WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 2 stolen vehicles, 2 ‘found’

| Crime | West Seattle news

First, two stolen vehicles to watch for:

STOLEN DODGE VAN: Reported by Denise: “My dark blue Dodge Grand Caravan was stolen last night near 34th and Roxbury. Distinct paint oxidation on hood.” We’re awaiting the plate and police-report numbers.

STOLEN KIA: Reported by a texter: “I’m currently renting a home (near 32nd/Kenyon( and woke up to shattered glass and no car. It was a 2013 silver Kia Rio with Oregon plates 057GXF.”

Next, two “found,” possibly stolen, Kias – we got these reports this morning, so their location/status might have changed since then:

‘FOUND’ KIA #1: Reported by Rachel:

We found a stolen probable Kia on our walk. It’s missing the back inside windows and the steering column. I have also reported it to the city is a stolen and dumped vehicle. It’s on Thistle as it approaches 16th. If it’s yours, I’m really sorry. We had a car stolen last year and dumped and ditched as well and it stinks.

The plate on it is CFP3006.

‘FOUND’ KIA #2: Reported by Cindy:

This car has a smashed back passenger window, though there is no glass on the ground so it seems that part happened somewhere else. The car has been sitting on 44th near the corner of Graham (southwest part of the street) for a couple of weeks now. Wondering if the car has been dumped.

OneTimeCharley September 13, 2023 (5:29 pm)

I would really love to know the recall repair status of each of these recovered Kias. What I mean is, have these Kias had the software update completed? Were the owners using steering wheel locks? Are these thieves defeating the updates, and extra measures, or are they victimizing vehicles that are taking zero extra measures at protection. I think that I would just sell my Kia at this point, if it is within those vulnerable model years that is. I absolutely would never buy any brand vehicle if it did not use a modern ignition system; new or used.

redfolder September 13, 2023 (6:31 pm)

I don’t think all these people knew when they bought their car that it did not have a modern ignition system. My nephews car was stolen. He had an alam and kill switch installed. They still try to steal them. He has had to replace his window three times now. Please don’t blame the car owners. I reported five likely stolen cars in my neighborhood back in May and I thought it was bad then but now they are damaging the cars or worse yet using to commit other crimes.
Anywhere but here September 13, 2023 (10:41 pm)

“Those kias skirts are just too short. What do you expect to happen?”
Tired WS Mom September 14, 2023 (12:50 am)

Software update proven to not work
- WS Res September 14, 2023 (1:15 pm)
  
  Source?
Scarlette September 15, 2023 (9:46 am)

I have a Kia that has been broken into 3x since the recall. I’ve had the recall done and stickers put on my windows saying exactly that and thrives continue trying to steal it. My car has been in the shop for a month now waiting for parts because so many Kia owners have the same need. Unfortunately it’s not quite as simple as just selling the car and getting a new one for some of us. The value of my car is down and I can’t afford another loan. It’s nice that you have the ability to only choose certain types of cars but not all of us have that opportunity.

CARGUY September 13, 2023 (6:09 pm)

There is over 8 million Kia/Hyundai vehicles that don’t have the engine immobilizer feature that are affected. From what I hear only a small percentage of owners have even been informed by the manufacturer of the software update. Some cannot be fixed either (about 15% of affected Hyundais) I’m sure a majority (millions) still can be taken by:Breaking the window to gain entry, breaking apart the lock mechanism. And using a tool (which a male USBtypeA cable emulates) to turn the ignition to start the vehicle.there is no recall. The vehicle is working as intended. It is NOT designed to have the ignition system modified (by breaking ignition lock)“At this time, NHTSA has not determined that this issue constitutes either a safety defect or noncompliance requiring a recall,” wrote Cem Hatipoglu, NHTSA’s acting associate director for enforcement, referring to the Hyundai and Kia vehicles susceptible to theft because they lack engine immobilizers.the software update seems to only lengthen the time of the Car Alarm from 30 seconds to a whopping whole 1 minute. Kia/Hyundai claim that the software also include an “intelligent kill” function that does not allow the car to drive if the key is not inserted into the ignition. I’m calling BS on this second part. A) because if those cars were cheap enough to not include the chipped key for engine immobilizer, no way they installed sensors to tell if a key is present that will “talk” to the car computer and prevent the starter/fuel pump from operating B) there are plenty of reports of cars still being stolen AFTER the software update. My car from the 90’s (I still have) has a chipped key that does exactly this. You can’t “Hotwire” it unless you swap out the car computer to one that has been reprogramed to bypass reading the key (I’ve actually done this to my car so I can get get spare non-chipped keys for $20, instead of $200 and a trip to the dealership)

Karen September 14, 2023 (12:45 pm)

My Kia was stolen about a week and a half ago from the grocery store. I was able to see video and they used 2 stolen cars to hide mine while 1 guy got out and in 3 minutes drove mine away, then dumping one of the 2 stolen cars they were in across the street. I think there were five cars stolen that night in the Junction area and about three of them, dumped somewhere in West Seattle. Mine was found the next day left running on the side of Pacific Highway in Tacoma out of gas. I had an appointment next week to get my software recall taken care of. The week before my car was stolen. My auto insurance went up an additional 1600 for the year because we own both a Kia and Hyundai, now with my deductible, this little joyride will cost me two grand out-of-pocket just this year alone. On the few occasions, they catch the kids that are doing this they need to actually be prosecuted and not just let go with a slap on the wrist. The damage to my car was the rear side passenger window and ignition switch. They hit some thing with the front of my car and then they took a sharpie and graffiti the entire inside of my car.

Sorry, comment time is over.