Hyundai and Kia have reached a $200 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit over design flaws that made its vehicles subject to a rash of nationwide thefts exacerbated by social media.

The settlement, announced today, affects owners of Hyundai and Kia vehicles purchased from 2011 through 2022 without “insert-and-turn” key ignitions.

The lawsuit stems from the automakers’ failure to equip models with an immobilizer, an antitheft device preventing most vehicles from being started unless a code is transmitted from the vehicle’s smart key.

According to the lawsuit, additional design flaws allowed thieves to steal them in less than 90 seconds. Lack of adequate security in the steering columns allowed easy access.

Last year, an analysis by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that among 2015 through 2019 model year vehicles, theft claims were nearly twice as common for Hyundai and Kia vehicles as a group as for all other manufacturers. This trend was fed by a challenge on the social media platform TikTok, which involved young teens looking out for Hyundai and Kia vehicles and using a USB cord to steal the car, then filming the results.

The issue is already the subject of additional lawsuits.

Attorneys say there are some 9 million owners of the vehicles, evenly split between Hyundai and Kia.

According to attorneys, up to $145 million is available for payments to those who lost their vehicles, had them wrecked by thieves, or incurred other expenses. Owners can also receive a software upgrade to fix the security flaw, or other compensation.

For more information on the settlement, visit the website.