FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Contact: nahmed@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809
RALEIGH – Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 35 other bipartisan attorneys general reached a settlement with Hyundai and Kia for selling millions of vehicles across the country that didn’t have industry-standard, anti-theft technology, leading to a 10-fold jump in car thefts between 2020 and 2023.
“Hyundai and Kia could have made their cars harder to steal from the outset – but they chose not to,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “This settlement means they’re going to take steps to address the crimes caused by their mistake and repay customers for what they’ve lost.”
Hyundai and Kia have agreed to:
- Equip all future vehicles sold in the United States with industry standard, engine immobilizer anti-theft technology.
- Offer free zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protectors to owners or lessees of eligible vehicles, including vehicles that previously were only eligible for the companies’ software update.
- Pay up to $4.5 million in restitution to eligible consumers whose cars are damaged by thieves on or after April 29, 2025, and before the consumer has an opportunity to have the zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector installed.
- Pay $4.5 million to the states to defray the costs of the investigation.
Hyundai and Kia chose not to include anti-theft “engine-immobilizer” technology in millions of their vehicles sold throughout the United States, including in North Carolina. An engine immobilizer prevents thieves from starting a vehicle’s engine without the vehicle’s “smart” key, which stores the vehicle’s electronic security code. According to one report, in 2015, only 26 percent of the vehicles Kia and Hyundai sold in the United States were equipped with engine immobilizers, compared to 96 percent of the vehicles sold by other manufacturers.
Car thieves were able to easily access these vehicles’ ignition cylinder and start these cars without a key. The thefts drastically increased, and many of the vehicles were used in connection with other crimes and were involved in many traffic collisions, some fatal.
Hyundai and Kia didn’t respond until 2023, when they offered a software update on most of the affected vehicles and a zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder only for vehicles ineligible for the software update. Still, thieves were able to easily bypass the software update and thefts continued.
As part of today’s settlement, Hyundai and Kia will offer free zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protectors to owners or lessees of eligible vehicles, including vehicles that only got the software update in the past. Customers who are eligible to have the zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector installed will be notified by the companies, and will have a year from the date of that notice to schedule their appointment. If you receive a notice, please schedule your installation as soon as possible.
In addition, consumers who previously installed the software update on their vehicles (or were scheduled to do so) but still had their car stolen or attempted to be stolen on or after April 29, 2025, can file a claim for restitution for certain expenses. For more information about eligibility and how to submit a claim for compensation, please visit the following:
For Hyundai – Visit www.HKMultistateimmobilizersettlement.com
For Kia – Visit https://customercare.kiausa.com/SWLD or call (800) 333-4Kia(4542)
Attorney General Jackson was joined in reaching this settlement by the attorneys general of Connecticut, Minnesota, New Hampshire, California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, and Washington. The final settlement was also joined by Arizona, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
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