Hyundai: Want Cyber Secure Car Locks? That’ll Be £49, Please

Hyundai is charging UK customers £49 ($66) for a security upgrade to prevent thieves from bypassing its car locks.

The offer is available to Ioniq 5 owners who are part of the small cohort of unfortunate souls vulnerable to the spate of car thefts affecting various electric vehicle owners in Britain.

“Recently, evolving security threats, including the use of unauthorized electronic devices to bypass vehicle locking systems, have become more prevalent in the UK,” said the carmaker. 

“This is an industry-wide issue and Hyundai is providing appropriate responses in line with industry practices.”

UK motorists have been complaining about such crimes for years. The government announced an intent earlier this year to ban keyless repeaters and signal jammers, which are thought to be linked to around 40 percent of all vehicle thefts in England and Wales.

Among the devices available to motoring miscreants is a piece of kit that first surfaced in 2020. These come pre-loaded with the signals needed to hijack Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Genesis cars. 

Criminals have used these to wreak havoc for more than five years, although similar gadgets have been in use for much longer.

West Yorkshire Police arrested a car-nicking gang back in 2021 and described the device they used to do so as a Game Boy-like gizmo worth around £20,000 ($27,000).

The hardware was reportedly cobbled together by hackers using tech from Bulgarian outfit SOS Autokeys, which was then plugged into the housing of an old Game Boy Color and sold to criminals.

The devices were costly, but gave criminals the tools to unlock and steal cars within seconds, promising a return on investment with just a few thefts.

In the case investigated by West Yorkshire Police, the three-man gang was linked to five vehicle thefts with a combined value of £180,000 ($242,000).

It also published a video showing how quickly and easily the trio was able to drive off with victims’ cars, as well as a depiction of the Game Boy-like device itself.

The gadgets played a role in a recent incident in March 2025, with one Ioniq 5 customer threatening Hyundai with legal action after their vehicle was stolen using one. The customer said he would have put in place a secondary immobilizer or perhaps a steering lock had he known of the problem.

According to The Guardian, police recovered Elliott Ingram’s Ioniq 5 after it was stolen, but the customer sought to cancel the lease and seek compensation from Hyundai.

“This security system has been completely blown open, so anyone can attack it,” Ingram told the newspaper. “It’s no longer fit for purpose.”

Hyundai’s website update, which announced the optional security upgrade, said: “All vehicles produced by Hyundai are developed and certified in accordance with all applicable security and regulatory standards in place at the time of production and sale, including the applied security systems installed.

“As part of the company’s commitment to supporting our customers, we are able to offer a subsidized software and hardware upgrade for a customer contribution of £49.”

The Register asked Hyundai’s UK publicity team why the update isn’t being provided free of charge, what the upgrade entails, and how much of the subsidized price the carmaker is footing for the customer, but it did not respond. ®

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