New Mexico is among 17 states calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall Kia and Hyundai vehicles that are popular targets of thieves across the country.
The attorney general from each state recently issued a letter to the NHTSA calling for the recall of two car models because of how easy it is to break into the cars and steal them, according to an April 21 KRQE report. The cars do not have an engine immobilizer, which is a standard feature in many cars that prevents the engine from starting unless the key is present.
The method to steal the cars went viral in 2020 after an instructional video was posted on social media, prompting a slew of copycat thefts across the United States.
“They put the video on the website. They made it a challenge and then people did it and it’s blown up,” Alethia Allen, Solicitor General of New Mexico, told KRQE.
The thefts led to 14 crashes and eight deaths across the country, KRQE reported. More than 30 Hyundai and Kia cars in Las Cruces were reported stolen between January and March, according to KRQE.
The group of attorneys general first sent a letter in March to Hyundai and Kia asking them to address the safety concerns. Now the states are urging the NHTSA to implement a recall.
“Whatever they’re doing isn’t good enough," Allen said. "And so, they do need to be doing more."
Kia told KRQE that a recall is “neither appropriate nor necessary under federal law.” Hyundai, meanwhile, told the network it is committed to upgrading “all affected vehicles” while communicating with the NHTSA.
Allen believes both companies should display greater urgency in the situation.
“People are dying,” Allen said. “And this is just such a major issue and it’s such a major safety issue.”
Crashes are happening everywhere, Allen said, which has led to law enforcement being diverted to deal with the issue that “shouldn’t exist.”
