A growing number of municipal police departments are responding to the theft of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicle models by offering residents steering wheel locks — with the hope of deterring thieves — and the towns of Oak Park and River Forest are among them.
In fact, village officials told Pioneer Press that the Oak Park Police Department gave out about 80 of the locking devices during a giveaway Saturday.
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“This was a great opportunity to partner with residents to work together to try to deter some of these vehicle thefts that have been widespread throughout the country,” said Sgt. Robert Monty, who is coordinating the distribution in Oak Park.
In a news release announcing the giveaway that took place Saturday, village officials pointed to regional and national upticks in thefts, or attempted thefts, of Hyundai and Kia models that use an actual key to start the vehicle rather than a key fob and push-button.
“Law enforcement officials recommend Hyundai and Kia owners take extra security measures such as a steering wheel lock device or engine immobilizer. Hyundai and Kia owners can also contact the manufacturer to learn about additional safeguards such as a recent software update for some of the targeted models,” officials said.
In River Forest, the police department is helping residents who own Hyundais to be proactive in stopping thieves.
“Residents who have purchased a Hyundai vehicle built between 2010 and 2021 are eligible to receive a complimentary, anti-theft, steering wheel lock device while supplies last,” officials announced in the Feb. 17 village electronic newsletter and also posted on the village Facebook page.
Village officials said the thefts could be inspired by a TikTok social media challenge referred to as Kia Boys, which shows easy ways of getting control of a vehicle and being able to steal it without the key.
According to an August 2022 news release from Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office, there were 642 reported thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in Cook County since from the start of 2022 to July 1, compared with 74 during the same period in 2021, representing an exponential increase.
“This is an extremely concerning trend and the public needs to know so they can be vigilant in protecting themselves,” Dart said in the release.
In response to increasing thefts targeting its vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices, Hyundai introduced a free anti-theft software upgrade to prevent the vehicles from starting if stolen. Launched Feb. 14 as a service campaign for nearly four million vehicles, the technology rolled out first to more than one million model year 2017-2020 Elantra, 2015-2019 Sonata and 2020-2021 Venue vehicles and is scheduled for the remaining eligible affected vehicles by June, the release states.
“We have prioritized the upgrade’s availability for owners and lessees of our highest-selling vehicles and those most targeted by thieves in order for dealers to service them first,” Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said in the release.
Hyundai is providing free steering wheel locks to law enforcement agencies for distribution to local residents who own or lease affected models, the release states.
“We reached out to Hyundai and they were offering (the device) to owners of their vehicles between those dates that were affected. We’ve also reached out to Kia but we haven’t heard back from them yet. Hyundai has sent us multiple units of this device,” Ben Ransom, crime prevention officer for the River Forest Police Department, told Pioneer Press.
At one point, River Forest had more than 100 free steering wheel locks available for distribution. Police departments are asking that residents residents pre-register to get the devices.
Ransom said there were 15 motor vehicle thefts between Jan. 1, 2020 and Feb. 23, 2023 in River Forest and several of those thefts were not associated with the TikTok challenge but, rather, keys being left in vehicles.
“This is particularly a concern in cold weather when people like to warm up their cars and either leave their key in the ignition or don’t realize that keyless-start vehicles can be driven away even if the fob is not present,” said Ransom.
There are several steps that all motorists and vehicle owners can take to help prevent theft, law enforcement officials have said.
“Park in garages if you have them. Lock your vehicle. Don’t (leave out) anything of value within the vehicle,” said Ransom,
The advice is repeated across municalities.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.
Pioneer Press staff contributed.