MINNEAPOLIS — Hyundai owners are getting some long-awaited news while thefts of vehicles continue to soar.
Starting Friday, customers can get a free software upgrade that the automaker all but guarantees will fix the design flaw that has made the cars so easy to steal.
The first clinic will be at the old Kmart parking lot, starting at 8 a.m. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara says as many as six Hyundai vehicles are still being stolen every day in the city.
"It's incredibly frustrating because this problem has exploded," said Chief O'Hara.
The Minneapolis Police Department had reported 40 vehicles stolen in 2021 to now 2,150 this year alone.
The crime is often posted on social media and is due to a design flaw with the vehicle's traditional key. It makes certain models easy to start — sometimes with just a USB port. Many people have criticized the automaker for not fixing it fast enough.
"It's a big undertaking for any company to be able to do this, but we understand it's a huge inconvenience for our customers," said Hyundai Vice President of After Sales David VandeLinde.
Hyundai first rolled out an alarm system, then free steering wheel locks and now mobile clinics at cities across the country. One clinic was most recently set up in Chicago and serviced nearly 850 cars in three days.
Technicians take as little as 20 minutes to install the software on any vehicle with a key — not those with a push button start — that are made between 2011 and 2021.
"It takes time to engineer a specific software solution for each of the vehicles, but in a matter of weeks, we had all of the software launched," said VandeLinde, who reports Hyundai has made nearly a million upgrades since launching it mid-February. It's also reporting a high success rate.
"We have not been able to validate a theft post solution that's attributed to failure of the software," said VandeLinde.
Federal guidelines also mean that a recall has not been met, despite Chief O'Hara calling for one. He says the software is the next best thing.
"If we can't mandate to get all these cars off the road to get them fixed as soon as possible, we need to do everything else we possibly can," said Chief O'Hara.
The clinic will also run Sunday and Monday in St. Paul at Allianz Field.
Event Details:
Minneapolis, MN
Date: Friday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 11.
Location: Minneapolis: Former Kmart Parking Lot
Address: 10 W. Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408
Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
St. Paul, MN
Date: Sunday, Nov. 12 and Monday, Nov. 13
Location: St. Paul: Allianz Arena – Shopping Center Parking Lot
Address: 400 Snelling Ave, N. St. Paul, MN 55104
Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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