SCRANTON, Pa. — The Scranton Police Department has more than 250 wheel locks free for residents who own specific Kia or Hyundai vehicles. The department received the locks from the manufacturers because certain models are susceptible to being stolen.
"The interlock system for the ignition on certain Kia and certain Hyundai automobiles are easily stolen," said Scranton Police Cpl. Rich Iannuzzo.
According to the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority, 21,084 vehicles were stolen in Pennsylvania in 2022.
Officials say a social media trend called the Kia Challenge has driven those numbers up.
Tania Price has a 2018 Kia Optima and didn't know how vulnerable her car was.
"Now I am, especially where I live in the city of Scranton, and it's going around. Yeah, I'm concerned about my car being stolen. It's definitely something of interest that I had no clue about," Price said.
Cpl. Iannuzzo gave a demonstration of how the wheel lock works.
"It goes on the steering wheel. It goes up and just locks in place. That's it. As you see, the wheel cannot be fully turned when it's on there. To remove it, quite simple, with the key—there's two keys supplied with it. Turn it, simple as that," Iannuzzo said.
"A large yellow device on your steering wheel is a deterrent in and of itself, but there's nothing better than being safe and making sure your vehicle is locked," he added.
There are only a few qualifications you need to meet to get a free wheel lock from Scranton police.
"Show their registration for the vehicle, that they are a resident of the city, and their vehicle meets the criteria of the specific models and years being involved."
Those models are:
Hyundai (2015-2021): Accent, Elantra, Kona, Santa Fe, Tucson, and Veloster (2015-2018).
Kia (2015-2021): Forte, Optima, (2015-2016) Optima Hybrid, (2015-2021) Rio, Sorento (2015-2021) Soul, Sportage.