After many thefts and attempted thefts, the new Hyundai and Kia Challenge: Getting your claim in by the settlement deadline

DALLAS — After a long legal process, a federal district court in California has granted final approval to a class action settlement in which Kia and Hyundai would pay up to $145 million to people who owned or leased a bunch of their vehicles if they were the key start variety and they were made with design flaws that made them much easier to steal. 

Those weaknesses led to a costly social media campaign called the ‘Kia Challenge’ or ‘Hyundai Challenge’ where thieves were encouraged to post videos of themselves stealing the vehicles. Considering that it could be done with a USB cable and a screwdriver, unfortunately many thieves were up to that challenge. 

So, if you had a set of wheels that qualifies under the settlement, you could get anywhere from $250 to 60% of the black book value of the vehicle depending on your circumstances. The reimbursements run the gamut from money to offset losses from a stolen vehicle to insurance deductibles, higher insurance premiums, and other expenses because of a theft or theft attempt.

Click here to see which Kia vehicles are covered under the settlement and what the potential settlement amount could be for your loss.

Click here to see which Hyundai vehicles are covered under the settlement and what the potential settlement amount could be for your loss. 

But before you collect money, you have to file a claim and hand over documentation. So, the new Kia and Hyundai challenge is for you to get all that done by April 28, 2025. But because of appeals and other delays, that deadline and any potential settlement payouts could be delayed further.

And beware that the way these possible amounts are applied depends on how many people submit different kinds of claims. Up to 9 million vehicle owners are potentially covered by this settlement. 

As all of this continues to be sorted out by the courts and the settlement administrators, do you still need to get the fix that would make your Hyundai or Kia harder to steal? 

The automakers have committed to free fixes for the issues that made the vehicles so vulnerable in the first place. But when I reported on this in 2023, CARFAX told me an estimated 433,000 Texas vehicles still had these unfixed vulnerabilities. They also explained that Dallas and Houston were among the top cities in the country for the number of these vehicles still susceptible to being taken on the quick. 

And yet not much progress has been made. In late November of 2024, I checked back with CARFAX, and they estimated Texas still had about 391,500 Hyundai and Kia models that needed the crucial updates to make them less of a potential target for thieves.

They broke down that number and highlighted how many of the vehicles in the major cities around Texas were still in need of being fixed for this vulnerability:

Dallas-Fort Worth: 172,000

Houston: 123,300

Austin: 54,600

San Antonio: 52,700

Click here to check your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see if it is included in the Kia settlement and to file a claim.

Click here to check your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see if it is included in the Hyundai settlement and to file a claim.