These cars are most likely to be stolen this year, experts say incredibly common malfunction to blame

Dude, where’s my Kia?The Kia and Hyundai theft wave might have crested several years ago, but the threat is far from over.Researchers warn that owners of a Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima and 18 other common car models could be stolen for another 25 years due to a lack of safeguards — and because on TikTok, “hacks” for stealing the cars abound.“We live in one of the safest times ever recorded, yet crime is still incredibly common,” said study lead Jeffrey Brantingham, a UCLA anthropologist.For the study, published in the International Journal of Forecasting, Brantingham and three other research scientists examined Hyundai and Kia car thefts from 2020 to 2023.Because cars lingered on the street for longer periods of time during the pandemic — and because school and work closures gave young people more free time and less supervision — aspiring car thieves had more time to play Grand Theft Auto and then commit actual car theft on the streets.

Their understanding was fast-tracked by crime-happy tutorials on TikTok, where self-proclaimed “Kia Boys” taught and encouraged teens to commandeer the cars in question.And thanks to these online tutorials, these wannabe racers learned to access car starters via the steering wheel casing and activate the ignition with nothing more than a USB cable.Hyundai and Kia models were particularly vulnerable because from 2011 to 2022, the manufacturers neglected to equip 20 car models with engine immobilizers — standard (and cheap) anti-theft devices that could have easily shut down the steals.“Viral social media videos from last year demonstrated how quickly and easily certain Kia and Hyundai models can be stolen,” said New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell in 2023.

(The researchers also blamed media outlets for helping fuel the thefts of Hyundais and Kias, which accounted for a staggering 35% of auto-theft claims in 2023 despite soaring sales for both auto firms that year.)In New York City alone, car th...