this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2023
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It wasn't a design flaw. It was a deliberate decision on the part of Hyundai US to remove the immobiliser in the US as it was not a legal requirement there as it was in all other western markets. The exact same model sold in the EU, UK, Aus, Nz etc came with the immobiliser as standard. It saved Hyundai US about $20 per car...
I also think its super dumb, but at Hyundai's scale, $20/car adds up to millions of dollars. Though conversely they're spending like $200 million to make up for all the thefts, higher insurance premiums, etc.
Don’t forget the massive damage to the Hyundai/Kia brands. I wouldn’t buy one with an immobilizer for fear someone would smash a window in a vain attempt to steal it.
I am sure the overall losses are higher than whatever they saved. The C suite is so often penny wise and pound foolish.
I wouldn't buy one because they've demonstrated flawed judgement when it comes to what features are worth paying for and which ones aren't. Where else is their cost cutting going to bite me in the ass?
It's like the Ford Pinto all over again.
You can just charge $20 more per car and break even.
But you keep doing that and pretty soon you've got an $80,000 Kia.
That tells me that if you make the legal costs of this cost-cut more than $21 per car, those guys would stop selling cars without immobilisers.
Honestly, to me (a European, but I digress) this would be worth mandating a mass recall for. If yours hasn't been nicked yet, now would be a great time to send it to the dealer and have its immobilisation system be refitted from US to EU spec. If I was running a company that did this, the manager who approved that stunt would be fired and probably they're gonna have to talk to a lawyer.
Hey, 20 dollars is 20 dollars. Don't kinkshame greed, it's a very powerful aphrodisiac! (For assholes, of course.)