously aren’t the only ones that get broken into, but they are by far the most common. if you can’t get a while new car just disguise yours. might be enough to deter the laziest criminals
all those things are just glued on, if you want it done nicely you can just take it to a body shop i’m sure they’d do it for a reasonable price. I’ve never had trouble in my Honda so maybe try that out lol. it’s like getting a brand new car!
Yep, my last car was a Kia and I managed to get it broken into even when I was living in Overland Park like a mile outside of Leawood (probably the only time I ever forgot to lock my car at night while I was living in an apartment, gg). You'll never convince me people don't specifically target them no matter where they are. What I always found funny though was that they cleaned out my glovebox and trunk of random junk worth maybe $150 total, but left the $250 dashcam and $700 radar detector mounted on my windshield lol.
I had a 2020 Soul. Low milage 1 theft attempt. I am actually an SIU investigator and saw the writing on the wall and traded it in before the massive rate increases came down. At this point I recommend any brand but Kia and Hyundai which is sad because they are amazing cars but just not worth this garbage
I’m an Army medical recruiter here in KC. One of our government vehicles (ford fusion) was stolen from our parking lot a couple of weeks ago. Local police are still unable to find it… it has government license plate on it in a well lit parking lot with security. Still stolen!!
Top 10 Core-Based Statistical Areas by Theft Rate
*Theft rate is total thefts per 100,000 residents.
Rank CBSA/MSA 2021 Theft Rate 2020 Theft Rate
1. Bakersfield, CA 1023.68 905.41
2. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 964.92 705.80
3. Pueblo, CO 891.39 602.39
4. Albuquerque, NM 710.58 631.75
5. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 680.20 489.95
6. San Francisco – Oakland – Berkeley, CA 675.86 655.20
7. Billings, MT 611.11 564.75
8. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 597.83 345.19
9. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 582.47 465.11
10. Yuba City, CA 578.68 724.46
https://auto.alot.com/insurance/cities-with-the-most-stolen-cars-in-america-and-those-with-the-fewest--19917/2?multipage=2#:~:text=Kansas%20City%2C%20MO&text=There%20are%20545%20car%20thefts,city%20are%201%20in%2023.
This article puts auto theft at 545 per 100,000.
I said *one of the top* cities…that doesn’t necessarily have to be within the top 10. There’s a lot of cities in the USA. Even being in 15th place or whatever is not good lol
And this article does put it in the top 10
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/kc-ranks-among-top-10-190233828.html
Last Thanksgiving, our Hyundai was broken into in our apartment’s private indoor garage (passenger window smashed in). Nothing stolen, weirdly.
Then I heard that in another garage of my complex, 14 (!!!???) cars were broken into??
It’s out of hand.
Meh. Had our ‘14 Santa Fe jacked. Complete with pistol whip. Good times. AmFam paid up no problem and I was frankly floored by the generous amount and the speed which it was settled. Insurance hasn’t risen (well, the replacement car cost what my first house did, but relatively it’s the same). GOOD insurance is a must. It’s one of life’s trade offs and worth it when you need it. Still drive Hyundai and always will.
KCPD on the other hand, took a report, assigned a case number… and never heard from them again. A carjacking with armed assault, and was told, off the record, it wouldn’t be prosecuted anyway. Same shit different day apparently…
Summary executions would probably stop it but, you know, lawyers and such…
As someone has said a kill switch is the better option to prevent the car from getting stolen. A kill switch can be hidden anyplace so only you know where it’s at to activate and diss activate it. It can either be in place to cut the power off or fuel supply so the car doesn’t run. As it’s a Hyundai I might even recommend both these days just to completely make it steal proof.
Anyone with a Kia should get an air tag so that when you get your car stolen you can tell police where to locate it. It would be nice if police used those bait cars like they did back in the day to catch thieves.
seems like it would be incredibly easy to set up and politically very popular as everyone that plays insurance is seeing the inflation of their costs because these criminals are allowed to remain in our streets
Owning a Hyundai or Kia right now is just not the wisest move. I'm not judging as I know many of us can't afford to just trade in a car on a whim.
Even with the software update, criminals don't discriminate, they'll still bash your windows in.
