Hyundai and Kia agree to $200 million settlement in class-action lawsuit over vehicle thefts
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A multi-million dollar settlement has been reached involving two automakers stemming from a class-action lawsuit that could benefit up to nine million vehicle owners.
Roughly nine million vehicle owners who suffered property loss by having either a Kia or Hyundai vehicle stolen could benefit from the lawsuit settlement.
Last year, it was discovered that some 2015 to 2019 Kia and Hyundai's could easily be hot-wired with a USB cable.
The cable was used to start the engines on models that had a turn-key ignition switch instead of a push-button starter.
Once the glitch was discovered, the information rapidly spread over social media and challenges spread to see how many cars could be stolen using this flaw.
While both Kia and Hyundai have developed software patches to correct the problem, and those will be automatically downloaded with any dealer service appointment, the settling of this court case is huge.
$200 million will be disbursed to any plaintiff involved who said these vehicles were too easy to steal.
While these security issues have been addressed, both of the automakers have encouraged people to buy steering wheel locks for added protection.
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