Wheel Lock For Hyundai Cars Available At Oswego Police Department

OSWEGO, IL — Oswego residents concerned about their Hyundai cars being stolen have another option for protecting their vehicles. The Oswego Police Department will provide free steering wheel locks for cars that qualify.

The car manufacturer is working with law enforcement agencies across 12 states, Illinois included, to provide more than 26,000 wheel locks to drivers.

In Oswego, residents are asked to visit Hyundai's website to determine if their car qualifies, meaning it is one of the affected models. From there, residents must bring proof of residency and vehicle registration to the police department, 3355 Woolley Road, to pick up the item.

At this time, Oswego police said the locks are only available for qualifying Hyundai owners. Supplies are limited, police said, and can be picked up when the department is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.

Oswego police's announcement comes about three weeks after Kia and Hyundai announced they would install a theft deterrent software update in millions of their cars as an added prevention. The update will extend the alarm sound from 30 seconds to one minute and requires the key to be in the ignition switch to turn the vehicle on, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Hyundai will also provide customers with a window sticker to alert possible thieves that the car is equipped with anti-theft protection.

Vehicles built with push-button ignition and smart key — as well as cars produced after 2021 — are already equipped with an engine immobilizer, so the car will not need a software upgrade, according to Oswego police.

The targeted cars are "so easy to steal" that some insurance companies refuse to provide coverage for them. Hyundai and Kia models made between 2015-2019 with turn-key ignitions are about twice as likely to be stolen since some lack basic auto theft prevention technology, according to a report from CBS News.

Many of the thefts are related to a TikTok challenge, dubbed "Kia Boys," first posted last summer that encouraged people to break into Kia cars using cellphone chargers. Law enforcement agencies across the country believe the challenge has led to at least 14 reported crashes and eight deaths, AP reported.

Both companies are rolling out updates in a phased approach beginning later in March, according to the NHTSA.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect steering wheel locks are only available for Hyundai owners.