MILWAUKEE (CNN) - A woman in Milwaukee says her Kia has been stolen three times, even after she installed a free security upgrade meant to prevent this crime from happening.
“This software update makes it so that even if they try to plug that USB port in, it’s not going to disable the ignition immobilizer,” Emily Falecki said. “It’s going to keep that intact and it is going to sound the factory alarm.”
Falecki said on Friday that part of this upgrade requires Kia owners to lock their cars with a key fob.
If you don’t use the key fob to lock your vehicle, the upgrade is useless.
So this is a software “fix” for a hardware problem. WTF Kia…
Yeah and then they go and blame the victim for their stupidity.
My dad drives a base model Kia - no automatic locks, so no keyfob. Kia’s “fix” was to send him “The Club” with instructions to use it to lock the driving wheel every time he parks.
When he told me the story it was structured like a joke, with the punchline being “guess what their solution is?” before pulling The Club from behind his back and handing it to me. He couldn’t stop laughing.
This literally unlocked a core memory of my parents locking the steering wheel of the family Plymouth Voyager that no one would ever steal. Amazing. Didn’t realize “the club” was still around.
Same! I’m not even sure if it’s even a brand-name Club, so I guess take that as you may
The club is good at what it does.
The club is not very good at what it does.
Cars need immobilizers, like every other first world country has figured out and regulated.
Well, technically The Club is fine, The Steering Wheel, not so much but it undermines the whole design.
That “security upgrade” - wasn’t that featured by the Lockpicking Lawyer? IIRC he took only seconds to unlock it.
I got a KIA in 2009 with windows that roll up with a crank. It was super cheap, but it ran like a dream. When I broke up with my ex in 2014, I let her keep it and I switched to a Ford, because poor/cheap.
Now surprised my Ford is still ticking. Where the KIA, my ex had it stolen and never found it.
It’s still running too. I also have a 2009 (Spectra) and I think it might outlast my 2016 Optima. Sucks because for a while there, they made really great reliable cars. Now who even knows. Not all their cars suck but mine has an unlimited warranty now because of a class action and how shitty the engine in this car is so that’s not very promising.
Sell it, get a civic
A lot of these Kia/Hyundai articles deceptively/vaguely refer to a “security upgrade” which sounds official and IMO will make most think, “oh, so like a software update or kill switch type thing installed in the structure of the car’s built in security systems”
And in reality, they just sent a cheap version of “the club”, and only to some people. And of course there are videos online that show how the club actually makes it easier for a thief without the proper tools to use it as a tool to HELP steal your car.
If there were any justice against abusive corporations, the class action suite would be major here.
No, there really was a “recall” where they notified drivers to bring cars to the dealership for some software patch to address the issue.
My mom did it, and it broke her remote start function. So it did change something regarding starting, but apparently, it didn’t really fix the original problem.
I’m a Hyundai owner, can say that I didn’t receive anything, when into dealership for all regular service early January, and I’m in the affected class. Nothing happened, no conversation about security - there was one about the engine catching fire and a notice that were supposed to park our cars outside until it can be inspected.
But she got it back right? And that’s what counts… To 3.
Yeah and it’s even good for the environment because other people got to use it when she wasn’t. saving them from buying a whole new car that would have polluted the environment even more. Also those 3 people won’t be traveling much now that they are in jail.
Excellent observations! Indeed, if the engine never stopped, then we wouldn’t spend time warming up the engine with a cold catalytic converter. But jail is indeed great at removing cars from the road.
I was wondering how they stole it twice after it was changed to immobilise when locked with the key fob.
TL;DR - The owner was an idiot that didn’t immobilise the car by locking it with the key fob.
The company is the idiot
The alternative is… The car auto locks itself? What if you leave your key inside?
No. It’s not on the company to EVER lock the car because consequences can be deadly.
I had a car that would auto lock the doors.
It was also a keyless start, so the fob may be built totally differently.
That being said, if your keys were detected, it would prevent the auto lock.
It’s a less secure default, but at the same time people would be pissed if they had to call a lock smith all the time.
The owner never locked the car. You can’t blame the company for that.
