The Kia Boyz Challenge: A Real-Life Menace
The screech of stolen cars can be heard ripping through roads. They're stealing Kias and Hyundais with a cell phone charger - And a new viral trend that is now, a real life menace.
I don't give a fuck where you at. If you were in Japan, Australia, you in the middle of Antarctica, and you got a kid that's on that please be safe 'cause I'm gon' beat your ass, whoever did this, bro.
Earlier this year, the Kia Boyz challenge took over TikTok, and because of it, thousands of cars just like this one have been stolen with nothing more than a screwdriver and an iPhone cable. How the hell do you steal a car with just these two things?
Well, today we're gon' find out. Welcome to Donut - Kia Boy. Couple of months ago, TikTok's of kids stealing cars with nothing more than a USB cable and calling themselves the Kia Boyz went viral.
(Kia Boyz laugh)
That trend started with a bunch of kids in Milwaukee. Figured out that certain model Kias and Hyundais were unusually easy to steal. So they started breaking into them and then joy riding them around town.
Noah, have you heard of the Kia Boyz?
Kia Boyz application
So how some teenagers figured this out, I have no clue. But what I do know is that some engineers over at Kia definitely messed up. How could such a large car company mass manufacture a car that's so easy to steal?
We reached out to Kia to see what they had to say about the problem and received a very polite but largely uninformative response. They said, it is unfortunate that criminals are using social media to target vehicles without engine immobilizers calling it a coordinated effort by those criminals.
They also added that all of our vehicles meet or exceed federal motor vehicle safety standards. But it turns out not everyone agrees with that. And there's now a class action lawsuit against Kia in Hyundai in several states.
The problem is that most cars have immobilizers and chipped keys, which make it nearly impossible to drive away with your car unless you just wanna steer off in that steering wheel locked position the entire time then you're golden.
But why did this happen? The answer lies in the fact that some manufacturers have been defense against those types of attacks by installing immobilizers and using chipped keys. However, this has led to a situation where some cheaper cars don't include them.
Which brings us to the Kia challenge. This is our buddy Connor's 2019 Hyundai Elantra which has actually already been stolen once so we're gonna try to steal it a second time with nothing more than a screwdriver and a USB cable.
You don't even really need this but I'm gonna use it 'cause I want to try to be delicate. And when I say USB cable like this I'm not transferring data I'm just physically using this shape matches up nicely with the backside of that ignition cylinder.
Pop this off. That's good. So I've taken this apart with two screws so we don't break the plastic what these guys does is this plastic's so flimsy these old tabs you just rip this down and these tabs pop off.
So I'm gonna get my plug out the way. See this? This is the problem area right here.
Under it, yank it completely out. So I'm gonna depress this and pull this cylinder out. And there we have it. So we got the ignition cylinder out and so what this does is it mates up with the ignition cylinder right here that looks to be about the same size just a USB plug.
Here we go. Jam it on there. Moment of truth 3 2 1.
(dramatic music)
Building tension. Suspense. Will it work?
Heck yeah. Holy crap. Yo, I'm part of the Kia Boyz. I'm a Kia Boy now. Nice craziness. Absolute craziness.
Hop in Nick let's go do some Kia Boy stuff.
So what does the future hold for the Kia Boyz? Only time will tell.
