Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York State Assemblymember Monica Wallace is calling on a federal agency to issue mandatory recalls to two brands of cars that have been subjected to a rash of car thefts through a social media challenge.
Wallace says Kia and Hyundai vehicles between 2011 and 2022 lack an engine immobilizer, which she says has been an impetus for the rash of thefts. "New York State does not have the ability to do this. But the federal government has the ability to issue a recall when there is an unreasonable risk to Motor Vehicle Safety," says Wallace, calling the thefts such a risk. She's issued a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to have that agency issue a recall.
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Wallace notes the two automakers themselves have not issued recalls, rather a voluntary customer service campaign where they've let people who own these vehicles know that they can come in and get a fix, but she believes that's not really reaching enough people. "I don't think we should leave it up to the manufacturers to decide whether they think there should be a recall. That's exactly why we have this federal agency that can do that. Because they can force the manufacturers to do the recall," says Wallace. She considers this just as dangerous as defective seatbelts and airbags.
Wallace says losses amount to more than just cars. "We're seeing hundreds of million dollars in insurance losses mount up, we've seen people lose their lives," contends Wallace. "People might leave time off work, they may have to do get a rental car to cover while their vehicles getting sick On top of that, all of us are bearing the insurance costs associated with the vehicles being repaired. The insurance industry is going to spread those costs, they've lost hundreds of millions of dollars, and they're going to spread those costs out to all of us."
Wallace says she's received support from two dozen of her fellow lawmakers on this letter. She hopes to hear soon from the NHTSA.