COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Security fixes announced within the last 24 hours weren’t enough for Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, who filed a previously threatened lawsuit Wednesday against Kia and Hyundai.

Klein acknowledged that the two car manufacturers had taken steps to address a surge in thefts of some of their models by releasing software updates for the vulnerable cars. However, the city attorney said that doesn’t change the taxpayer cost that already piled up because the cars were made without industry-standard technology to prevent thefts from happening in the first place.

“I commend Kia and Hyundai for heeding our call and providing a no-cost security fix for drivers, but unfortunately a lot of damage has been done,” Klein said. “The fact remains that thousands of Columbus residents have already had their cars stolen and our law enforcement continues to divert significant time and resources to respond to these crimes.”

The lawsuit in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Ohio, which Klein announced his intention to file in November, asks for the court to require Kia and Hyundai to abate the cost incurred by the city to address the thefts caused by their cars’ security flaws. In particular, Klein zeroed in on the models’ lack of an engine immobilizer, and thieves’ ability to start the cars by jamming simple tools like a screwdriver and USB cable in their steering columns.

When NBC4 asked both car makers for comment, Hyundai Senior Group Manager Ira Gabriel told NBC4 on Wednesday that the company “believes this litigation is improper and unnecessary.” Kia said its team was reviewing the information about the lawsuit, but had not provided a statement as of 4:45 p.m.

Klein said Columbus has seen a 450% increase in thefts of the two brands’ cars since the start of 2022, and Kia and Hyundai models accounted for two-thirds of all of the thefts attempted. The method used to steal them was popularized on Tiktok and other social media, and the city attorney said young teens were behind many of them.

The lawsuit could also potentially result in an injunction blocking the sale of Kia and Hyundai models missing security features through the court, according to Klein. This would impact models spanning at least a decade.