A separate $9 million multistate settlement between Hyundai, Kia and 35 state attorneys general is now paying claims to owners whose vehicles were stolen, or targeted for theft, even after the automakers’ anti-theft software fix was installed. Owners who suffered a total loss can claim up to $4,500, those with a partial loss up to $2,250, and owners who fought off an attempted theft up to $375 in related expenses. The filing window runs through March 31, 2027, and it operates on its own timeline, separate from a much larger $145 million class-action fund tied to the same defect that remains frozen by an appeal.
How the 35-State Settlement Pays Theft Victims
The case traces back to Hyundai and Kia’s decision not to install engine immobilizers, a standard anti-theft chip, in millions of vehicles sold nationwide, even though only about 26% of the companies’ 2015 lineup carried the feature compared with 96% across the rest of the industry. That gap became public in 2022, when a viral trend showed how to start the cars with nothing more than a USB cable and a screwdriver, and thefts of the affected models spiked in cities nationwide.
Under the [December 2025 settlement, 35 state attorneys general led by Connecticut, Minnesota and New Hampshire required](https://www.azag.gov/press-release/attorney-general-mayes-announces-multistate-settlement-hyundai-and-kia-their-sales) Hyundai and Kia to equip every future U.S. vehicle with industry-standard immobilizer technology and to pay $4.5 million directly to the states to cover investigation costs. The remaining money funds restitution for owners who already had the software update installed, or an appointment scheduled, but were still victimized on or after April 29, 2025 — the date regulators set as the point the companies should have had a working fix in place. A claim must also be filed before the owner receives the follow-up hardware fix or before the March 31, 2027 cutoff, whichever comes first.
That hardware fix, [a free zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector that Top Class Actions confirmed](https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/open-lawsuit-settlements/9m-kia-hyundai-settlement-offers-cash-and-security-upgrades-to-owners/) is now available to every eligible owner regardless of theft history, addresses a gap in the earlier software patch: the states alleged that patch could be, and was, bypassed by thieves. Owners who haven’t yet scheduled the installation have one year from their dealer notice to do so, independent of whether they also file for cash.
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Why This Payout Track Is Separate From the Frozen $145 Million Fund
This isn’t the industry’s first attempt to resolve the immobilizer gap. Top Class Actions noted that the $9 million multistate deal is the latest in a string of settlements over the same defect, following a $200 million class-action settlement in 2023 and a $145 million settlement finalized in 2024. Eligibility across every one of these settlements traces back to the same limited pool of vehicles — certain 2011–2022 Kia and Hyundai models that were never factory-equipped with an immobilizer — so a car’s model year and original equipment, not just whether it was stolen, determines which claims track applies.
Owners researching this settlement will likely run into that second, much larger case tied to the same defect: the $145 million common-fund class action, formally titled In re Kia Hyundai Vehicle Theft Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, that a federal judge approved in October 2024. That fund offers deeper payouts, including reimbursement of 60% of a stolen vehicle’s Black Book value for a total loss, and two objectors’ appeals delayed it for more than a year before the Ninth Circuit rejected both challenges on January 8, 2026.
The bigger fund still hasn’t paid out. [Open Class Actions reported that one of the two objectors escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court](https://openclassactions.com/news/hyundai-kia-theft-settlement-payments.php) on May 26, 2026, a petition that automatically paused distribution of the $145 million even after claimants had already received notices showing approved amounts as high as $3,375 or more. There’s no firm date for when, or whether, those checks go out; the outcome depends on whether the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case at all.
The $9 million multistate settlement isn’t touched by that petition because it’s a different legal proceeding, negotiated by state regulators rather than certified as part of the class action. Its claims process, [administered separately through HKMultistateImmobilizerSettlement.com](https://www.hkmultistateimmobilizersettlement.com/submit-claim), keeps moving on its own March 2027 deadline regardless of what the Supreme Court decides about the larger fund. For an owner who qualifies for both, that means one path to money is currently active while the other sits indefinitely on hold.
Filing a Claim Before the March 2027 Deadline
To file, an owner or lessee needs the vehicle identification number, proof the software upgrade was completed or scheduled, and documentation of the loss itself. A total-loss claim requires a letter from the insurer or a comparable record showing the vehicle was declared a loss; a partial-loss claim needs proof of the repair or damage costs; and an attempted-theft claim needs a police report along with receipts for expenses like a broken window or a new ignition lock. The administrator, listed on the settlement site as the Hyundai/Kia Multistate Settlement Administrator, processes claims on a rolling basis rather than waiting for the deadline to pass.
There’s no exclusion deadline or final approval hearing built into this settlement the way there was for the larger class action, since it resulted from a direct agreement between the companies and the states rather than a certified class needing court sign-off. That structure is also why the money keeps flowing while the $145 million fund sits in legal limbo: nothing about the multistate deal was ever contingent on an appellate court, only on Hyundai and Kia meeting the terms they signed. The open question for owners is less about eligibility than timing — whether the Supreme Court’s eventual answer on the larger fund arrives before or after this $4,500 window closes on its own.
This article was drafted with AI assistance and edited for accuracy.
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