ATLANTA — There's a fix coming to combat the rise in car thefts for Kia owners.
Kia America will be in Atlanta this weekend to perform a free software upgrade to help slow down the number of Kia's being stolen.
Kia cars built between 2011 and 2021 have become easy targets for thieves after a security flaw with the vehicles was exposed on social media. However, the company said they have come up with a software that will slow down the thefts.
"Once the vehicle is locked after the upgrade is done, it will run the alarm for an extended period of time and disable the ignition system," said James Bell of Kia America. "So we feel very confident and we have better than over 1 million vehicles now across the country that have been upgraded. And we’re hearing from law enforcement all across the country that anything that injects time into a thief's operation is what they don’t like."
After the upgrade is completed, the Kia technicians will also apply window decal updates to discourage criminal activity.
The event will take place from Friday, April 5, through Sunday, April 7, at Center Parc Stadium's Orange Lot, located at 513 Capitol Ave. SE. Technicians will be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, and no appointment is required.
Kia America is partnering with local dealers -- Kia South Atlanta, Calavan Kia of W Atlanta, and Ed Voyles Kia -- to be able to provide the free software upgrades.
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