How to Claim Up to $4,500 From the New Kia and Hyundai Theft Settlement

• A new $9 million multistate settlement with Kia and Hyundai is open now through March 31, 2027, separate from the larger $145 million settlement that already closed in 2025.
• Owners of 2011 to 2022 models without a factory-installed engine immobilizer can claim up to $4,500 for a total loss, $2,250 for partial damage, or $375 for an attempted theft.
• The same paperwork the claim requires, a police report and an insurer’s loss letter, can also be used to ask your insurance company to re-rate your policy now that a free anti-theft fix exists.

The Settlement Most Owners Have Never Heard Of

If you searched for a Kia or Hyundai theft settlement and found information about a $200 million payout, that claim window is already shut. That original class action, tied to a viral TikTok trend that showed thieves how to start certain models with nothing more than a USB cable, was announced at more than $200 million in 2023, revised down to a $145 million fund at final court approval in October 2024, and closed its claim deadline on April 28, 2025.

A second, smaller settlement opened on its heels and is still taking claims. On December 16, 2025, a coalition of 36 attorneys general, representing 35 states and the District of Columbia, announced a $9 million multistate settlement with Hyundai and Kia over vehicles that remained vulnerable even after the manufacturers issued a free anti-theft software update. Attorneys general in Massachusetts, Washington D.C., North Carolina, Illinois and Washington state each published their own version of the announcement.

The underlying defect became a national story once social media picked it up. Certain Kia and Hyundai models, most widely the Elantra, Sonata, Accent, Forte and Soul, left the factory without the engine immobilizers that had already become standard on most competing vehicles for years. Videos showing how to start these cars with a USB cable and a screwdriver spread rapidly online in 2022 and 2023, and cities including Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Columbus all recorded sharp, model-specific spikes in Kia and Hyundai thefts that same stretch. Some cities reported these two brands accounting for a share of stolen vehicles many times larger than their share of cars on the road, and insurance industry data from that period consistently ranked Hyundai Elantras and Kia Sportages among the most frequently stolen vehicles in the country, a ranking neither brand had come close to in prior years.

Who Qualifies and What It Pays

The settlement covers owners and lessees of 2011 through 2022 Kia and Hyundai vehicles that left the factory without a standard engine immobilizer, where the car had already received the free anti-theft software update, or had an appointment scheduled for it, and was then stolen or targeted for theft on or after April 29, 2025. That date is the key detail: eligibility depends on when the theft happened relative to the software fix, not on when the car was purchased.

Not every 2011 to 2022 Kia or Hyundai trim was built without an immobilizer, so eligibility depends on the specific vehicle rather than the model year alone. The settlement administrator’s website includes a VIN lookup tool built for exactly this question, and owners should run their own VIN before assuming either way that their car qualifies. Reported payouts run up to $4,500 for a total loss, up to $2,250 for partial loss or damage, and up to $375 for an attempted theft. The settlement also requires Kia and Hyundai to offer every eligible owner a free zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector, a physical hardware fix rather than another software patch, with a full year from the date of notice to get it installed at a dealership. Filing costs nothing. Claims go through an administrator called Angeion at HKMultistateImmobilizerSettlement.com, or by phone through Kia customer care at 1-800-333-4542 for Kia owners.

What to Gather Before You File

The claim asks for a police report covering the theft or attempted theft, a total-loss or partial-loss letter from your insurance company, proof that you paid your deductible, and proof of any reasonable theft-related expenses such as a tow or repair invoice. Gathering all four documents at once saves a second trip through old paperwork, and the same documents double as exactly what you need for a separate conversation with your insurer, covered below. One caution worth noting: if your insurer already reimbursed you for the same theft, it could hold a legal right to part of your settlement recovery, so check your policy or ask a consumer attorney before assuming the check is entirely yours.

The Insurance Problem the Settlement Check Does Not Fix

For a lot of owners, the bigger financial hit came from what their insurance company did after the theft wave started, not from the theft itself. With an estimated 7 million Kia and Hyundai vehicles missing a standard immobilizer, some insurers began treating the affected models as measurably higher risk. State Farm and Progressive stopped writing new policies for certain high-theft Kia and Hyundai models in some states, and other longtime policyholders saw their rates climb purely over the model they drove, even with a clean claims history.

The data behind that risk pricing has shifted, though. The Highway Loss Data Institute found that vehicles with the free anti-theft software update saw theft-claim frequency drop by roughly 53 percent, and whole-vehicle theft frequency fall 64 percent, compared with vehicles that never got the update. That is the same type of loss data insurers rely on to set premiums in the first place. Once the physical zinc sleeve is installed on top of the software fix, an owner has real paperwork showing the risk an insurer priced in no longer applies at the same level.

How to Actually Use That Paperwork

No manufacturer or insurer has published a guarantee that installing the hardware fix automatically lowers a premium or reinstates a canceled policy, and owners should go into that phone call expecting a conversation rather than an automatic result. What the loss data shows is that insurers now have real evidence the risk they priced against a given model has measurably dropped. Calling to ask for a rate review, with installation paperwork in hand, is a reasonable request even without a guaranteed outcome. Owners who skip that call and assume nothing has changed will keep paying the old, higher-risk rate by default.

Steps to Take This Week

Pull together your police report, insurer’s loss letter or deductible receipt, and any repair or towing invoice from the theft or attempted theft. File the free claim at HKMultistateImmobilizerSettlement.com before the March 31, 2027 deadline. If you have not already had the free anti-theft software update installed, or the newer zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector, schedule that at a Kia or Hyundai dealership and get the completion paperwork in writing. Both fixes are free regardless of whether your car was ever stolen, so there is no reason to wait for a theft to happen before getting the hardware installed. Then call your insurance company, tell them the hardware fix is installed, and ask them to re-rate your policy based on the updated risk. Watch for anyone offering to file the claim for you in exchange for a fee or your account information: the claim form is free, and paying a third party to file it for you is a red flag, not a shortcut. Scammers have already used the same “file your claim here” pitch against people waiting on unrelated government refunds, so treat any unsolicited call or text about this settlement with the same skepticism you would apply to a stranger asking for your bank details.

Sources:

• Massachusetts Attorney General, multistate settlement announcement
• HK Multistate Immobilizer Settlement, official claims site
• Highway Loss Data Institute, anti-theft software effectiveness data