Well, for the second time in less than 7 months, my daughters car was stolen. For a young kid, who is off on their own, it’s bullshit.
They’re the easiest car to break in to.
The first time, happened in the parking lot of her job this past summer. Took over a month to get the actual parts for the steering column as they were on a National back order.
Today, her car was stolen from her driveway.
The police officer was very professional.
He said they deal with 50-100 Kia thefts daily.
Hopefully, the damn thing gets totaled so, my daughter can get another vehicle because you might as well leave the keys in the ignition with the doors open they’re so easy to steal. She’s in the middle of figuring out some rebate thing KIA is offering to help protect the car from getting stolen. I’m not sure what all it entails but, she is still dealing with it since the first time it was stolen.
Not that I give a shit because I can’t stand her boyfriend (I’ll leave that one alone) but, his Kia was stolen last month. Has yet to get it back. Once again, parts are on back order. Proving, what a problem theft of these vehicles is.
I would’ve advised my daughter to get a different car but, her being an adult, only saw good gas mileage, a cheap monthly payment and, bought it on her own.
Anyways, just figured I’d let you guys know if, you have kids thinking what a great deal a KIA is, stay away from them.
By the way, I fucking hate thieves.
I'm with ya Man! I hate thieves also and believe the penalty when caught should be much much higher, maybe a Pinky finger for the first offense, Hand for the Second, Arm for the Third and then Forth, Bye! Bye!
The worst part is the officer came out and, said how much their hands are tied. Not only can they not pursue the thieves but, if they light them up and the driver floors it, they’re ordered to flip a U-turn and head the opposite direction.
Pretty sad that law enforcement can’t do their job without having to worry about getting sued themselves if something goes sideways.
Man that is horrible. I'm sorry you all have to go through this b.s. on top of life's continuous hurdles. Seems like the Kia are very popular here too.
And crime "stats" would have us believe crime was down in 2023. Don't believe it! I have a bunch of friends in law enforcement, local and federal. They all say crime is grossly under reported much more than in the past for several reasons. 1 is that people dont believe criminals will be prosecuted, so what's the point? And police response times are so slow now in certain areas, by the time they show up the victims have given up and left. No report gets filed.... Seattle is a great example of this.
If anyone really thinks lax prosecution will reduce crime, then well, I am sorry, but your dumber than a bag of rocks...
Sorry that happened to your daughter...
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I chatted with the officer a bit. Statistically, he said crime in Washington state is up 200%.
Crime in Portland Oregon is up 400%.
90% of the cars stolen in my area are KIA’s.
Law enforcement having their hands tied is something that needs to change.
is it worth something as simple as a steering wheel lock?
like these here,
https://www.repco.co.nz/4x4-adventure-escape/vehicle-safety-products/st…
not sure if you have anything like that, but if she doesnt want to spend more money on a car, its a cheap easily visable way to secure a car,
KIA = The big give away.
"you buy shit?, you get shit.com
On that thought,
All vehicles with a Key Fob are susceptible to being stolen.
https://www.freep.com/videos/money/cars/2018/07/06/your-key-fob-safe/76…
Read a article today that Camaro's are the hot commodity.
Dude had a brilliant plan to avert the thief's. Car does not start unless he disengages the system.
Guess they were at his door with a gun, while the other was trying to get it started, while the get away driver waited. Incase the alarm went off. Thieves ready to kill for Cars
That stinks how easy it is to steal some makes of affordable cars.
In regards to pursuit of criminal laws, hopefully the voters of Washington will take this into consideration when they vote the next time. Who, hamstrung the police?
She actually had that in use when her car was stolen. They’re pretty easy to bend or, use a grinder with a carbon wheel to cut through them.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way LOL.
Nope! if a thief has a Hack Saw, he'll cut through the Steering Wheel and pull that Steering Wheel lock off like a Hot knife through butter, I saw a video how easy it is to remove.
Do Range Rovers get stolen a lot in the USA?
They get stolen so much over here that some insurance companies won't even quote on them.
