We recently learned that Hyundai and Kia owners may be more likely to suffer from the same undesirable fate: having their vehicles stolen.

Rampant thefts that were first reported in the Milwaukee area two years ago began to spread, along with the knowledge that certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles were deficient in a certain area that made them easier to steal.

Since then, The Highway Loss Data Institute, a unit of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, has revealed that these vehicles were missing an anti-theft device within their keys, resulting in their being stolen at nearly twice the rate of other vehicles.

According to Automotive News, Hyundai believes it has come up with a solution to mitigate the problem, but vehicle owners might not like it. Why? Because the anti-theft kit developed by the automaker is reportedly going to cost interested parties $170.

As published in a follow-up report by Car & Driver, the kit was developed in partnership with Compustar. It contains a kill switch and an alarm and is available at more than 800 dealerships where it will take more than two hours to install. This installation could cost as much as $500, says an attorney representing plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit relating to the scenario.

While Kia is also experiencing this high rate of theft, it is not yet offering any type of anti-theft kit, though it has offered free steering wheel locks to owners. 

Hyundai spokesperson Ira Gabriel told Car & Driver that the automaker is working on a software update, “to further secure these targeted vehicles" and it should be available for certain Hyundai vehicles in the first half of 2023 with others to follow. 

Download and listen to the audio version below and click here to subscribe to the Today in Manufacturing podcast.