Westmont, Illinois – Date Issued: March 22, 2023
To assist Westmont residents with specific Hyundai and Kia vehicles that have recently become a target of theft, the Westmont Police Department is distributing free steering wheel locks. The steering wheel locks have been donated by Hyundai Motor America.
In order to be eligible, you must be a Westmont resident and the registered owner of one of the Kia or Hyundai vehicles listed below. Police request you bring the vehicle registration with you to the police department, 500 N. Cass Ave, Monday through Friday, between 8am and 4pm (excluding holidays), when you arrive to pick up the device. Due to limited supply, residents may receive one steering wheel lock per vehicle. The eligible vehicles for the program are as follows:
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Accent (all body styles)
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Elantra (two-door and four-door)
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Kona
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Santa Fe
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Tucson
- 2015-2018 Hyundai Veloster
- 2015-2021 Kia Forte
- 2015-2021 Kia Optima
- 2015-2016 Kia Optima Hybrid
- 2015-2021 Kia Rio (all body styles)
- 2015-2021 Kia Sedona
- 2015-2016 Kia Sorento
- 2015-2021 Kia Soul
- 2015-2021 Kia Sportage
These locks should be used as an auto theft deterrent until Hyundai software upgrades have been made to the affected vehicles. Hyundai recently issued a statement to consumers about the roll out of new software updates:
Hyundai Motor America has introduced a free anti-theft software upgrade to prevent the vehicles from starting during a method of theft popularized on TikTok and other social media channels. The software upgrade will modify certain vehicle control modules on Hyundai 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.
This software upgrade launched as a service campaign for almost 4 million vehicles with the upgrade rolling out first to more than 1 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 2023. 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. Full Media Press Statement here.
For additional information, please contact the Westmont Police Department at awhitehead@westmont.il.gov or 630-981-6383.
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