Plumstead Police Offer Locks For Vehicles Targeted By TikTok Challenge

PLUMSTEAD TOWNSHIP, PA — The Plumstead Township Police Department is offering free wheel locks while supplies last to owners of Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

The vehicles have been targeted by a TikTok challenge showing viewers how to hot wire them with a USB cord and a screwdriver.

"We have received some phone calls from concerned residents about the recent Hyundai & Kia
TikTok trend. If you own either of these vehicles, we recommend you stop by the police department Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m to obtain a free wheel lock provided directly from Hyundai and Kia," said Plumstead Police.

Hyundai Motor America has introduced a free anti-theft software upgrade to prevent the vehicles from starting during the TikTok challenge.

The software upgrade will modify certain vehicle control modules on vehicles equipped with standard “turn-key-to-start” ignition systems. As a result, locking the doors with the key fob will set the factory alarm and activate an “ignition kill” feature so the vehicles cannot be started when subjected to the popularized theft mode.

The software upgrade launched as a service campaign for almost four million vehicles with the upgrade rolling out first to more than one million model year 2017-2020 Elantra, 2015-2019 Sonata and 2020-2021 Venue vehicles.

The software upgrade is scheduled to be available for the remaining eligible affected vehicles by June.

Hyundai is notifying customers about the anti-theft service campaign through multiple points of contact (e.g., mail, email, outbound phone contact and a dedicated website) with instructions to bring their vehicle to the nearest Hyundai dealership to have the free software installed.

More information is available at www.hyundaiantitheft.com where customers can input their vehicle’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to find out when it is eligible for the software upgrade.