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- The screech of stolen carscan be heard ripping through roads.- They're stealing Kias and Hyundaiswith a cell phone charger- And a newviral trend that is now,a real life menace.- I don'tgive a fuck where you at.If you were in Japan, Australia,you in the middle of Antarctica.And you got a kid that'son that please be safe'cause I'm gon' beat yourass, whoever did this, bro.(dramatic music)- Earlier this year the KiaBoyz challenge took over TikTokand because of it, thousandsof cars just like this onehave been stolen with nothingmore than a screwdriverand an iPhone cable.How the hell do you steal acar with just these two things?Well, today we're gon'find out. Welcome to Donut.- Kia Boy.- Couple of months ago,TikToks of kids stealing carswith nothing more than a USB cableand calling themselvesthe Kia Boyz went viral.(Kia Boyz laugh)That trend started with abunch of kids in Milwaukee.Figured out that certainmodel Kias and Hyundais,were unusually easy to steal.So they started breaking into themand then joy riding them around town.Noah, have you heard of the Kia Boyz?(both laugh)And then look at this guy.(both laugh)- It's just hilarious 'cause like these,okay, no offense to Kia,they're like the mostboring cars to steal.- I know.- Every video I've seenof this tomfoolery,it's just, like, kid swerving,like this guy he's justswerving back and forth.It's a crime of almost convenience.You know, like theseare super easy to stealand then just do this.Just swerve back and forth.- Just swerving.- Just swerving.- And they have their seatbelt on.(Noah laughs)- This is what happenswhen you defund schools.(intense music)- This is a lady who's a victim of it.- That sucks.- So they trashed her car.- She was Gurty andshe was my pride and joy.- She's talk about the car, right?- She's not anymore.- Why do they have to use the name?- I love it.- Gurty.- Like it's a person.- McFarlaneis among Milwaukee'snearly 4,000 victimsof car theft this year.Many at the hands of the KiaBoyz stealing Hyundais and Kiasfor joy rides. Compared to this...- Oh, no!- Thefts are down a bit.- My car, mybaby, Gurty, is out theremaybe jumping on a curveand hitting somebody.- I feel bad for these people.- I feel bad too.Nolan doesn't give me a(beep) about these people.The fact that there's aanother one, another one,another one.- That was comedy gold- That was insane.- That was insane, dude.Carol, I'm sorry thathappened to your car.- And we're sorry to hear about Gurty.- But, dude, Gurty(bleep) sucked it, dude.- But this isn't somethingthat's just happeningin Milwaukee it's happening nationwide.In Detroit, 111 Kias werestolen in the month of July.In Charlotte, North Carolina156 Kias and Hyundaiswere stolen in the same month.And cops even in Chicagohave reported a 767% increasein vehicle thefts. Evenhere in Los Angeles,there have already been over1600 more Kias and Hyundaisstolen compared to last year.So what I wanna know is howare the Kia Boyz doing this?Now, a car's ignition systemis a pretty simple combinationof a lock cylinder andan electrical switch.Use the right key and youcan rotate that cylinderto activate a switchwhich closes off a circuitto engage the starter.Now in the past, thievescould steal your carby taking a screwdriver and ramming itinto the ignition cylinderor by using some sortof contraption like thisto hot wire your car.Now hot wiring your car isn'tlike what it is in the moviesbut the idea is you can ripapart the steering columnwhich we've already done.You can pull out the wiringfrom behind the ignitioncylinder and then takesome sort of jumper wireand jump some of these linesbypassing the switch itselfin the ignition cylinderand starting a car.Let's see if I can actuallyget this thing started.Is the lips cool?- Yeah, I like the lip.- Okay, I'm gonna look atthe back of this plug here.What I need to do is just (beep)push into clutch.(car starting)Heck yeah, hotwired my first car.Now that wasn't particularly hard to dobut for the past couple decadesmost automobile manufacturershave been defendingagainst those types of attacksby installing immobilizersand using chipped keys.Now using a chipped key installsa second electrical circuitto the starting system.That system only functions ifthe car detects the correctradio signal from a microchip in the keys.Even if you bypass thatimmobilizer by hot wiring itmost cars will also have a steering lockThat lock won't disengageunless you have a keyin the ignition, making itnearly impossible to drive awaywith your car. Unlessyou just wanna steer offin that steering wheel lockedposition the entire timethen you're golden.Now the downside to all ofthis is that immobilizersand chipped keys areoften fairly expensiveand if you happen to loseyour key, you often have to goto the dealership to get it reprogrammed.And because of that extra expensesome cheaper cars don't include them.Which brings us to the Kia challenge.This is our buddy Connor's2019 Hyundai Elantrawhich has actuallyalready been stolen onceso we're gonna try tosteal it a second timewith nothing more than ascrewdriver and a USB cableyou don't even really need thisbut I'm gonna use it 'causeI want to try to be delicate.And when I say USB cable likethis I'm not transferring dataI'm just physicallyusing this shape matchesup nicely with the backsideof that ignition cylinder.Pop this off. That's good.So I've taken this apart with two screwsso we don't break the plasticbut what these guys dois this plastic's soflimsy these old tabs,you just rip this downand these tabs pop off.So I'm going to get my plug out the way.See this? This is theproblem area right here.