Katie Schaub walked out of her apartment to head to work and had to scratch her head.
“I was like ‘oh that’s strange, where's my car’ and it wasn’t where I parked it,” Schaub said.
Quickly she realized her car had been stolen.
“I was just kind of in a state of shock that it even happened,” she said.
When police arrived she signed an affidavit and they told her there wasn’t much they could do.
“They did inform us this is an epidemic with the Hyundais and the Kias,” Schaub said.
Many Kias and Hyundais built in the last decade come without engine immobilizers, a feature that prevents the engine from starting without a key. That’s made them a common target for thieves.
This week 17 states’ Attorneys General, including Arizona’s Kris Mayes, sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking them to recall the cars because of how often they're being stolen.
Schaub says her apartment complex’s gate is broken and has been. She was told a number of other cars in the complex were stolen on the same night and the problem continues.
“I wonder if my car would be here still if the gates been shut,” Schaub said. “I wonder if other people’s cars wouldn’t have been impacted had the gates been shut.”
The car manufacturers are offering software updates to fix the bug, something Schaub wishes she’d taken advantage of sooner.
“Go get your cars fixed. Be persistent, go to the dealership,” Schaub said. “Don’t let this happen to you because this happened to us.”
She’s warning other owners so they don’t have to deal with the headache. When her car was recovered, it was wrecked and Katie was given 20 minutes to recover it or pay the tow and impound fees herself.
She just paid off her car six months ago — something she says was one of her proudest accomplishments.
“We’re trying to save money. We’re trying get ourselves into a situation where we can better our lives,” Schaub said. “All I have to show for $28,000 is a set of keys.”
Schaub is currently in a rental and working with her insurance company to try to find a solution.