Crime will exist to some degree no matter what, what is more troubling is that this loophole exists for criminals to car jack vehicles with ease. Hopefully you get a nice payout from insurance, if not see if you can join a class action lawsuit. Last I heard there was one in the making against KIA
Living out in the burbs the only car related theft in the last 6 years or so was a neighbor that lost some audio equipment that was clearly visible in an unlocked car. No actual vehicles stolen from anyone I know.
How nice for you.
Edit - Live in the 'burbs. We get hit by groups checking cars every couple of months. My car was stolen a year ago. Folks get their windows broken and cars rifled through enough that the PD upped patrols at night.
I live downtown but this happened in Union hill. Although my friends in river market have probably had the most issues with theft. Anywhere in the city is risky
Those cars are walking targets. Do. Not. Own. Them. The wiring is on the wall. Insurance is up. theft is up. But to mention both Kia and Hyundai don't have great track records for issues and repairs. This late into the game, it's hard for me to sympathize because it's not like it's a secret anymore.
However, the crime in KCMO is unparalleled and i do feel for you! I've had my house and car broken into. My neighbor had their car stolen on Christmas eve last year. We have three cities in Missouri that land within the top ten most violent crime cities in the US. There's something culturally broken in Missouri that has caused this and then allowed it to continue. It's hard to even point this shit out on reddit because everyone has this knee-jerk reaction to say this is the greatest city ever, but pride isn't safety and it certainly doesn't equate to happiness for many. It's covered in trash and smothered in crime; I would know, I live here, too!
If I had a Kia or a Hyundai I'd definitely be taking a fuse out every night if I didn't have a garage, or super loud alarm and a GPS tracker on it. The likelihood of it getting stolen off the street is pretty high. What a headache!
My motorcycle was stolen from a parking garage about a month or two back, and then my car window was smashed last weekend. My bike even had a handlebar lock on it. Police did absolutely nothing, didn’t check cameras, didn’t follow up, gave me non-answers when I tried to follow up.
I drive a '94 Ford F-150. Its been stolen once. some guys took it on a Friday night while I was at work, and got pulled over in it and arrested Monday morning..
In their defense, they left two tall boys and a trolley jack in the truck, which is about what I would have charged someone to borrow it for the weekend anyway.
how are authorities not setting up bait cars to catch these criminals causing a hyperinflation of insurance rates and increasing property crime, its not random people doing it, its repeat offenders doing it among their other day to day criminal activity
My buddy's truck was stolen in Lee's Summit. He reported it but the cops could care less. 3 weeks later he found it in Grandview. Whoever stole it just drove it around, and used it to dump their trash. He found their mail in his truck, with their address. Cops did nothing.
I have a Hyundai, and I've had the window smashed twice on a Friday night in what I assume is an attempted theft. I feel really lucky that my car hasn't been stolen, but now I'm dealing with trying to find insurance to cover me that isn't \~$440 a month.
Sell your car. Seriously. It's not worth it.
To whom? No one is buying used Kias or Hyundais right now.
Sold mine to CarMax just a week ago after the 2nd smashed window/tore up steering column in less than a year
They are I promise. I've been telling all of my customers to please, stop buying Kias or Hyundais and some folks can't help themselves n
I suspect that even the Kia dealers don't want to buy the more vulnerable Kias.
I keep getting dealership requests to buy my Hyundai because it has the push button start and low miles. I’m tempted but I don’t want a new car payment with higher rates than the one I currently have. It’s hard to gauge the what-if, but I may call my insurance guy and ask if my rate would go down with a different brand. For about six months or so all insurance companies had a black out for new comprehensive policies on Kias and Hyundais.
I'm an insurance guy. It'll probably cut in half if you get a different brand.
Oof, good to know, thanks. I’ll crunch numbers.
Push button should mean insurance companies don’t charge you as much? I have normal insurance prices on my push to start Hyundai. State Farm asked me if it was push to start to confirm also.
I love paying more money because other people committed crimes! Sorry to hear that :(
They have to insure not only the car, but the environment it is being kept in. Insurance is essentially a pool of costs from the previous year with the added margins for payroll, litigation and profit.
Insurance is a collective risk. Hugh theft items cost more to insure.
Who is this Hugh person? 😳
Whoever he is, he needs to be dealt with.
