IN SAN FRANCISCO Hyundai announced on Wednesday that it would establish “mobile clinics” at five locations around the United States to offer anti-theft software updates for cars that are now being targeted by criminals using a method that has become popular on TikTok and other social media platforms.
The two- to three-day clinics, which the South Korean automaker is holding in New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Rochester, New York, will take place on weekends. The sessions will run from October 28 to November 18.
Before the end of 2023, Hyundai stated that it would also support dealership-run one-day regional clinics, however, it did not specify the locations or dates of these events.
The 2018–2022 Accent, 2011–2022 Elantra, 2013–2020 Elantra GT, 2013–2014 Genesis Coupe, 2018–2022 Kona, 2020–2021 Palisade, 2013–2022 Santa Fe, 2013–2018 Santa Fe Sport, 2019 Santa Fe XL, 2011–2019 Sonata, 2011–2022 Tucson, 2012–2017 and 2019–2021 Veloster, and 2020–2021 Venue are among the vehicles that the automaker listed as impacted.
When criminals realized that the impacted cars lacked engine immobilizers—an anti-theft feature that has long been common in other cars—theft rates of the impacted cars skyrocketed.
