Hyundai, Kia face lawsuit after TikTok challenge led to car thefts

Following the viral Kia Challenge on TikTok in USA, which challenged mostly teenagers to steal vehicles from those manufacturers and resulted in a high increase in thefts, a class action lawsuit has been filed against Kia and Hyundai, according to a report in Techcrunch. Vehicle owners who believe their vehicles were taken as a direct consequence of the Kia Challenge craze have launched a lawsuit.

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A dangerous challenge involving young children to remove KIA cars from the street using a USB cable has been circulating on TikTok and other social media platforms, raising the ire of car owners and police departments around the country.

According to TechCrunch, car thieves are going for certain makes and models of Kia and Hyundai vehicles manufactured between 2010 and 2021 that use mechanical keys rather than key fobs and push buttons to start the vehicle.

The complaint claims that Kia & Hyundai researched the viability of constructing with engine immobilisers but ultimately opted against it, "blatantly valuing profits over the safety and security of their customers".

Apparently, the manufacturers didn't even bother to notify buyers when a TikTok "Kia Challenge" revealed a way to steal certain Kia and Hyundai cars.

More than 33 million people have watched videos of vehicle theft and driving on TikTok under the hashtag "Kia Boys," according to a CNBC report