There’s little doubt that the ongoing spate of Hyundai and Kia vehicle thefts across North America has eroded trust among many owners and is hurting the sales of the two brands. However, Kia is trying to make things right and held a free anti-theft software upgrade event over the weekend at the Atlanta Civic Center.
The event was held on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in partnership with the Atlanta Police Department. Those who owned an eligible Kia model could get the new software installed free of charge at the event while owners of Kia models not eligible were able to pick up a free steering wheel lock.
Kia says its update restricts the operation of the vehicle’s ignition system and takes just 30 minutes to install. It is understood that more than 575,000 Kia vehicles across the U.S. have been updated with the new software.
Read: Fed Up With Surge In Thefts, New York City Sues Hyundai And Kia Over Easy-To-Steal Cars
Both Kia and Hyundai rolled out a software update to improve theft prevention earlier this year but not even it has completely prevented thefts. This update changes the theft alarm software logic to extend the length of the alarm from 30 seconds to one minute and requires the key to be in the ignition to turn the vehicle on.
While thefts of certain Kia and Hyundai models have spiked all across the United States, they have jumped particularly quickly in Atlanta. In April, the captain of the Atlanta Police Department revealed that 60% of all auto thefts in the city had been for Kia and Hyundai models and that between January 1 and March 25, there had been 937 auto thefts in Atlanta. Of those, 511 had been Hyundai and Kia models, a huge spike from the 50 that were stolen over the same period a year prior.