It’s perfectly valid for an unlocked car to not have it’s immobilizer switch on. The cars unlocked, it fair to assume the key holder wanted it to be accessible.
Apparently it’s somewhat common in poorer areas to leave your car unlocked, it keeps criminals from smashing your window in.
“The door is unlocked, therefore it is fair to assume the driver wants to be able to start the car and drive it away without the key present in the vehicle”
Those Kia boys at it again
Why is anyone stealing older Kias?
No immobiliser.
So you can hotwire it like a vintage car.
Most cars are much more difficult to start.
Most countries made immobilisers mandatory in the 90s, the US doesn’t like regulations that corporations have to follow.
So you can hotwire it like a vintage car.
Its almost like a replaceable sheer pin could be installed so when they break the steering lock, it brakes the steering post into two pieces that require special tools to replace and would waste more time than steeling and repairing it would be worth.
So next time someone tries to steal your car, it costs YOU $4k to fix it afterward. Nice.
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Half an hour labor for replacing a steering column?
Yeah I’m gonna need you to point me towards your mechanic, because I’ve got a rear main seal that needs replacing, and according to those numbers I should be able to get my transmission dropped down for about a buck fifty.
Unless I’m severely misunderstanding what you’re talking about.
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I’m really not being dramatic, I want to know how you expect to pull and replace this pin in half an hour if it’s a part of the steering column assembly. Steering column R&R is minimum 3 hours almost no matter what car it’s on, source being I literally do this for a living every day.
Also it’s called a shear pin, not a “sheer” pin. I do know what they are, and I know how to spell it too. Sure, the pin is five bucks. How do you expect to access it? That’s where your cost and labor comes in. If the column needs to come out - which it usually does, in 99% of all cases where it’s being worked on - whoever told you they can do it in a half hour told you a big fat stankin’ lie right to your face.
Joy ride and running drugs are common reasons to steal any old car. Whoever has been stealing it clearly isn’t doing so to keep it since the same car keeps getting stolen again.
Whoever has been stealing it clearly isn’t doing so to keep it since the same car keeps getting stolen again.
It seems like it has to do more with her neighborhood than the model itself.
Old and boring story to share
I bought my ex a brand new 2008 Kia Spectra. It had a decent 2.2 liter DOHC and was very good in the snow.
However, it had an annoying alarm that would go off seemingly if a fly landed on it but if someone bumped into it, it would work when it felt like it.
The last straw: We had just settled down on a crowded beach and it went off. By the time I got to the car
It was surrounded by people arguing whether to smash a window or force open the hood all in a matter of 1-2 minutes
The beach entranceway was a long ass stair case btw. These people disbursed as I apologized to them all individually.
This beach is in a State camp ground so all these people are there to get away from noise and traffic.
That was the day we pulled the fuse.
“ This software update makes it so that even if they try to plug that USB port in, it’s not going to disable the ignition immobilizer,” Emily Falecki said. “It’s going to keep that intact and it is going to sound the factory alarm.”
**Falecki said on Friday that part of this upgrade requires Kia owners to lock their cars with a key fob.
If you don’t use the key fob to lock your vehicle, the upgrade is useless.
“At this point, I don’t want to invest in Kia or Hyundai at the moment, like, I definitely am looking for a new car,” Nguyen said.”
So …she’s just refusing to use the fob? Like how many cars work?
the US should legalize booby traps for shit like this
It’s actually an interesting facet of the law, that you can’t booby trap your own property.
Where is this at?
Milwaukee
Yea but where at…
In the spiral galaxy orbiting Sagittarius A*.
Didnt they pushed for defounding the police? https://www.wuwm.com/2021-06-02/where-does-defunding-the-police-stand-in-milwaukee
We get what we voted for.
Anyone who owns a Kia or Hyundai without a pushbutton start is at risk. They need to know this and get new cars.
New cars are huge expenses, not everyone is able to sell theirs for a discount and get a different one.
The company should be responsible for fixing them properly.
It would be cheaper in most cases to just install a push-button start in your car than to buy a whole new car. You can easily find the kits online, and any place that can install a car alarm can install them if you don’t want to do it yourself.
