Certain Hyundai and Kia models saw a 10-fold increase in thefts in just the past three years, a wildly dramatic increase in the wake of a series of social media posts showing people how to steal the vehicles.
I’ve finally decided to trade in my Kia for a Subaru. I’m tired of the anxiety of coming out to an empty parking spot in the morning. Really stupid decision by them to not install immobilizers as standard on all vehicles, and very poor and slow response to the issue. Never buying a Hyundai/Kia again, which is too bad because their cars look great.
Same but don’t know replacement vehicle will be, hoping to just not need the car with remote work. Received 3 recall notices for our SUV last year: anti theft Kia boyz, trailer-hitch-wiring-spontaneous-combustion-so-park-outside-until-we-issue-a-fix-that-is-still-pending, and a catastrophic engine failure replacement class action lawsuit that we had to use the recall for as the engine suddenly seized up and they fully replaced the engine.
I loved how they say “park away from structures” as if most people in cities have the luxury of doing that or may not even have the option to park somewhere other than an assigned or owned parking spot?
Spent last fall wondering whether our car would be stolen or spontaneously combust first. It was measurable constant anxiety for most of the year.
Chrysler is not even recalling a lot of problems I see on their vehicles. I’ve had 3 Pacificas with loose LF axle nuts and no recalls There are other problems from their other vehicles too and no recalls. At mazda they recalled ridiculous stuff, like the corner edge of the rear door on top rubber seal was too sharp if it came loose, so we had to fill it with glue.
Chevy had vehicles kill people by trying to save pennies on an ignition part that holds the key in. The ignition key would fall out causing accidents because the steering, airbags and so on would get disabled at that critical point. They knew about it and tried to cover it up which internal documents revealed and had a slap on the wrist.
Even if they got an immobilizer, people might still try to break into them given their reputation for being easily stolen. At the very least, they’d have to worry about broken windows and messed up steering column stuff. It’s probably a decent idea to sell and move on if they can afford to, although I’d personally go with another brand than Subaru.
What would you recommend? I’m looking into the subcompact suv category. I’ve been choosing between the Crosstrek, HRV, Corolla Cross, and CX30. Based on research and watching/reading reviews, the Crosstrek is the best bang for buck in terms of combined performance, reliability, cabin space, and aesthetics for the price.
The HRV, while its interior is refined, is too underpowered for its size and only has 2WD for the same price as the Crosstrek which has AWD as standard. Also, there have been reports of the back glass spontaneously shattering.
The Corolla Cross has a tight cabin despite being a big vehicle. Very basic in design as well, and a little underpowered, unless you go for the hybrid which is more expensive.
The CX30 is too small inside and the most expensive of the bunch. I think it’s a solid vehicle, but I can get more car for my money with a Crosstrek.
The Crosstrek on the other hand has a pretty good reputation, AWD as a standard, a huge 11in infotainment screen, lots of safety features, and better performance over the HRV and Corolla based on review comparisons. The interior is pretty basic and not as pretty as the HRV and CX30, but I think the 11in screen makes up for it. I test drove it this week and I liked how it drove. Note that I’m coming from a small and underpowered Kia Soul so it doesn’t take much to wow me.
I was gonna recommend a newer mazda (newer than 2014) as it is often best for the money from what I’ve seen lately, but if you are in the subcompact market, Crosstreks are pretty hard to beat. Been reviewing the market as well to maybe get a newer car in a year or so I’ve looked a reviews on a lot of drivetrains. I’ve heard of some issues with older crosstreks (mostly just issues with oil consumption, and some CVT fears), although if you are getting new/very slightly used they probably would be great choice (probably better with the 2.5l engine). I am a bit biased as my mother used to have a outback with an EJ engine (those would reliably blow a headgasket, or two in her case), which probably has tarnished my view of boxer engines for long term reliability, which is why I generally don’t recommend them.
I’ve heard of some issues with older crosstreks (mostly just issues with oil consumption, and some CVT fears), although if you are getting new/very slightly used they probably would be great choice
I hear ya. I’m looking into the newest model (2024) where so far I haven’t seen any drivetrain/engine issues. Obviously it’s still a very new model, but AFAIK the new boxer engines are better than the previous generations. I know the Mazda CX models are great, but just in the subcompact crossover category, I think the Crosstrek beats the CX30 by a slim margin. More car for money as I mentioned.
Since you are looking at a crosstrek coming from a car with poor security, be aware that the crosstrek doors don’t have an auto lock option. If you forget to lock them, they will stay unlocked. Outbacks do have this option, so it’s missing by design.
Blew my mind when I realized this feature was missing, as my 15yr older car had it.
Also the missing power seats on the passenger side is cheap as all get out, even in the nicer trims.
Id recommend that if your heart is set on a Subaru, go for the outback. It’s the car with actual features and isn’t that much larger than a crosstrek.
Basically what the the other guy said. The idiots stealing these cars won’t know that you installed one and will break your window and steering column anyway to try. Using a steering wheel lock is actually more effective because it’s a visual deterrent, and most of these thieves are out for a joyride only and won’t bother wasting time trying to break a steering wheel lock.
Nope, not exactly. Installing an immobilizer won’t stop my car from being a target. Even if they fail to steal it, I’ll still end up with a broken window and steering column. There are people who had their car broken into, fixed, and broken into again a few weeks later. Not to mention insurance rates being expensive because of it, and some insurance companies just straight up dropping you if you own an affected vehicle. I’ve been dropped/declined by 3 of the major insurers just because I own one, even though I had the security update installed.
Is that enough of an excuse to just buy a different car?
