Kia Challenge

2022viral videodead

Published September 24, 2026

The Kia Challenge is a purported TikTok trend from 2022 in which people attempted to start Kia and Hyundai vehicles using a USB cord after removing the steering column cover. The label spread after a wave of Midwestern car thefts, though its status as an actual social media challenge stayed disputed.

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Overview

The Kia Challenge is a supposed TikTok trend in which participants attempted to hotwire Kia vehicles by pulling off the steering column cover and turning the ignition with a USB cord1. The technique was tied to a rash of car thefts across the American Midwest in the spring and summer of 2022, with the trend later expanding to Hyundai models such as the Elantra5.

Despite the name, there was little proof any coordinated challenge existed on TikTok itself. As of late July 2022, the hashtag #kiachallenge pulled up hundreds of thousands of videos, but none appeared to show an actual Kia being stolen4. The label stuck anyway after news outlets picked it up in connection with real burglaries2.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok (viral spread), YouTube (early coverage)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2022

The story traces back to a Milwaukee-area crew nicknamed the "Kia Boys" who were already active in May 20225. On May 31st, 2022, YouTuber Tommy G posted a mini-documentary interviewing residents and alleged Kia Boys, in which one subject described the USB cord starting method on camera5. The clip pulled in more than 2.6 million views within a month.

At an unknown date, TikToker @robbierayyy uploaded a demonstration video showing the ignition trick on his own Kia, and news outlets later credited that clip as the spark for the so-called challenge1. The video was subsequently removed from TikTok, and @robbierayyy himself pushed back against the framing5.

How It Spread

The Kia Challenge label went mainstream on July 21st, 2022, when Fox59 reported that Indiana resident Alissa Smart had her Kia Soul burglarized in an incident she blamed on the trend3. Smart told the station the thieves smashed her window and tried to hotwire the car even though her parents' vehicles had keys inside, calling it disgusting that people would post criminal acts online2. WTHR followed up with a YouTube segment the next day that racked up over 10,000 views in five days5.

From there the term jumped platforms. Distractify, LADbible and other outlets ran explainers warning readers about the trick, and TikTok publicly asked users to report any videos showing the method12. By July 26th, 2022 the #kiachallenge hashtag held roughly 395,000 videos, though the tag was mostly filled with news clips and reactions rather than actual thefts4.

Skepticism built quickly. On July 25th, @robbierayyy posted a TikTok reacting to a local news report on the challenge and called it fake news, saying he had never even heard the phrase before5. Real-world break-ins tied to the same method still surfaced later, including a May 2023 dealership incident in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania covered by WTAE1.

How to Use This Meme

There is no meme template to remix here, and reproducing the vehicle method is a crime. Online, the Kia Challenge is typically referenced in commentary posts, news reactions and jokes about Kia and Hyundai owners scrambling for steering wheel locks, rather than in imitation videos.

Frequently Asked Questions