Baltimore lawmaker wants to see a recall issued for certain models of Hyundai and Kia vehicles

BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore City Councilman is trying a new tactic to try to stop the rampant Kia and Hyundai thefts happening all across the state.

Neighbors in Patterson Park say they've noticed the increase in thefts.

"It's honestly sad," Khalid Ali of Patterson Park said. "Just walking my dog around the park, you'll see all the glass shattered from all the cars."

The problem isn't specific to Maryland. Other states have been seeing the same increase ever since videos exposing manufacturing issues that make it easier to steal certain models of Kias and Hyundais went viral on social media.

"To me, it is just deeply irresponsible that they just allowed this defect to continue," Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen said.

Baltimore City Councilman Zeke Cohen is teaming up with eight other council members from across the country —including Philadelphia, New York City, Minneapolis, and Austin, Texas—to call on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall the car models that are vulnerable to theft.

"We're really on the front lines," Cohen said. "It is our constituents whose cars have been stolen at just an incredibly alarming rate. It's not a small problem, just a quality of life issue. It's real when you get your car stolen."

This issue has been top of mind for Cohen since last year when he introduced a resolution calling for the recall.

He did it shortly after a member of his district was murdered during a carjacking.

"To me, the only real way to solve this problem is a recall," Cohen said.

However, WJZ talked to some Baltimore residents who believe the rise in thefts isn't the fault of the car manufacturers. Instead, they see it as a crime issue.

"I wish (they were) tougher on crime," Sherry of Dundalk said. "I really do. When I was a kid, we wouldn't even think of doing stuff like that."

Cohen disagrees.

"These defects do not excuse criminal behavior… However, they do enable and invite criminal activity," Cohen said.

In:
• Baltimore
• Kia
• Hyundai
• Crime