Hacker News Reader

Comment by eindiran | Hacker News Reader

I was in the same boat until my car was stolen. If you haven't heard of it, look up the Kia Boys, though the same rules apply to Hyundais.

If you do manage to get the car back, you find yourself much more interested in car anti-theft measures, and will then discover that there are very limited options for parts due to the epidemic of them being stolen (66% of cars stolen in 2021 in Milwaukee, the center of the epidemic were Kia/Hyundai). And there is no indication that the company will be of any help going forward. The only real option is to not buy pre-2021 Hyundais/Kias.

View on HN

This is an international problem, whith every location having a model/brand that's preferred by the thieves. Market forces and all that.

In South Africa, the best car security you can have by far is to simply park next to a VW Polo/Golf. The VW will _always_ be stolen first. Don't forget to set a reminder to go out at some point, so that you can move your car and park it next to another VW, as the first one would be stolen by then.

A close second are Toyota Hilux and Fortuner.

All these cars are super popular, both to own and steal. Result is insurance premiums that can be double normal rates, especially if you fall in the "young and reckless" demographic.

I have a hand-screw isolator on the battery of my my VW T5, like this

https://images.app.goo.gl/d5GXhBocg3gEjhbZA

I take the green screw part with me if I have any concerns, and sometimes even if it's parked in it's usual place at home.

I figure if a their tries to start the vehicle and it doesn't even turn on, they're likely to move to the next vehicle rather than muck about trying to troubleshoot mine.

It's low tech, and non-obvious.

I used to pull the accessories fuse, so it wouldn’t start.

My older Nissan Frontier has a fuse for the fuel injection. I pull that out if I ever park any place sketchy.

You are now the second person to recommend me an idea in that vein; I have just been using a steering wheel lock since I can't actually get an immobilizer rn. So I think I will actually materialize on your idea. Appreciate the comment.

Hmm another thought - tie the gas pedal to the steering wheel with a steel chain/lock.

Sure, they can cut your chain with bolt cutters, but that's not exactly inconspicuous, and it encourages would be theives towards easier marks. Probably cheaper than a wheel lock, too.

One step further I've thought of would be to buy two and remove the brass threaded contactor from one of the green hand screws and replace it with a nylon part so you could screw the dummy unit in to make it appear as though the unit is complete, thereby potential throwing off a savey would-be their who is familiar with the the trick of removing the contractor.

Another issue with some models of Kia and Hyundai is some insurance companies are now refusing to insure them due to how easy they are to steal. Imagine buying a car and calling up your insurance company to add it to your policy and...nope. I've never heard of that before.

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/02/09/hyundai-kia-models-state...

It is unfortunate for sure, but it doesn't affect fob only / pushbutton start cars. Kia and Hyundai have rectified the issue on newer models though and are at least giving away free wheel locks in certain areas, or so I've read.

I've heard reports that the newer models are still broken into at higher rates, despite thieves failing to steal it.

The way your comment reads is that 2022 and newer models are safe. Did something change in 2021?

The stolen cars were model years less than 2022 and were trims that needed a key to start the vehicle. Models that's used pushed button starts were unaffected.

You can see all the models affected and rollout of software to address it here: https://hyundaiantitheft.com/

A number of things including some insurance companies refusing to insure kia and hyundais. People wont buy your cars if they can't use them!

Shouldn't there be, like, a glut of parts on the gray market if they are stolen so often? They don't end up in chop-shops?

They steal them drive them around recklessly for a few hours, the crash into a light pole.

Its not professional criminals stealing these cars, its 13 year old kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbTrLyqL_nw

Yeah, but a crashed auto is an instant organ donor of myriad parts. What happens to the crashed cars?

"Kia Boys", ok. Another euphemism to ad to the dictionary.

Same deal, my Hyundai was stolen 3 times from Sept 2021 to October 2022 when I finally sold it.

Was a huge headache.

3 times in a year? I'd be looking to move far, far away.

Yeah. That’s not a car-problem.

That’s living in a lawless neighbourhood kind of problem.

Move somewhere safe. Where cars don’t get stolen. You’ll probably find most other crime statistics beneficial too there.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com