(long beep)Under it, yank it completely out.So I'm gonna depress thisand pull this cylinder out.And there we have it.So we got the ignition cylinder out.And so what this does is it mates upwith the ignition cylinderright here, that looks to beabout the same size, just a USB plug.So here we go. Jam it on there.Moment of truth, 3, 2, 1.(dramatic music)Building tension. Suspense. Will it work?(car starting)Heck yeah. Holy crap. Yo,I'm part of the Kia Boyz.I'm a Kia Boy now. Nice,craziness. Absolute craziness.Hop in Nick, let's godo some Kia Boy stuff.- Kia Boyz application.- So how some teenagers figuredthis out, I have no clue.But what I do know is thatsome engineers over at Kiadefinitely messed up.How could such a large carcompany mass manufacturea car that's so easy to steal?So we reached out to Kiato see what they had to sayabout the problem andreceived a very politebut largely uninformative response.They said, it is unfortunatethat criminals are usingsocial media to target vehicleswithout engine immobilizerscalling it a coordinatedeffort by those criminals.They also added thatall of our vehicles meetor exceed federal motorvehicles safety standards.But it turns out noteveryone agrees with that.And there's now a class action lawsuitagainst Kia in Hyundai in several states.And by the way, if you're inthe courtroom watching this,go to donutmedia.com and get yourself a"I was in a courtroom wherea donut media video played"t-shirt. The thing is, othercar manufacturers don't havethis problem, at least that we know of.And if Kia isn't gonnatell us what the problem iswell, we're just gonnahave to find out ourselves.Oh this, you join. So we rippedout the ignition cylinderfrom the cabrio that I hot wired earlierand I went online and I boughtthe same ignition cylinderfrom the Hyundai that I also stole.I'm gonna take these two, compare themand see what the differences are.Okay, so you remember that plugthat I removed from the cabriobefore that let me hot wirethe car? Well, this is whereit mates up to in the backsideof the cylinder.Now if I pop this off, you cansee when you twist this keyit rotates that little pin right thereand that pin fits on thebackside of this connector.And when you rotate that, thatconnector jumps these pinsand allows the car to start.Unfortunately, getting thispiece out is a major (beep).You had to take thewhole steering shaft outto be able to get enoughroom to pull this piece out.So while it is similar inhow it functions comparedto Kia, it's much, much harder to getto the vulnerable piece to getthe car to be able to start.Okay, so let's look atthis Kia cylinder and seehow it differs. Like we didearlier, all I have to dois push this little pin in andthat whole assembly pops outexposing our nice littleUSB slot which we can turnand crank the car over.Now we did it this way 'causewe were being non-destructivebut if I were a real KiaBoy, all I would have to dois take a screwdriver, pry itin here and just wiggle thisa little bit, bend it enoughto where it pops that pin,that pin is the only thingpreventing this whole entireassembly from popping out.So the fatal flaw in the Kia systemis that small, little pin. That's it.So why did Kia put these intheir cars in the first place?Well, it seems to methe only answer is cost.All of this could have beenavoided by using an immobilizerand in fact, cars in Canadahave this same system in itbut use an immobilizer becausethey're required by lawto do so. And this affects cars from 2011all the way to 2021.If you were to factor inall the different modelsthat use this over thatmany years, that is a tonof money that Kia savedand now Gurty's gone.So how can you protect yourselvesif you own one of these cars?Well, Kia says they're workingwith local law enforcementto provide free wheel locksto those in highly affected areas.But the problem is thisis a nationwide thingand they're only workingin places like MilwaukeeSt. Louis, Memphis.And if you don't live in those areasKia is offering $170kit to protect your car.But that doesn't includethe installation costwhich could be up to $500.If you happen to have a carand you don't live in those places?You're gonna have to figureout a solution for yourself.Maybe a kill switch, maybeanother sort of lock.I don't know. We've donesome anti theft videoshere at Donut. Why don'tyou check one out and watch?- Does your wallet feellike over stuffed luggage?Do your keys sound like a dang fire alarm?Then you need today'ssponsor, the Ridge Wallet.The Ridge Wallet can expandand hold up to 12 cardsplus have room for cash.You can even test drive it for 45 days.And if you don't likeit you can send it backfor a full refund.But you're gonna love itjust like you'll love this.The Ridge Key caseorganizes up to six keysinto a minimalist compactsilhouette. Can you hear that?Nice and quiet. Now, theholiday season is almost here.And if you are lookingfor the perfect gifthead over to ridgewallet.com/donutmediaand use the code DONUTMEDIA to get 10% offplus free worldwide shipping and returns.Or just click the link below.- Thank you guys so muchfor watching this videoand everything else at Donut.'Til next week, bye for now.
