States settle with Hyundai, Kia over failure to equip vehicles with anti-theft technology

Hyundai and Kia will provide restitution to consumers and fixes to eligible vehicles under a settlement reached by Attorney General Nick Brown and 35 other state attorneys general for the automakers’ sale of millions of vehicles nationwide that lacked industry-standard, anti-theft technology.

This failure resulted in an epidemic of car thefts and joy riding across the country that continues to threaten public safety. Under the settlement, Hyundai and Kia have agreed to:

• Equip all future vehicles sold in the United States with industry-standard, engine immobilizer anti-theft technology;

• Offer free zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protectors to owners or lessees of eligible vehicles, including vehicles that previously were only eligible for the companies’ software updates;

• Provide up to $4.5 million in restitution to eligible consumers whose cars are damaged by thieves; and

• Pay $4.5 million to the states to defray the costs of the investigation.

“Security is a key piece for families looking to buy a vehicle, but Hyundai and Kia spent years selling people cars that lacked the industry’s standard protections,” Brown said. “Year after year, consumers have been easily victimized because of the automakers’ failure here.”

Hyundai and Kia chose not include anti-theft “engine-immobilizer” technology in millions of their vehicles sold throughout the United States, including Washington. An engine immobilizer prevents thieves from starting a vehicle’s engine without the vehicle’s “smart” key, which stores the vehicle’s electronic security code. According to one report, in 2015, only 26% of the vehicles Kia and Hyundai sold in the United States were equipped with engine immobilizers, compared to 96% of the vehicles sold by other manufacturers.

Car thieves devised a quick and simple way to access these vehicles’ ignition cylinder and start these cars without a key. They brazenly flaunted these actions on social media and contributed to a drastic increase in Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts throughout the nation. After these thefts, a significant number of the vehicles were used in connection with other crimes and were involved in traffic collisions, some fatal.

Despite years of evidence, Hyundai and Kia waited until 2023 to launch a service campaign to update the software on most of the affected vehicles. This update was easily bypassed by thieves.

Under the settlement, eligible consumers will be notified by the companies that they will have one year from the date of the notice to make an appointment to have the zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector installed at their local Hyundai or Kia authorized dealerships. Consumers are urged to schedule the installation of the zinc-reinforce ignition cylinder protector as soon as possible.

Consumers who previously installed the software update on their vehicles (or were scheduled to do so) but nonetheless experienced a theft or attempted theft of their vehicle on or after April 29, 2025, are eligible to file a claim for restitution for certain theft and attempted-theft related expenses. For more information about eligibility and how to submit a claim for compensation, please visit the following:

The attorneys general of Connecticut, Minnesota, and New Hampshire led the multistate settlement, and were assisted by Washington, California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and Nevada. The final settlement was also joined by Arizona, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaiʻi, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

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Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

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A copy of the complaint is available here.