Following the city of Rochester's plans to file a lawsuit against Kia after the theft epidemic, the automaker is allowing Kia owners to have an opportunity for free anti-theft software upgrades.

“I think it's important on our behalf just to show good faith to consumers that are part of a product that we stand behind our product and that we're able to offer this here in downtown Rochester, where it's convenient to close to a lot of consumers,” district parts and service manager of upstate New York RJ Jantz said.

According to Kia, these upgrades have been installed in over 800,000 of their vehicles across the United States, with Rochester being one of the first cities to be considered for a mobile clinic.

“We did about 50 cars yesterday,” Jantz said. “I would expect we're going to probably triple that today and tomorrow, since most people, you know, aren't working today. So we expect a big turnout.”

Charles Healey is one of the many Kia owners trying to find extra protection for his car.

“Living in fear that somebody is going to steal my vehicle,” Kia owner Healey said. “I have the club, but I've heard that they can get by the club. So it's not really that safe an option. And I depend on my vehicle to work.”

Car thefts nationwide significantly increased this year after a popularized technique thieves shared on social media to expose a security flaw that left Hyundai and Kia models in jeopardy. It's leaving residents like Healey feeling vulnerable.

“Even in my town, Irondequoit, people's cars have been stolen out of their driveways,” Healey said. “One of my sons-in-law, they tried to carjack him on his way to work a couple months back. And he was able to avoid getting, you know, boxed in and got away.”

Despite implementing mobile clinics, 80% of impacted vehicles still lack the upgrades.

“Some of the cars are not eligible,” Healey said. “One of the people on here just now said that he has a son who has a 2016 Kia Soul. And the guy told them, he said, 'I don't think that one's going to work.' He said, 'We're not doing anything with those yet.'”

To combat the continuous wave of car theft, officials urge all Kia owners to take necessary safety precautions by scheduling a software upgrade to keep their vehicles and themselves safe.

“I think this is a great event,” Healey said. “They need to come up with fixes to their problem where everybody, you know, you put your money into buying one of their cars and they're nice vehicles, but they need to back it up. ”

Kia owners can also bring their car to Monroe Community College in downtown Rochester between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday. Hyundai will host a similar mobile service clinic in two weeks.