I’ve finally decided to trade in my Kia for a Subaru. I’m tired of the anxiety of coming out to an empty parking spot in the morning. Really stupid decision by them to not install immobilizers as standard on all vehicles, and very poor and slow response to the issue. Never buying a Hyundai/Kia again, which is too bad because their cars look great.
Same but don’t know replacement vehicle will be, hoping to just not need the car with remote work. Received 3 recall notices for our SUV last year: anti theft Kia boyz, trailer-hitch-wiring-spontaneous-combustion-so-park-outside-until-we-issue-a-fix-that-is-still-pending, and a catastrophic engine failure replacement class action lawsuit that we had to use the recall for as the engine suddenly seized up and they fully replaced the engine.
I loved how they say “park away from structures” as if most people in cities have the luxury of doing that or may not even have the option to park somewhere other than an assigned or owned parking spot?
Spent last fall wondering whether our car would be stolen or spontaneously combust first. It was measurable constant anxiety for most of the year.
Full retard capitalism.
Chrysler is not even recalling a lot of problems I see on their vehicles. I’ve had 3 Pacificas with loose LF axle nuts and no recalls There are other problems from their other vehicles too and no recalls. At mazda they recalled ridiculous stuff, like the corner edge of the rear door on top rubber seal was too sharp if it came loose, so we had to fill it with glue.
They do install immobilisers as standard?
Oh wait, just not in that one country that doesn’t require it lol
You can always count on corporations to do the right thing because of the profit motive, right? /s
Honestly if there had not been this much fallout this quickly, you would have seen at least one other manufacturer do the same thing.
Chevy had vehicles kill people by trying to save pennies on an ignition part that holds the key in. The ignition key would fall out causing accidents because the steering, airbags and so on would get disabled at that critical point. They knew about it and tried to cover it up which internal documents revealed and had a slap on the wrist.
Land of the Free Cars
Are you going to have to sell at a discount because of these issues? Couldn’t you get an after market immobilizer installed?
Even if they got an immobilizer, people might still try to break into them given their reputation for being easily stolen. At the very least, they’d have to worry about broken windows and messed up steering column stuff. It’s probably a decent idea to sell and move on if they can afford to, although I’d personally go with another brand than Subaru.
What would you recommend? I’m looking into the subcompact suv category. I’ve been choosing between the Crosstrek, HRV, Corolla Cross, and CX30. Based on research and watching/reading reviews, the Crosstrek is the best bang for buck in terms of combined performance, reliability, cabin space, and aesthetics for the price.
The HRV, while its interior is refined, is too underpowered for its size and only has 2WD for the same price as the Crosstrek which has AWD as standard. Also, there have been reports of the back glass spontaneously shattering.
The Corolla Cross has a tight cabin despite being a big vehicle. Very basic in design as well, and a little underpowered, unless you go for the hybrid which is more expensive.
The CX30 is too small inside and the most expensive of the bunch. I think it’s a solid vehicle, but I can get more car for my money with a Crosstrek.
The Crosstrek on the other hand has a pretty good reputation, AWD as a standard, a huge 11in infotainment screen, lots of safety features, and better performance over the HRV and Corolla based on review comparisons. The interior is pretty basic and not as pretty as the HRV and CX30, but I think the 11in screen makes up for it. I test drove it this week and I liked how it drove. Note that I’m coming from a small and underpowered Kia Soul so it doesn’t take much to wow me.
I was gonna recommend a newer mazda (newer than 2014) as it is often best for the money from what I’ve seen lately, but if you are in the subcompact market, Crosstreks are pretty hard to beat. Been reviewing the market as well to maybe get a newer car in a year or so I’ve looked a reviews on a lot of drivetrains. I’ve heard of some issues with older crosstreks (mostly just issues with oil consumption, and some CVT fears), although if you are getting new/very slightly used they probably would be great choice (probably better with the 2.5l engine). I am a bit biased as my mother used to have a outback with an EJ engine (those would reliably blow a headgasket, or two in her case), which probably has tarnished my view of boxer engines for long term reliability, which is why I generally don’t recommend them.
I hear ya. I’m looking into the newest model (2024) where so far I haven’t seen any drivetrain/engine issues. Obviously it’s still a very new model, but AFAIK the new boxer engines are better than the previous generations. I know the Mazda CX models are great, but just in the subcompact crossover category, I think the Crosstrek beats the CX30 by a slim margin. More car for money as I mentioned.
Since you are looking at a crosstrek coming from a car with poor security, be aware that the crosstrek doors don’t have an auto lock option. If you forget to lock them, they will stay unlocked. Outbacks do have this option, so it’s missing by design.
Blew my mind when I realized this feature was missing, as my 15yr older car had it.
Also the missing power seats on the passenger side is cheap as all get out, even in the nicer trims.
Id recommend that if your heart is set on a Subaru, go for the outback. It’s the car with actual features and isn’t that much larger than a crosstrek.
Basically what the the other guy said. The idiots stealing these cars won’t know that you installed one and will break your window and steering column anyway to try. Using a steering wheel lock is actually more effective because it’s a visual deterrent, and most of these thieves are out for a joyride only and won’t bother wasting time trying to break a steering wheel lock.
But then there’d be no excuse to buy a new car
Nope, not exactly. Installing an immobilizer won’t stop my car from being a target. Even if they fail to steal it, I’ll still end up with a broken window and steering column. There are people who had their car broken into, fixed, and broken into again a few weeks later. Not to mention insurance rates being expensive because of it, and some insurance companies just straight up dropping you if you own an affected vehicle. I’ve been dropped/declined by 3 of the major insurers just because I own one, even though I had the security update installed.
Is that enough of an excuse to just buy a different car?