NHTSA Complaint #10396149 — 2006 KIA OPTIMA

MY 2006 KIA OPTIMA JUST STOPPED RUNNING YESTERDAY, WITHOUT ANY WARNING, IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGH TRAFFIC STREET. IT COMPLETELY LOST POWER AND THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO. SINCE THERE WAS NO WARNING (CHECK ENGINE LIGHT NOT ON, NO STUTTERING, ETC.), I WASN'T ABLE TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CAR BEHIND ME HAD TO SWERVE TO NOT HIT ME. I'M A 67 YEAR OLD, DISABLED WOMAN WHO WAS STUCK ON THE SIDE OF THAT BUSY STREET FOR A HALF AN HOUR UNTIL MY CAR COULD BE TOWED. UPON DIAGNOSTIC TESTING, A MECHANIC FOUND THAT THE CAR NEEDS A CRANK SENSOR (AS WELL AS AN OXYGEN SENSOR). AS HE SAID, "WE REPLACE A LOT OF THESE ON THIS MODEL CAR". AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, ONLINE, READING BLOGS FROM OTHER KIA OWNERS, I'VE FOUND THAT SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM I'VE HAD. A FRIEND OF MINE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM ON HIS WAY BACK FROM A TRIP. THE SENSOR JUST GOES OUT AND THE CAR DIES RIGHT WHERE IT IS, AND EVEN IF IT CAN BE STARTED AGAIN, IT WILL ONLY RUN FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME AND DIES AGAIN. THIS IS A VERY SCARY PROBLEM. AND VERY EXPENSIVE ALSO. IF KIA KNOWS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM, WHY ISN'T THERE A RECALL? *TR