NHTSA Complaint #10320360 — 2005 KIA SPORTAGE

DURING ALL OF THE 5 INCIDENTS IN 2009 THE ENGINE MISFIRED VIOLENTLY. AT TIMES 35MPH WAS MAX SPEED. CRONIN KIA HAD MY VEHICLE OVER 30 DAYS IN 5 VISITS IN 2009. THEY HAVE REPLACED; TWO CAT. CONVERTERS, THE IGNITION COIL PACK AND SPARK PLUGS, A LEAKING FUEL INJECTOR AND ASSOCIATED WIRING. PLEASE NOTE THE ERROR CODES FOR VISITS 1 AND 5 (3/17/09 AND 7/14/09); P0300-P0303-P0305-P0273. VISIT NUMBER1 ALSO HAD CODES; P0420-P0430 AND P0170. THE DUPLICATE CODES INDICATE THE PROBLEM AFFECTS "BANK 1 ONLY. CODE P0170 SPELLS OUT THE PROBLEM; "FUEL TRIM MALFUNCTION-BANK 1".THE DESTROYED CATALYTIC CONVERTERS WERE THE RESULT OF THE FUEL TRIM PROBLEM. THE SAME FOR THE LEAKING FUEL INJECTOR. I BELIEVE IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE OTHER BANK 1 INJECTORS FAIL. THE FUEL TRIM MUST BE A FUNCTION OF THE VEHICLE'S COMPUTER. I BELIEVE THE "BANK 1 FUEL TRIM MALFUNCTION" AND/OR THE ELECTRONIC STABILIZATION PROGRAM (ESP) AND/OR THE VEHICLE'S COMPUTER ARE THE SOURCE OF THIS DANGEROUS PROBLEM. THERE IS A RECALL ON THE ESP; SC-044 - MARCH, 2005. "THE ESP SYSTEM MAY CAUSE THE ENGINE TO REDUCE POWER AND MAY CAUSE A BRAKING ACTION AT ONE OF THE WHEELS". "BRAKE APPLICATION CAUSED BY INADVERTENT ESP ACTIVATION MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF CONTROL AND A CRASH".THE FRONT BRAKE PADS ON MY VEHICLE WERE WORN OUT AT 41,000 MILES. I ASKED KIA CUSTOMER SERVICE IN AN INITIAL LETTER IF THIS WAS PREMATURE. OF COURSE, I RECEIVED NO ANSWER. AFTER THE NUMBER 5 INCIDENT(JULY, 2009) THE ENGINE WOULD STALL EVEN AFTER A LEAKING FUEL INJECTOR AND ASSOCIATED WIRING WERE REPLACED. IT STALLED LESS THAN A MILE FROM CRONIN AND THREE TIMES THE NEXT DAY. DURING THE NUMBER 5 INCIDENT THE ESP SHUT ITSELF OFF; "ESP OFF" APPEARED IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. I PASSED THIS INFORMATION TO JEFF WYLER KIA SERVICE DEPARTMENT. THIS WAS IGNORED. THE FINAL (NUMBER 6) ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM CONSISTED OF A JOY RIDE AFTER WHICH THEY DECLARED; "ALL OPERATIONS ARE NORMAL" THEY CONSIDER THIS PROBLEM AMUSING. THEY REFUSED TO CONTACT KIA! *TR