ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — More than one year ago, thieves attempted to steal Melissa Lyons’ 2015 Hyundai Sonata from a dealership’s lot while it sat waiting for repairs. Hers was one of five cars broken into that night, and thieves ultimately managed to steal with one of them.

This weekend, her car was stolen from her driveway.

“It just throws your whole life upside down,” she said. “Even if it eventually gets worked out, it’s horrible.”

Police have said certain 2011-2021 Kia models and 2015-2021 Hyundai models have a security flaw that kids are able to exploit using a USB cable. Attorney generals from 23 states, including Wisconsin and Illinois, have issued a joint letter to the companies in March over rampant thefts of vulnerable car models.

Lyons said that this time, the car was parked just outside her bedroom window when it was stolen.

“My husband got up [and] opened the blinds for the day, and our car wasn’t where it was supposed to be and there was glass all over the ground,” she said. “He just shouted ‘Our car was stolen!” And I was, like, ‘here we go again.'”

Lyons said she was able to get her car returned to her, by putting out a notice on the Nextdoor neighborhood watch app.

“I believe I was the third out of five or six cars that were targeted over the week,” she said. “We actually had someone say that they saw a red Hyundai abandoned in to call it in, and we called it in and it turned out to be our[s].”

According to police records, fourteen calls for auto theft were logged over the weekend, with a Rockford Police spokesperson later confirming nine were actually stolen, and Lyons said it comes as no surprise to her.

“It’s not new news. This has been happening for a while now. And the way that has been taken care of, twice, with just kind of like a shoulder shrug and ‘better luck next time,’ it’s going to keep happening unless something is brought attention to it,” she said.

While her car under repair, again, she said she is thankful that her family is able to help her out.

“We have a good support system… but I just feel kind of like my heart hurts for other people, that can’t [find another means of transportation,]” she said.