[RandyM]

Do you think changing the color could potentially keep it from being stolen and removing the emblem?

also it’s. 2017, so it isn’t new.

I don't see how changing the color will help. Removing the Kia badge could. There are a lot of car types and many thieves won't know a Kia unless they see the logo.

On the 2017 with the oval logo, you can go to sharkracing.com to find a direct replacement with a generic emblem (looks like a stylized bird).

 

[Rypat16]

I don't see how changing the color will help. Removing the Kia badge could. There are a lot of car types and many thieves won't know a Kia unless they see the logo.

On the 2017 with the oval logo, you can go to sharkracing.com to find a direct replacement with a generic emblem (looks like a stylized bird).

My apologies.

is this what you are referring too?

Old School Kia Emblem

Established in 1999, Shark Racing is the No. 1 source of parts and accessories for Korean cars.

sharkracing.com

 

[RandyM]

My apologies.

is this what you are referring too?

Old School Kia Emblem

Established in 1999, Shark Racing is the No. 1 source of parts and accessories for Korean cars.

sharkracing.com

The one I saw had no lettering, just a stylized form that I interpret as a bird. The idea is to disguise the fact you own a Kia.

 

[Rypat16]

Hmm only thing I saw that looked close to that is the genesis wing emblem.

 

[RandyM]

I can’t imagine this is going to be good for the resale value of these cars. Which could completely screw you if it’s stolen.
Does Kia have any plans of doing anything others than giving away steering wheel locks? (Which I heard are on back order)

I hate to share bad news, but here it is so everyone can make informed decisions:

Talked to a Honda salesperson about trading the Forte for a Civic. She said the dealership just had a sales staff meeting detailing the Kia theft situation. Because in many zip codes comprehensive insurance is no longer being offered and that savvy clients will not buy theft-plagued Kias, the dealership management is reluctant to take Kias on trade. If they do, it will be with a 10-20 percent discount over Blackbook advice. (In one month the trade-in value of my Forte dropped from $20,300 to $18,900.) And this is in Columbia, Mo, a place not hard hit by the thefts, but 100 miles away from St. Louis which is a hotbed for them.

This dealership expects a large number of Kias hitting the auction market as people dump them, further pounding the trade-in value.

Sorry, but more bad news. My State Farm insurance agent, who also just had a corporate wide meeting, says to expect a rate increase because of the increase in Kia theft risk. State Farm will not dump existing customers, but will price premiums according to the theft risk in each zip code.

In terms of your question about what Kia is doing, from media reports they seem to have put their corporate head in the ground. Yes, they are offering free Clubs in certain hard hit areas, but their overall corporate response is that their cars meet all applicable federal standards. I'm afraid in the penalty phase of the coming class action lawsuit, which the legal publications say may be one of the largest in U.S. history, this will prove to be an inadequate response.

Kia is probably doing little because Fortes and similar entry-level cars without engine immobilizers are their lowest profit vehicles. Sedans are a dying part of the market, anyway. Had something like this involved their high-zoot SUVs the company would be a whole lot more robust in their response. I imagine Kia corporate has done a cost analysis and the verdict is that it will be cheaper to pay off the lawsuit rather than recall millions of Kias to install an immobilizer.

I find it interesting that there have been no calls for the Federal government to recall Kias. I guess poor owners of low-priced cars don't get much consideration from our politicians. No campaign contributions.

 

[ForteGT2]

Talked to a Honda salesperson about trading the Forte for a Civic.

Strange way of thinking?!?! Honda Civics have CONTINUALLY been in the top 10 of STOLEN VEHICLES EVERY YEAR.

 

[Rypat16]

I hate to share bad news, but here it is so everyone can make informed decisions:

Talked to a Honda salesperson about trading the Forte for a Civic. She said the dealership just had a sales staff meeting detailing the Kia theft situation. Because in many zip codes comprehensive insurance is no longer being offered and that savvy clients will not buy theft-plagued Kias, the dealership management is reluctant to take Kias on trade. If they do, it will be with a 10-20 percent discount over Blackbook advice. (In one month the trade-in value of my Forte dropped from $20,300 to $18,900.) And this is in Columbia, Mo, a place not hard hit by the thefts, but 100 miles away from St. Louis which is a hotbed for them.

