KIA and Hyundai vehicles an easy target for thieves, and social media is partly the reason why
Auto theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in Colorado and it's especially troubling for KIA and Hyundai owners.
Some law enforcement officials believe social media videos showing how easy it is to steal those vehicles may be partly to blame for our auto theft rate now topping the country.
"I was in shock because I couldn't believe that this was actually on the internet that somebody is literally showing you step by step how to steal another person's car and so easily," Kristie Houchen said.
Houchen found those videos only after the KIA Sportage she owned for less than a year was stolen.
It was locked and parked in a lot just outside the office where she works while she was at work.
"[I'm] completely devastated. The KIA was our daily driver. It was the car we used for everything. It was our family car," she said.
While she will likely never know if the thieves who stole her vehicle learned how on social media, she wishes she would have known the information existed.
The trend is believed to have started in Milwaukee. CBS News Colorado spoke with police officials there, who say they have now been contacted by agencies across the country who say the trend is spreading.
Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen says it's now reached Colorado.
"It serves as a tutorial of how to steal a particular brand or style and we would be in agreement that spreading of this tutorial is a contributing factor to this type of vehicle being stolen here locally," he said.
According to data from the state Auto Theft Prevention Task Force, KIA and Hyundai have always been a target for thieves but are now more than ever.
In 2019 a little over 200 KIAs and 200 Hyundais were stolen statewide. The following year, that number jumped to roughly 400 each, then doubled again in 2021, to more than 1,000.
Already in 2022, we are over 3,000 stolen KIAs and 3,000 stolen Hyundais.
The result; some insurance companies are now restricting coverage on those cars, and that will cost everyone.
Carole Walker, a spokesperson for the Rocky Mountain Insurance Association, couldn't speak specifically about which companies are making changes, but says it is happening.
"The unfortunate thing is when you're driving one of the most popular cars for auto thieves, we are in one of the most popular markets for auto theft and it's become an online sensation, auto insurance companies have looked at this and said we are going to have to price it really high or we are not going to be able to price it all and we can't insure these vehicles," she said.
The manufacturers say they are aware of what's happening and that thieves are targeting their keyed ignition vehicles that do not have engine immobilizer systems.
Kia and Hyundai stopped using an anti-theft system in 2011 and now both companies say they have put them back into their newer models.
"But what about the people that don't have the new model?" Houchen asked.
As a consumer, she believes the companies should face some liability, and she's not alone.
"You hear all the time, a recall on this particular part for this particular vehicle. I think this is an opportunity for us to take a look and say, 'Wait a minute. The way that this is designed, the way that this was built, there's a design flaw that makes it very easy to be stolen,'" Chief Pazen said.
He says law enforcement officials have taken the idea to Colorado lawmakers.
"We've shared this thought with folks at the federal level to take a look," he said. "Obviously, it's real difficult to make that type of change, but we have suggested it."
From an insurance standpoint, Walker agrees it's time to act.
"We really have to do something, both from a manufacture standpoint where we are looking at making these vehicles less of a target as well as taking all the precautions we can living in this high-risk market," she said.
With or without that step, Houchen says she is making it her mission to let current or future owners know the risks.
"We thought about getting a new car, but we are not getting a KIA after this. I don't want it because I don't want to go through this again," she said.
Both KIA and Hyundai responded to CBS News Colorado saying they are working with law enforcement, though not yet in Denver, to provide steering wheel locks to those who own those older models.
Hyundai says they are also working on a security kit that will soon be available for vehicle owners to purchase and take to a dealership to fix the issue as well.
Both say their vehicles meet all the federal motor vehicle safety standards.
As for those social media videos, TikTok has started to take some of them down.