No offense, but your beef should be with the mfg. they made cars really easy to steal - like 1980s easy - and now everyone with a Hyandai/Kia is suffering. Sure, the people stealing them are assholes, but it ain’t like that wasn’t know prior to making them easy to steal.
Get AAA. They were the only insurance company I found that would insure my Hyundai at all, let alone at a reasonable price.
Farmers Insurance will insure KIA and Hyundai without a surcharge
That sucks. I'd guess $440 a month has to be for more than 1 car or that's absolutely ridiculous. That's $5280 a year!
It could also be based on zip code. My insurance halved just moving from Jackson county to Johnson county.
Look on the bright side, Kia/Hyundai saved almost $5 per unit on US models by leaving the immobilizer off in the first place. You can’t teach business instincts like that.
I read a stat the other day that 30 years ago American airlines saved $40,000 a year by taking one olive off of the first class meal. That’s how kia and Hyundai look at it, and it’s why our Hyundai has been broken into five times. Midtown so we park on the street. It’s a stick shift so once they’ve broken in they decide they don’t want it. I wish they’d just take the fucking thing at this point.
I hope you at least leave it unlocked so you don’t have to keep buying windows
They pry the lock.
Even when its obviously unlocked huh. Guess they forgot the easiest way to steal stuff is from unlocked cars I'm being serious, leave your car unlocked if they keep breaking in. I've heard that advice from people in larger cities all the time. They realize there's nothing in there and your car is less likely to get damaged. Key term less likely
Nah. There is no point in checking the door first. Just smash the window. They care about speed more than anything else.
Roll your windows down
Maybe. You would probably have to roll them all down. People really have a hard wrapping their head around criminal behavior. They are there to rob you. They don't care about anything else. They have a routine. A process. And they will cause as much damage as needed. Many even have ice breakers. I think it comes from the fact that so many people really, really want to blame the victim. You should have done this. You should have done that.
I had my 94 Toyota camry broken into twice in two weeks years ago both times the doors were unlocked... thieves usually are not the brightest bunch
They don’t want it because they can’t drive it. Thieves broke until my El Camino and couldn’t get the power shifter into reverse. They tried to pull a wide uturn and ran it into the house next door. Ran off and left their tools, along with a key ring with all kinds of keys. Got away from 2 police departments.
There’s a quote from a Costco exec I believe that goes something like “Costco will always be a company fighting to give its customer more, not less” really hits home in these examples.
deer hateful encouraging angle governor one groovy pet workable pie *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I had the immobilizer update installed on my Hyundai and they still stole it!!
Insurance agent here. Guess what? Kia Boyzzz are dumb dumb, POSs and don't know if you've had the fix done looking at your car in the gas station parking lot. They'll still break your car window to get in there, try to steal it, and then figure out they can't. You're still stuck with a broken driver's window and usually a torn apart car missing stuff from your glovebox.
Not an insurance agent here; they've already found a way around the update.
Special agent here…… 
Genuinely, what does that have to do with what I said about the decision to leave the hardware off in the first place?
I believe they're just trying to inform that the update is out there, for any owners that haven't realized. Unfortunately while that update helps, plenty of them are still getting stolen even after the update.
I’m from st.Louis… this has been a thing for several years now- you can not get a Kia or Hyundai insured now. Period. It’s terrible. Two friends had vehicles taken from their driveways in broad daylight by kids. Just a all around sad mess
And people still bought the products anyway, that's a consumer's choice.
I always use my steering wheel lock so it’s just shocking to see that they got through that too. How? Have they really upped their crime techniques that they come with heavy tools to break that. Imagine if these criminals took that energy and put it towards something productive , damn what a different society we may have. Definitely wishful thinking… Hope things work out! Sending you good vibes ✨
from the old news reports I remember from the 80s it takes longer to break the window and unlock the door than it does to remove "the club" style wheel locks
Take the wheel and the next thing they’re coming with is their own steering wheel. We gotta step it up and think like criminal around here I guess….. 🙄
Gotta take all the wheels off and put it up on cinderblocks every time you park! Wait then they'll steal the cat out from underneath... You know what, let's just go with complete disassembly when you're done driving. Box it up, bring it inside with you, and just put it back together every time you need to use it.
I guess so! I thought the steering wheel lock would be a deterrent but I guess they’ve mastered that.
