Kia and Hyundai’s anti-theft software upgrades have deterred car thieves, but theft claims remain elevated for the brands even after new software is installed, according to a new report. 

After car thefts began to ramp up during the COVID-19 pandemic, the two automakers in early 2023 rolled out a free software update to make it harder to start the vehicle when the owner’s key is not in the ignition.  

The software has helped, according to a new report from the Highway Loss Data Institute, an organization that analyzes insurance data. The report says cars with the software upgrade had 53% lower theft claim frequencies than those without. That includes all theft claims, from vehicle part or content theft to whole vehicle theft.

The frequency of whole vehicle theft saw an even more dramatic drop after the upgrade at 64%. 

While the software isn’t able to prevent all theft, the institute's senior vice president Matt Moore said the numbers are significant enough to make it clear that eligible drivers should take the time to get the software upgrade. 

“A very optimistic person would look at this problem and this software update and say, well, we'd love to see 100% reduction (in theft claim frequencies),” Moore told USA TODAY. “I don't know that that’s realistic. A 64% reduction is a big number.”

Why are Hyundai and Kia cars being stolen?

Kia and Hyundai thefts began to spike in 2021 after instructional videos detailing how to steal vehicles without electronic immobilizers took off on social media. 

Compared to other car manufacturers, Kia and Hyundai vehicles were late to the game in making electronic immobilizers standard on new vehicles. The device – which prevents a car engine from starting unless the correct key is present – was standard on only 17% of 2011 Hyundai and Kia models compared to 92% of other models that year. By model year 2022, Hyundai and Kia were standard on 84% of models compared to 96% of the competition, according to the institute. 

That vulnerability led to a spike in thefts, even in the wake of the anti-theft software rollout. By the second half of 2023, theft claims for 2003-2023 Hyundai and Kia models were 11 times that of claims in the first half of 2020, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute report. 

Theft is still an issue, in part, because not every Kia or Hyundai model has installed the software upgrade. Some vehicles are not eligible for the software, and as of mid-July, roughly 40% of eligible models have yet to install the upgrade, according to the institute's report. 

But theft claim frequency for Hyundai and Kia vehicles remains elevated “even for models with the new software,” according to the report.

No 'perfect' fix?

Jonathon Miller, 32 of Las Vegas, was one of the unlucky Hyundai owners who had his car stolen after installing the software upgrade. 

Miller said he had been using a steering wheel lock to protect his 2015 Hyundai Elantra from thieves but “got a little comfortable” after the 2023 software upgrade and stopped using the lock. Still, he said he made sure to lock his car every night with his key fob.  

In early June, Miller woke up to discover his car had been stolen. He said the thieves took the car for a joy ride and inflicted about $7,000 worth of damage, totaling his car. He now drives a Nissan. 

Miller isn’t the only driver who has experienced theft issues after the software update, according to Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“It doesn’t appear to be a perfect software fix,” Brooks told Arizona's Family, a Phoenix television station, in May, telling the station that it’s unclear why certain cars were still susceptible to theft. 

“It could be thieves are finding other ways to steal these cars,” he told the station. “It could also be that sometimes consumers have aftermarket software or their own security system that might be interfering with the Hyundai and Kia software, but that’s something that Kia and Hyundai really need to take a look at.”

The institute’s report said theft claims may still be elevated for car models with the new software because the software-based immobilizer activates only if the key fob is used to lock the vehicle; if the driver uses the switch on the door handle, the anti-theft software is ineffective. 

There’s also the threat of lesser crimes. Thieves may still steal other items from inside the vehicle when they can’t get the vehicle started. The institute found a 61% increase in vandalism claim frequency in vehicles that had the software update compared to those that hadn’t been upgraded – nearly equivalent to the decrease in whole theft claims.  

“Based on these trends, we expect claim rates for Hyundai and Kia vehicles to gradually drop back in line with those of other brands, as thieves learn they’re no longer so easy to steal and the fad gets stale,” Moore said in the report.

Car recalls:Hyundai, Nissan, Tesla among 1.9M vehicles recalled last week

A statement from Kia said the automaker "continues to take comprehensive action to enhance the security of our vehicles in an effort to better protect our customers," and encourages eligible drivers to upgrade their software.

An email statement from Hyundai said the company is "committed to the comprehensive actions we are undertaking to assist customers and communities affected by the persistent thefts of certain Model Year 2011-2022 vehicles not equipped with push-button ignitions and engine immobilizer."