Hyundai owners can have free antitheft software installed in their vehicles from Thursday through Saturday at Montgomery County’s public safety headquarters in Gaithersburg, county police and Hyundai Motor America announced Thursday.
The car company is partnering with county police to offer the free installation, which takes about 20 minutes, to help counter the increasing number of thefts of Hyundai vehicles in the county, officials said during a press conference at the headquarters at 100 Edison Park Drive.
Vehicle owners do not need to register to attend the installation event, which will be held in the headquarters parking lot from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
“If you have a Hyundai manufactured between the years of 2011 and 2021, this is place where you need to be,” police Chief Marcus Jones said.
Hyundais make up more than 40% of the 1,094 vehicles that have been stolen so far in the county this year, Jones said. The vehicles became a target across the country beginning in the summer of 2021 through TikTok videos that showed how to steal them.
“This is an incredible increase that we’ve seen over the past few years where we’re seeing vehicles being stolen at an alarming rate,” Jones said of the increase in car thefts.
He noted that Hyundai has “taken ownership” of this issue and is helping to find solutions through providing antitheft software upgrades to car owners. “This software is a game changer in preventing auto theft,” he said.
The software giveaway follows Hyundai’s effort to prevent thefts after the TikTok viral challenge by distributing free steering wheel locks while working on software updates, according to David Vandelinde, vice president of Hyundai Motor America.
In February 2023, the company launched software packages for 3.7 million Hyundai vehicles that use a key-turn-to start ignition system. The packages are being installed at dealerships across the country, he said.
Vandelinde said the company decided to partner with law enforcement agencies to offer installation of the software updates, realizing that car owners might not have time to get to a local dealership.
“There is no cost whatsoever, no appointment whatsoever, not even any ID required,” Vandelinde said. “All we need is the serial number on the vehicle.”
In addition to the software update, stickers will be placed on a vehicle’s front windows that say it is equipped with the software update. Free steering wheel locks also will be provided during the event, he said.
Jones also noted that vehicle owners can prevent thefts by auto thefts by locking their cars and keeping valuable hidden inside or locked in the trunk.