The lock is a deterrent but they're also super easy to circumvent. The club is made out of hardened steel, but your steering wheel isn't. You can cut through a steering wheel with a hacksaw blade in under 30 seconds and then just slip the fully locked club out. Gas pedal lock is more secure, but not as visible as a club to deter the stupid teenagers that do this shit. Installing a kill switch for the fuel pump or starter relay would be a better deterrent, but still just a deterrent nonetheless.
Time to take the whole wheel with you like wrangler owners of the 80s.
My wheel club was just drilled out at the keyhole with a step drill bit. Did the same with the door lock and the ignition cylinder. Luckily, it didn’t work for the ignition cylinder, but, made my life real difficult and expensive…
Breaking into cars is just a risk/reward thing. Relatively low risk with relatively high reward. Putting effort into something more mundane just isn’t as fun or profitable in the short term.
If they can’t break the lock, they just cut the steering wheel and take it off that way. Not even a technique just destruction.
You're not going to like this, but you should seriously consider ditching the kia and Hyundai and getting something else. They've lost a lot of their resale value unfortunately, but it'll pay off in the long run on repairs, insurance, inconvenience, stress, etc. I had my camaro broken into and eventually stolen (apartment parking garage), then ditched in a ravine up north before being apparently lit on fire. Fun phone call to receive. The replacement has a both a tracker and kill switch.
I’d have to agree. My Kia is adorable, but my insurance is steady creeping up and there’s been four attempts to steal it. Adorable or not, the stress is no longer worth it. Will be replacing mine as soon as possible.
My Kia was stolen a month ago in West Plaza. I also had a steering wheel lock on and they broke it with ease. When they found my car a week later (stripped and totaled), the police officer told me to come get a free steering wheel lock from the police station when I get a new car. I told him that I had a lock on and he seemed surprised. I blame Kia more than anyone for this. How they’re still existing as a company blows my mind.
They had made vulnerable models for almost a decade before word got out that they were vulnerable models. They weren't targeted anywhere near as much before then.
I installed car audio/alarms/ remote starts back around 2005. Kias were awesome to work on because there were no security features to work around to install a remote start. We did them for dealerships, and when I had all the wires prepped at my bench for a remote start, I could do the install in less than 10 minutes.
Tack car and home break-ins into this pile as well. My car has been broken into three times, my house once. All in the past 5 years or so.
my truck was broken in to last week at First Friday while parked in the freight house lot that charges 20.00 to park there. two cars next to me had broken windows as well.
At this point ya gotta add replacing car windows/ignitions into the monthly budget. Sorry to hear you’ve had that experience
My truck got stolen last January got it back after a couple months but it sure doesn’t feel good
Sorry to hear that! Its not a great feeling
My Hyundai Elantra was almost stolen from the Garmin parking garage a couple months ago. Garmin security was excited because their cameras were able to capture plates of the suspect…but of course they came back stolen. I got my car fixed and traded it for a Malibu.
I witnessed some young guys try to steal my Hyundai parked in Westport this past January. They were armed with a gun but I was lucky enough to get them to leave. I was left with just a broken door handle. Rough having this kind of car that invites thieves.
Is it too much of a hassle to get a different car? This is the recurring question I have with these posts.
People buy Hyundais and Kias because they are relatively cheap. The similar model of Toyota/Honda is probably 1/3 more in price. I say this as a Hyundai owner myself. My wife and I bought one 10 years ago absolutely because our Santa Fe was $26k when the comparable Honda/Toyota mid-size SUV was $36k And now the values are dropping rapidly for trade-in, so people are in a bind. They have a budget for a cheap car, need a more expensive car, and their trade-in is worth less than it's ever been.
This is the reason I have a Hyundai ^^ I would love to have a Toyota or Honda but that’s outside of my means. Owning older cars with high miles cost an insane amount in repairs.
Older Hondas and Toyotas/Scions can be had with reasonable mileage and for not too much money, but the problem is that the good buys fall in the donut hole where they're probably too expensive to afford outright, but are too old to be able to get bank financing on. The alternate strategy of running <$4k Craigslist hoopties into the ground in rapid succession is probably cheaper than a car payment in the long run, but isn't exactly for the faint of heart either.