I had a friend who’s was stolen a few years ago.
With the officer saying, Kia’s make up close to 90% of the car thefts, probably not that much.
It could be different in other states.
The high voltage, cordless tools we have these days, make pretty much every task easy as pie.
Around here, catalytic converter theft in remote, and not so remote, areas where people park long term around the AT, smokies, and other parks, are out of control.
Cordless sawzall, takes longer to crawl under, and back out, than the actual theft.
No matter what make, or model.
Same with high end toolboxes, locks, chains, and cables.
A thief can easily ply their trade.
Many years ago (40ish), locked my keys in my Nissan truck at home depot. Went inside to the tools, got some tin snips, went to lumber and cut a piece of the metal strap into a slim jim. 2-5 seconds and I'm back in business driving away.
Cat converter theft here is really bad. F150 series trucks and Hondas are #1 on the list.
My cousin got his cat stolen a couple months ago. Cordless tools make everything easy.
Welcome to Biden's America!
Pit Row
My brother has a 2016 Kia Sorrento and it spun a rod bearing at 80k. Totally new short block via wty.
This isn't to blame on politics. Kia didn't start putting immobilizer chips into every car they made until 2021, after the Kia theft started to ramp up. That's it. That's the whole reason they're getting stolen, because once the housing is broken, all you need to do is rotate the cylinder and start the car.
The current fix offered by Kia is a housing cover which is just a cheap metal cover designed to help prevent damage to the cylinder.
It's unfortunate that Kia/Hyundai hasn't done the right thing in my opinion which would just be building ignitions and keys that have immobilizer chips to retrofit to older vehicles, but they'll try any other band-aid before this.
In the body shop I currently work at (attached to a Kia dealer), every stolen recovery gets drug tested. Unfortunately if they didn't wreck the car, your best bet to get it totalled is if it's had hard drug use inside. We total probably 1-2 cars a week from meth residue in the vehicle. If it's not totalled, I recommend selling the car immediately after repair. When I was at the actual Kia parts counter, I was yelled at more than once by customers who had a vehicle stolen 3 or 4 times.
If backorders are an issue, discuss using multiple lock sets to repair and then rekey. Generally the complete kits with new FOBs are what are on backorder, however an ignition with keys and door lock with it's own keys are probably readily available, then a locksmith can rekey the locks to your original keys or you can rock two keys like it's '95. It'll probably be a little more expensive, but probably cheaper than alternative transport while waiting for parts.
A mechanic buddy hates to see a kia, hyndai, or any of those low price vehicles being brought to him for repairs.
Without going into detail,
He says most never last much after they're paid for, if that long.
Well if you don't like the ICE Kias/Hyundais, at least they make cheap EVs like the Niro EV. Just be sure not to damage the $28,000 battery.
Pretty crazy. Range Rovers robbed here are stripped for parts or sent abroad as they can make money on them.
Why are KIAs so stolen? Just smackheads knowing they can or is it organised? Didn't realise how simple it was to steal them until this thread.
I'd say 95% are stolen to joyride/commit other crimes in.
Sorry to hear that man, what a PITA. My friend who knows nothing about cars has a Kia Soul and I'm constantly working on it for her. It also consumes oil like I drink water.
I hope they total it out for your daughters sake
Mostly for parts also. They sell so many that there is a big demand for parts. Just like the Taurus used to be the most popular car stolen, etc.
There have been times when the leading stolen cars were Camrys, Corollas, Accords, and Civics also if I recall correctly. With the increase in the efficiency of cordless tools, you don't always need to steal the whole car to get some valuable parts anymore, though!
Looks like there’s a class action lawsuit against KIA.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/02/28/kia-theft-settlement-hyundai-owners/72775295007/
There's like 5 Range Rovers total in existence in the USA. Even if every single one got stolen it would be in the rounding of total theft numbers.
OK, I am exaggerating.. a little. But seriously, no one in their right mind buys a Range Rover in the USA. I see maybe one every 3-5 years.
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