This dealership expects a large number of Kias hitting the auction market as people dump them, further pounding the trade-in value.

Sorry, but more bad news. My State Farm insurance agent, who also just had a corporate wide meeting, says to expect a rate increase because of the increase in Kia theft risk. State Farm will not dump existing customers, but will price premiums according to the theft risk in each zip code.

In terms of your question about what Kia is doing, from media reports they seem to have put their corporate head in the ground. Yes, they are offering free Clubs in certain hard hit areas, but their overall corporate response is that their cars meet all applicable federal standards. I'm afraid in the penalty phase of the coming class action lawsuit, which the legal publications say may be one of the largest in U.S. history, this will prove to be an inadequate response.

Kia is probably doing little because Fortes and similar entry-level cars without engine immobilizers are their lowest profit vehicles. Sedans are a dying part of the market, anyway. Had something like this involved their high-zoot SUVs the company would be a whole lot more robust in their response. I imagine Kia corporate has done a cost analysis and the verdict is that it will be cheaper to pay off the lawsuit rather than recall millions of Kias to install an immobilizer.

I find it interesting that there have been no calls for the Federal government to recall Kias. I guess poor owners of low-priced cars don't get much consideration from our politicians. No campaign contributions.

I’m gonna talk to a few dealerships to see what my options are. I’ve already had a few conversations already and not a single person has said anything too concerning. I guess I’ll see.

It will likely put me in a shitty financial situation if it try to buy a new car.

 

[110214]

See if your state has a lemon law. That might help you.

 

[noturbonoproblem]

See if your state has a lemon law. That might help you.

Won't do anything - lemon law is forced manufacturer buyback if you have 3 unsuccessful repair attempts of an issue or a certain amount of downtime. It says nothing about this. In fact, nothing says anything about this, because it's not illegal or a violation of any law or legal document. Federal and state laws say nothing about immobilizers in the US. The reason it's happening is because thieves became aware of vulnerabilities that exist in these cars due to a) the fact that they are cheap cars, and therefore don't have immobilizers on some trims to save costs and b) easily defeatable ignition cylinders (which is simply poor design).

 

[Rypat16]

Won't do anything - lemon law is forced manufacturer buyback if you have 3 unsuccessful repair attempts of an issue or a certain amount of downtime. It says nothing about this. In fact, nothing says anything about this, because it's not illegal or a violation of any law or legal document. Federal and state laws say nothing about immobilizers in the US. The reason it's happening is because thieves became aware of vulnerabilities that exist in these cars due to a) the fact that they are cheap cars, and therefore don't have immobilizers on some trims to save costs and b) easily defeatable ignition cylinders (which is simply poor design).

I was told by the service manager at the dealership that a lot of cars can be stolen in similar ways, not just kias and Hyundais.
The reason why it’s such a big problem is because it’s a huge trend now.

He said that most cars without a push starter can be stolen in similar fashion.

are there other cars that don’t have immobilizers?

 

[noturbonoproblem]

I was told by the service manager at the dealership that a lot of cars can be stolen in similar ways, not just kias and Hyundais.
The reason why it’s such a big problem is because it’s a huge trend now.

He said that most cars without a push starter can be stolen in similar fashion.

are there other cars that don’t have immobilizers?

Yep, service manager pretty much nailed it, although it is easier on these cars because of the stupid design that doesn't require the key to be in position 1 to take the lock cylinder out like most cars require.
Yep, there are plenty. Pretty much everything non-luxury up until the mid-late 2000s in a lot of cases, and even a lot of luxury cars until the mid-late 90s. Not super common to not have it anymore, but the Forte isn't the only one. Mitsubishi Mirage still doesn't even have a steering lock, let alone an immobilizer.
Also, it's worth noting that it's quite easy to steal push-button cars too with some cheap-ish signal repeater/booster tech, but the average dumb teen won't be that technical in most cases

 

[Rypat16]

Would those automatic starters and security system detect someone breaking your window?