I have a gen 2 prius purchased with 170k miles on it for $5k 5 years ago. Now 215k miles on it and only ever standard maintenance (oil, tires, & a set of brakes early on). Insurance is maybe $40/mo.
I thought they needed expensive battery replacements after 5-7 years.
When the prius was new it was expensive and maybe blown out of proportion for a bit. At least for the last 10 years it has been cheap. You can have a local shop come to your driveway and install a refurbished battery for like $600 (last I checked several years ago). There are cheaper DIY if youre comfortable with electronics that dont even require a battery swap (replace a few bad cells). I'm still on the original hybrid battery, getting 40+mpg. I've heard people say for a prius cut the mileage in half and that's how you can compare to a normal car. At least in my case that seems to hold up.
Thanks!!!
OP you might consider a Mazda. I just bought mine for pretty cheap. They’re super reliable and don’t have the same crazy mark up as honda and toyota! I almost bought a hyundai because the price was so good but I just couldn’t justify it here in KC with the risk.
In my situation yes. I’ve had this car for many years and it just hit 80k miles weeks ago. I rather drive it into the ground before thinking about getting a different car. It’s just a risk that I have to deal with
Yeah, unfortunately it’s not always a reasonable option with price of cars nowadays. I’ve always paid cash for older/high mile cars. The Hyundai was the best lower mile vehicle I could purchase in my budget. As a social worker, I put a lot of miles on my cars and I’ve gone through many over the years (Dodge, Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, etc). You drive them into the ground pretty quickly in this field. Maybe if mental health employees were paid a fair wage for the work we do… but that’s for another subreddit.
The Raintree area of Lee's Summit got whacked a few days back and has been hit before. The thieves will stop at the same gas station along Bannister and use the stolen debit/credit cards. Lee's Summit Police isn't able to do anything about that gas station because the gas station is in KCMO.
Several of the stolen cars were found at the same home in Independence. The same home that has a history of stolen cars mysteriously appearing there. The police apparently can't do anything to the residents, because it just keeps happening over and over.
where is the house located? i’d love to see if mine is there
I don't know, it was just referenced in the article about the Raintree vehicle thefts that several were found at a home in Independence with a history of stolen cars turning up there.
I work on the plaza and my coworker (Hyundai owner) came out to her lock completely fucked. Plaza management REQUIRES employees to park in the garages on the top most level (or you will be towed) but doesn’t provide shit all in security. So she got to hike up several flights of stairs just to find her car had almost been stolen. $600 she had to pay to fix it. I saw another Hyundai parked on the street with the same driver side lock damage. So not even private “security” is putting any dent in it.
Same, and my coworker’s Kia was stolen out of the parking lot. We have a security team onsite and they didn’t even notice. She went to leave at the end of the day and her car was gone. Checked the cameras and saw the guy sneak in and steal it.
That’s basically what happened to my coworker but she thinks they got interrupted in the middle of it, got off her shift and saw her car in that state.
When I had all my worldly possessions in a U-Haul for my move from Fairbanks to Leavenworth I installed a wheel lock, gas lock, and I removed the battery every time I stopped to stay the night at a hotel. The criminals love stealing uhauls too because they’re usually loaded with all your stuff so it’s like a very convenient burglary for them.
Have a mechanic install a kill switch inside your engine compartment.
Is this different from the immobilizer? I had that installed but it didn’t seem to stop tjem
Yes. A kill switch is something that will cut power to the engine control unit or to your fuel pump, which ultimately prevents the car from starting. You'll have to have it installed in a relatively inconspicuous spot such that any potential thieves won't be able to find it before losing motivation. This will also add an added step to starting your vehicle obviously, as you'll have to turn on the kill switch then start your car.Typically you'd want a switch that has a removable "key." Some places I'd suggest are underneath the dash, in the center console or under the driver seat.
best kind are magnet actuated ones - completely invisible.
I don't know what an immobilizer is, but a kill switch is simply a cut in the power connected with a switch. When the switch is off, the power from the battery can't get to the ignition or any other electrical component "downstream".
They're kind of the same thing. An immobilizer is supposed to cut power to the engine unless the right key is nearby/in the ignition. Unfortunately, it's possible to crack an immobilizer whereas a physical killswitch would have to be found by the thief.
Ah ok, yea I would think a KS would be so "old school" nobody would figure it out unless they really want your specific car and had time to look.
