FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Fairfax County Police say they've had more than three dozen reports of stolen vehicles in the last three months.
"We had 37 similar cases, and this past weekend, we had five in the Lorton area," said Sgt. Pat Heard.
Heard is part of the Fairfax County Police Department's Auto Crime Enforcement Squad.
He told WUSA9 that the stolen vehicles all had similar damage.
"Broken rear windows to defeat the security features and then broken steering columns," said Heard.
It's a growing problem across the country. An insurance industry group says Kia and Hyundai vehicles are stolen at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the auto industry because their keys lack computer chips for theft “immobilizer” systems.
The thefts apparently started in the Milwaukee area two years ago and spread to multiple Midwest cities and as far away as Colorado and New Mexico after instructional videos appeared on social media.
Just last week Prince George's County Police Department arrested a 17-year-old. He was charged with theft ($1,500 to under $25,000), unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, unauthorized removal of a motor vehicle and several other charges. He was later released to a guardian.
PGPD said the teen stole a Kia Optima. Investigators said they found a USB charging cord on the driver’s side floorboard, which they believe was used to start the stolen car.
Anna Lee who lives in Southeast D.C. told WUSA9 her Kia was stolen from in front of her home in October. It was found by police about 24 hours later in Prince George's County.
"The steering wheel and ignition was ripped out," she said.
Her car still hasn't been fixed. She told WUSA9 her insurance company told her "all parts are on backorder because of the epidemic of stolen Kias across the country."
A Kia spokesperson said that overall global supply chain issues are at play and they are working through them as fast as possible. They sent WUSA9 the following statement:
Kia remains concerned about the recent trend among youth in some areas, encouraged by social media, to target certain Kia cars with a steel key and “turn-to-start” ignition systems. In many cases, the vehicles are stolen solely for the purpose of operating in a reckless manner. Such criminal conduct endangers our local communities and violates property rights.
While no car can be made completely theft-proof, Kia continues to make steering wheel locks available to customers through interested local law enforcement agencies, subject to available supply, at no cost to concerned owners of these vehicles.
Kia also continues its efforts to develop additional solutions for vehicles not originally equipped with an immobilizer, including the development and testing of enhanced security software, and will have an update to share in the near future.
All 2022 models and trims have an immobilizer applied either at the beginning of the year or as a running change, and all Kia vehicles meet or exceed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Kia customers with questions regarding their Kia vehicle should contact the Kia Consumer Assistance Center directly at 1-800-333-4542 (Kia).
Hyundai said all models produced after Nov. 1, 2021 have immobilizers as standard equipment.
Police recommend not leaving charging chords in your car, and consider buying anti-theft devices.
A reminder from police, it may be a trend on TikTok to steal these vehicles, but it's certainly not a joke.
"It is a crime. It is a felony. The juveniles we are seeing commit these crimes are not thinking about thier future. At the end of the day, that's not a part of the TikTok challenge, the judicial process which follows you the rest of your life," said Sgt. Heard.