Hyundai & Kia Agree To Pay $200M Settlement Over Car Thefts

Hyundai Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty

A video on TikTok showing how easy it was to steal Hyundai and Kia’s has resulted in the car markers agreeing to pay a $200M settlement.

TikTok has been a ground-breaking social media platform with a lot of educational purposes such as life hacks and DIY videos. Unfortunately with the good, there is also bad, and on TikTok the bad spreads like wildfire. One viral challenge has caused chaos for Hyundai and Kia owners across the United States. Somehow one user discovered both of these cars are super easy to steal and uploaded a video detailing how. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the instructional video resulted in at least 14 crashes and 8 fatalities.

The viral “Kia Challenge” has not only led to crashes but headaches for owners and now it’s costing the car manufacturers. Reuters reports Hyundai and Kia agreed to a class-action settlement worth a reported $200M over the massive car thefts. Both car makers began offering updates and steering wheel locks to prevent thefts but in the end, it wasn’t enough. Even with the settlement car thefts will still be an issue, so 90s style steering wheel locks have become increasingly recommended.