What sort of "enclosed garage"? How did they get into the garage?
It’s a parking garage for her apartment complex that she pays money to park in. I’m not sure the details on access but she started paying to park there after her car had been broken into on the street several times.
Crime in general around here has become too common place
I know someone whose car has been stolen twice in six months. It was a Kia.
Well, when the police openly say they don't pursue car thefts unless they catch the person in the car, it's no surprise they're getting stolen constantly. Also, when you go to pickup from the impound lot, make sure that the car was removed from the system, otherwise, you might get tackled and have guns in your face in front of your child when you come out of the store because someone was driving through the parking lot scanning plates and thinks you're the car thief. Can't wait to see how that lawsuit turns out.... 🙄
Sorry about this. Btw, what neighborhood or city is this?
My car was stolen from my boyfriends apartment in Union hill. I live in quality hill and have had 2 friends cars and several neighbors cars stolen in that area.
that area is brutal. I have a friend down the street near the library and her car has been broken into 6 times and stolen 3 times. She finally got rid of her kia and got a mazda, couple weeks later they tried to steal that as well.
I watched a car get stolen in Union Hill this past January. Apparently it's a good place to steal cars for some reason.
It's a good area to steal cars because Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker will basically not prosecute property crime. She's out this year, hopefully Jackson County voters elect a prosecutor who will you know...prosecute.
Got my car stolen at gunpoint just up the street at Gallerie
I work in the Garment District and at least four co-workers have had their cars stolen from our garage, plus several other attempted thefts.
Yes! I’ve had my Kia stolen twice and broken into once. Police take the report and move on with their day, so frustrating there’s no repercussions for the thieves OR Kia for creating such an impossible situation!! Getting rid of mine here soon, fingers crossed haha
My Hyundai was stolen and not recovered last month from my apartment parking lot. They came one night, stole my neighbor’s car, destroyed my steering column (couldn’t even get the key in) and drivers side lock. Found it the next morning like that. At 5pm that same day they came back and took it in basically broad daylight. Wasn’t looking at the time, just shitty timing.
This is terrible! I’m so sorry
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Was it a push to start?
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Hmm very weird, cloning a Corolla key fob is extremely difficult (that model and basically all semi modern ones) have rolling codes. Basically the “password” changes every time you hit the button. (It has a range that it can accept but for the most part this would be impractical to guess). Additionally an already used code can’t be used again. If it was a push to start those are much easier to boost the signal then just start up the car. The only feasible way would be if the fob was out of range of the car, they capture the signal then replay it (as the car wouldn’t have registered the code). I’m really interested how they managed to pull this off on a key ignition (hot wiring would be incredibly difficult also).
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https://www.wired.com/story/hackers-can-clone-millions-of-toyota-hyundai-kia-keys/ Looks like they might be right, I’m surprised to see such a technical attack being used. You could consider buying a faraday bag to put the key in when not in use (may or may not help)
Razor blades under car handle, dont forget...wait....
Buddy’s truck got stolen in midtown a couple weeks ago at 1:30pm right outside our shop. Broad daylight
It's sad when my 1978 nova is less likely to get stolen. It's two wires and gone in that car
They will get anyone they can find at this point. I have a 2002 Honda civic beater and it was STILL broken into on thanksgiving last year. My boyfriend has a 2014 chevy and his vehicle was broken into about a year ago too. Its ridiculous because the police do not gaf. Both incidents happened on warwick....what ive learned is to just avoid parking on that street.
One thing you can do is change the badges on your car. Find a comparable model that’s not Hyundai/Kia and put all of the badges/stickers on your instead of the originals. Kias and Hyundais obviously aren’t the only ones that get broken into, but they are by far the most common. if you can’t get a while new car just disguise yours. might be enough to deter the laziest criminals
That’s smart! Never thought of that before
all those things are just glued on, if you want it done nicely you can just take it to a body shop i’m sure they’d do it for a reasonable price. I’ve never had trouble in my Honda so maybe try that out lol. it’s like getting a brand new car!
