GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Last week, Kia and Hyundai announced they reached a settlement, resolving a class action lawsuit prompted by a surge in vehicle thefts.
The problem was well known right here in West Michigan. According to the Kent County Sheriff's Office, in 2022, the department investigated 415 stolen vehicle reports. 112 of the cars stolen were either Kias or Hyundais.
Tuesday, FOX 17 caught back up with a woman who had her Kia stolen last year.
Malissa Webber's journey toward justice has been a long one. When we first brought you her story, her car was stolen using her very own phone charger.
Now, Malissa says things are moving in the right direction, with the proposed settlement up for review in court in July.
Webber says, unfortunately, she still drives a Kia.
“I really didn’t feel like I had a choice. When it came down to trading it in, I went to multiple dealerships but wasn’t able to get the same offer, because, it’s a Kia, so what are you going to do? I didn’t want to go back to Kia, but I didn’t have much of a choice,” Malissa said.
The good news, Webber says, is that her new Kia is no longer missing a key part in the key fob: what's called an immobilizer. That part was missing from her old model, which is precisely why Webber says nearly a year ago now, her car was taken from the parking lot of her Grand Rapids' apartment.
When we first covered Malissa's story, she had choice words for the young people who took her car.
Since then, Malissa has turned her full attention toward the manufacturers.
“By not putting the immobilizer in, they made these cars easy to steal, so, part of that, is I love the fact that they’re acknowledging blame now, they dragged their feet for so long, it exploded on them," Webber said.
Webber also formed a Facebook group for support.
“Because I didn’t feel myself I had anywhere to go, except for my family and friends,” Webber said.
Malissa says the day the settlement was announced, the Facebook group exploded with comments from people like her, ready for their payout for being victimized.
“They made this a crime of opportunity,” Malissa said.
The two hundred million dollar settlement, covering about 9 million cars, Malissa knows now she's the furthest thing from alone.
“Obviously, they had too. They had to do something," Malissa said.
Malissa says in her eyes, the only true solution would be a complete recall of the Kia models missing the immobilizer. Malissa says it's frustrating knowing her exact car is still up for sale.
