LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — There's still glass on the pavement outside of Mary McGowan's Kia Optima, where she claims a group broke in early Tuesday morning in an attempt to steal the vehicle.
A recentreport from CNN, using data from the Highway Loss Data Institute, found thefts of certain Hyundai and Kia models increased 10-fold between 2020 and 2023.
It comes after a security vulnerability in some older models was discovered and spread across social media, as some of them lack theft prevention technology.
Tuesday morning, a neighbor's security camera caught a silver car circling the parking lot of McGowan's apartment complex before parking next to her car and breaking in.
The silver car then pulled away less than two minutes later, leaving McGowan's car in place, only with a shattered rear window.
She believes the alleged thieves realized her vehicle did not have the same security flaws as older vehicles and couldn't start the car.
"Even though it's $300 I have to pay to get the window replaced, I still feel like it's a small amount I have to pay compared to the people that lost theirs," she said.
Now, McGowan is hoping to alert other Kia owners.
"I just want to at least think about everybody else that hasn't yet gotten victimized," she said.
Kia introduced a software security update for some vehicles early last year.
In December, Kia announced it would provide free ignition cylinder protection devices for those affected vehicles that were not eligible for the software update.
The company provided the following list of eligible vehicle models:
▪ 2011 – 2016 Sportage
▪ 2011 – 2016 Forte
▪ 2010 – 2022 Soul
▪ 2011 – 2021 Rio
▪ 2014 Sedona
The company is also working with local law enforcement across the country to provide free steering wheel locks to car owners.