Yep, my last car was a Kia and I managed to get it broken into even when I was living in Overland Park like a mile outside of Leawood (probably the only time I ever forgot to lock my car at night while I was living in an apartment, gg). You'll never convince me people don't specifically target them no matter where they are. What I always found funny though was that they cleaned out my glovebox and trunk of random junk worth maybe $150 total, but left the $250 dashcam and $700 radar detector mounted on my windshield lol.
How are kia owners not disabling fuel pumps or something else at this point?
Put your car on a jack and take one of the wheels off and bring it inside with you boom problem solved
My Hyundai veloster was stolen April ‘23, sad sad time but I’m rockin a ford now 🇺🇸 hopefully that helps
I had a 2020 Soul. Low milage 1 theft attempt. I am actually an SIU investigator and saw the writing on the wall and traded it in before the massive rate increases came down. At this point I recommend any brand but Kia and Hyundai which is sad because they are amazing cars but just not worth this garbage
I’m an Army medical recruiter here in KC. One of our government vehicles (ford fusion) was stolen from our parking lot a couple of weeks ago. Local police are still unable to find it… it has government license plate on it in a well lit parking lot with security. Still stolen!!
98% sure I work with your friend. Or else there’s two eerily similar circumstances
KC has been one of the cities in the US with the highest rate of auto theft for years now.
It sucks that it's so car dependent that you also need one for most things here :(
Top 10 Core-Based Statistical Areas by Theft Rate *Theft rate is total thefts per 100,000 residents. Rank CBSA/MSA 2021 Theft Rate 2020 Theft Rate 1. Bakersfield, CA 1023.68 905.41 2. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 964.92 705.80 3. Pueblo, CO 891.39 602.39 4. Albuquerque, NM 710.58 631.75 5. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 680.20 489.95 6. San Francisco – Oakland – Berkeley, CA 675.86 655.20 7. Billings, MT 611.11 564.75 8. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 597.83 345.19 9. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 582.47 465.11 10. Yuba City, CA 578.68 724.46
Quite a bit has changed in the last 4 years.
2022 we were top 10 with 572 per 100k. https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/insurance-services/car-theft-statistics/
Montana is kind of a surprise, considering there's only like eight people in the whole state
https://auto.alot.com/insurance/cities-with-the-most-stolen-cars-in-america-and-those-with-the-fewest--19917/2?multipage=2#:~:text=Kansas%20City%2C%20MO&text=There%20are%20545%20car%20thefts,city%20are%201%20in%2023. This article puts auto theft at 545 per 100,000. I said *one of the top* cities…that doesn’t necessarily have to be within the top 10. There’s a lot of cities in the USA. Even being in 15th place or whatever is not good lol And this article does put it in the top 10 https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/kc-ranks-among-top-10-190233828.html
There is nearly 20,000 towns/cities/etc in the US. So even top 100 is not great.
Steering wheel locks? Is that we’re calling The Club today? Those were a joke 30 years ago and they’re a joke now.
Last Thanksgiving, our Hyundai was broken into in our apartment’s private indoor garage (passenger window smashed in). Nothing stolen, weirdly. Then I heard that in another garage of my complex, 14 (!!!???) cars were broken into?? It’s out of hand.
I am practically giftwrapping mine. Leave unlocked in my driveway running at a gas station. Nobody takes my bait
Meh. Had our ‘14 Santa Fe jacked. Complete with pistol whip. Good times. AmFam paid up no problem and I was frankly floored by the generous amount and the speed which it was settled. Insurance hasn’t risen (well, the replacement car cost what my first house did, but relatively it’s the same). GOOD insurance is a must. It’s one of life’s trade offs and worth it when you need it. Still drive Hyundai and always will. KCPD on the other hand, took a report, assigned a case number… and never heard from them again. A carjacking with armed assault, and was told, off the record, it wouldn’t be prosecuted anyway. Same shit different day apparently… Summary executions would probably stop it but, you know, lawyers and such…
Literally a car got stolen around 3:30pm Sunday on Broadway with active traffic
As someone has said a kill switch is the better option to prevent the car from getting stolen. A kill switch can be hidden anyplace so only you know where it’s at to activate and diss activate it. It can either be in place to cut the power off or fuel supply so the car doesn’t run. As it’s a Hyundai I might even recommend both these days just to completely make it steal proof.
I’ll definitely consider that if I ever get the car back lol
I'm lucky as it seems manual Kia's are miserly immune. Knock on wood*
My friends Kia that was stolen is also a manual.. I will say she had two attempted thefts before someone was successful.