Is there anything that immobilizes an engine like that company in Milwaukee came up with?

 

[noturbonoproblem]

Would those automatic starters and security system detect someone breaking your window?

Is there anything that immobilizes an engine like that company in Milwaukee came up with?

Can’t see it, not a deterrent. You’d still get your window smashed. These cars have alarm systems from the factory, clearly that doesn’t help

 

[ForteGT2]

IMO the only way to protect your Kia now is to install a car alarm that activates when the car is simply touched AND install a bright red or yellow club on the steering wheel.

Because of "Kia Boyz" and social media If you have a pre-2021 Kia and have an immobilizer installed most likely potential thieves won't know it and will break your window, only to find out afterwards that they can't start the car. You need the club so that they can see it as a deterrent AND you need the horn blasting BEFORE they try to break the window - if they're too stupid to look for a club first.

I mean it would be nice if you have an immobilizer installed but what good is it if you find your car still there with broken glass all around?

50s, 60s, and early 70s cars were SUPER easy to hot wire! No steering wheel locks, you could open the hood from outside the car, and you just needed a jumper wire to the coil and a quick contact with the starter (Fords and Mercurys were REAL easy because the starter solenoid was right next to the battery - not on the starter like other car makes).

Early 70s and up cars had ignition switches that needed the key to remove the cylinder lock (Why Kia didn't continue that is one for the books) BUT you could still remove it with a slide hammer! Look at the top 10 stolen vehicle list EVERY year - all these cars/trucks have immobilizers and locked ignition cylinders and they still get stolen.

 

[Rypat16]

Ar

IMO the only way to protect your Kia now is to install a car alarm that activates when the car is simply touched AND install a bright red or yellow club on the steering wheel.

Because of "Kia Boyz" and social media If you have a pre-2021 Kia and have an immobilizer installed most likely potential thieves won't know it and will break your window, only to find out afterwards that they can't start the car. You need the club so that they can see it as a deterrent AND you need the horn blasting BEFORE they try to break the window - if they're too stupid to look for a club first.

I mean it would be nice if you have an immobilizer installed but what good is it if you find your car still there with broken glass all around?

50s, 60s, and early 70s cars were SUPER easy to hot wire! No steering wheel locks, you could open the hood from outside the car, and you just needed a jumper wire to the coil and a quick contact with the starter (Fords and Mercurys were REAL easy because the starter solenoid was right next to the battery - not on the starter like other car makes).

Early 70s and up cars had ignition switches that needed the key to remove the cylinder lock (Why Kia didn't continue that is one for the books) BUT you could still remove it with a slide hammer! Look at the top 10 stolen vehicle list EVERY year - all these cars/trucks have immobilizers and locked ignition cylinders and they still get stolen.

Are there alarms that do that?

 

[ForteGT2]

Ar

Are there alarms that do that?

Best Car Alarms For 2022 - Forbes Wheels

 

[Rypat16]

Why are videos still on YouTube, instagram and tik tok in how to do this? Especially YouTube? So called “reporters” showing people how to do this is essentially promoting criminal activity. They will take down a video over a joke but not this? I don’t understand

 

[ForteDave#1]

As I said a few days ago in a prior discussion on "Kia Boyz", a study from 2016 in US News & World Report found that at that time, only 18% of the US population could drive a car with a manual transmission. You can bet 1) the figure's even LOWER now and 2) it's LOWER STILL for the brats who are doing this. Plus, they can tell just by looking into the car that it's something they can't drive; no busted window required!

God, I love my stick!

(What?!?, I'm talking about the SHIFTER... )

 

[noturbonoproblem]

As I said a few days ago in a prior discussion on "Kia Boyz", a study from 2016 in US News & World Report found that at that time, only 18% of the US population could drive a car with a manual transmission. You can bet 1) the figure's even LOWER now and 2) it's LOWER STILL for the brats who are doing this. Plus, they can tell just by looking into the car that it's something they can't drive; no busted window required!

God, I love my stick!

(What?!?, I'm talking about the SHIFTER... )

Exactly the reason I'm not worried either.