A San Antonio mother of three is speaking out after her Kia Soul was stolen from her driveway for the second time, only to be discovered hours later being driven recklessly through her own neighborhood.
The entire incident was captured on surveillance video, highlighting a continued vulnerability in certain Kia models that has made them a persistent target for thieves.
“It Was Horrifying”: The Night the Car Disappeared
Kelsey Kellerhouse was awakened by her husband at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday with the news that her 2016 Kia Soul was missing from their home on the city’s far west side, near Cleba Road and Lone Star Parkway. The sense of violation quickly escalated from frustration to horror when she saw the footage of what happened to her vehicle.
Image Credit: KENS5/YouTube.
“It was horrifying because not only can my car have something happen to it, but he could have gotten crashed into people’s homes,” Kellerhouse said. “But thankfully that didn’t happen.”
The stolen Soul was captured on neighborhood surveillance cameras drifting through the streets, performing doughnuts, and being driven with extreme recklessness.
The brazen joyride underscores a well-known security flaw in Kia models sold before 2022, which have gained notoriety for being easily stolen with nothing more than a USB cable. The method, popularized by a wave of social media challenges, allows thieves to bypass the ignition and start the vehicle in seconds.
The “Kia Boys”: A National Crisis
The “Kia Boys” phenomenon has led to thousands of thefts across the U.S., with viral videos showing stolen Kias and Hyundais being recklessly driven, often ending in crashes or police chases. The issue stems from certain 2011–2021 models lacking immobilizers, making them easy targets.
Image Credit: KENS5/YouTube.
The Kia Boys first gained notoriety in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where police reported thousands of Kia and Hyundai thefts in 2021–2022. Viral TikTok clips showed teens joyriding stolen cars, sometimes abandoning them after crashes.
In 2022, police linked a surge in car thefts to the Kia Boys trend. Victims often found their cars wrecked or used in other crimes. Similarly in St. Louis, Missouri, reports showed hundreds of thefts in a single month, overwhelming police resources. Local officials sued Kia and Hyundai, arguing the lack of anti-theft technology made these cars unsafe.
The “Kia Challenge” on TikTok spread nationwide, leading to at least eight fatalities linked to reckless joyrides. By late 2025, Kia and Hyundai agreed to retrofit over 9 million vehicles with anti-theft hardware as part of a multi-state settlement.
Affected models were typically Kia Soul, Forte, Rio, Optima, Sportage (2011–2021), and similar Hyundai models. Many lacked engine immobilizers, meaning thieves could start them with a USB cable. TikTok and YouTube clips glamorized the thefts, which fueled copycat crimes.
The San Antonio case fits into a larger national crisis: Kia Boys exploits have repeatedly shown how design flaws, amplified by social media, can turn everyday cars into crime magnets. Automakers are now retrofitting millions of vehicles, but the damage to communities, and to Kia’s reputation, has already been severe.
A Family Left Stranded—and a Community That Stepped Up
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For Kellerhouse, as a business manager and a mother, the loss crippled her family’s daily routine. “I manage a business and they rely on me, so not only not being able to get my children to school but not being able to be there for my center was really, really hard for me,” she explained.
After calling 911, Kellerhouse turned to her neighbors through the Nextdoor app. The community quickly mobilized, sharing surveillance footage of the stolen Kia being driven dangerously through the area. The tip that finally led to the car’s recovery came from a neighbor who reported a reckless driver to police.
Officers located the vehicle, but the suspect or suspects fled on foot. Police were able to recover the Kia Soul around 10:30 a.m. The car was returned to its owner in a state of disarray, with the ignition wiring ripped out and exposed.
“It was a mess,” Kellerhouse said. “I went from feeling helpless to being very mad just because I do baby my car. It is our means of transportation. It’s how I keep my kids safe.”
A Steering Wheel Lock and Hope for Justice
Image Credit: KENS5/YouTube.
This latest incident marks the second time her Kia Soul has been stolen from her own driveway. However, this time there may be a path to justice. Kellerhouse noted that police were able to lift multiple fingerprints from the vehicle, so, she’s hopeful that the perpetrator will be identified.
With her family now wary of a third theft attempt, they have decided to take a low-tech but visible security measure. Kellerhouse has invested in a steering wheel lock to serve as a deterrent.
“That’s the only thing I can do at this point until we upgrade our vehicles,” she said, a sentiment shared by countless owners of vulnerable Hyundai and Kia models across the country who continue to wait for a permanent solution to a problem that shows no signs of fading.
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