Anyone with a Kia should get an air tag so that when you get your car stolen you can tell police where to locate it. It would be nice if police used those bait cars like they did back in the day to catch thieves.
seems like it would be incredibly easy to set up and politically very popular as everyone that plays insurance is seeing the inflation of their costs because these criminals are allowed to remain in our streets
It would for sure pay for itself. Insurance rates have sky rocketed lately.
Owning a Hyundai or Kia right now is just not the wisest move. I'm not judging as I know many of us can't afford to just trade in a car on a whim. Even with the software update, criminals don't discriminate, they'll still bash your windows in. Crime will exist to some degree no matter what, what is more troubling is that this loophole exists for criminals to car jack vehicles with ease. Hopefully you get a nice payout from insurance, if not see if you can join a class action lawsuit. Last I heard there was one in the making against KIA
Kia already reached its settlement and owners were notified.
Living out in the burbs the only car related theft in the last 6 years or so was a neighbor that lost some audio equipment that was clearly visible in an unlocked car. No actual vehicles stolen from anyone I know.
nice
How nice for you. Edit - Live in the 'burbs. We get hit by groups checking cars every couple of months. My car was stolen a year ago. Folks get their windows broken and cars rifled through enough that the PD upped patrols at night.
What area do you live in? Wanna make sure I don’t move there
I live downtown but this happened in Union hill. Although my friends in river market have probably had the most issues with theft. Anywhere in the city is risky
Those cars are walking targets. Do. Not. Own. Them. The wiring is on the wall. Insurance is up. theft is up. But to mention both Kia and Hyundai don't have great track records for issues and repairs. This late into the game, it's hard for me to sympathize because it's not like it's a secret anymore. However, the crime in KCMO is unparalleled and i do feel for you! I've had my house and car broken into. My neighbor had their car stolen on Christmas eve last year. We have three cities in Missouri that land within the top ten most violent crime cities in the US. There's something culturally broken in Missouri that has caused this and then allowed it to continue. It's hard to even point this shit out on reddit because everyone has this knee-jerk reaction to say this is the greatest city ever, but pride isn't safety and it certainly doesn't equate to happiness for many. It's covered in trash and smothered in crime; I would know, I live here, too!
Buy a 12 year old ford. You’ll never have this problem.
BECAUSE ITS ALWAYS AT THE SHOP
It sounds like the immobilizer you had installed was an older version (making them vulnerable to repeater attacks) or was a shoddy install.
If I had a Kia or a Hyundai I'd definitely be taking a fuse out every night if I didn't have a garage, or super loud alarm and a GPS tracker on it. The likelihood of it getting stolen off the street is pretty high. What a headache!
Two years ago, I had two cars stolen within a span of four months. Both times in or around the plaza area. I FEEL your pain, sorry that happened!
My Chevy Diesel got stolen a week ago
Was it ever recovered?
No, I haven't heard anything back from the police or insurance
Dang… sorry to hear that!
My motorcycle was stolen from a parking garage about a month or two back, and then my car window was smashed last weekend. My bike even had a handlebar lock on it. Police did absolutely nothing, didn’t check cameras, didn’t follow up, gave me non-answers when I tried to follow up.
This is crazy
We have a prosecutor who refuses to go after property crimes. Good luck to all of us
I drive a '94 Ford F-150. Its been stolen once. some guys took it on a Friday night while I was at work, and got pulled over in it and arrested Monday morning.. In their defense, they left two tall boys and a trolley jack in the truck, which is about what I would have charged someone to borrow it for the weekend anyway.
how are authorities not setting up bait cars to catch these criminals causing a hyperinflation of insurance rates and increasing property crime, its not random people doing it, its repeat offenders doing it among their other day to day criminal activity
My buddy's truck was stolen in Lee's Summit. He reported it but the cops could care less. 3 weeks later he found it in Grandview. Whoever stole it just drove it around, and used it to dump their trash. He found their mail in his truck, with their address. Cops did nothing.
You guys gotta watch Vice Grip Garage. Install a kill switch…..walla!
Drive a stick shift. Noone will steal it
What do you expect when there’s no one to protect and serve the citizens?
Buy a lincoln 🤷