NHTSA Complaint #10638311 — 2012 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID

I WAS DRIVING IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD AND A LADY PULLED IN FRONT OF ME. I SLAMMED ON MY BRAKES AND SWERVED TO THE RIGHT SO I WOULD AVOID HITTING HER. THE NEXT THING I KNEW I SMACKED INTO A POLE. FOR THE PAST YEAR I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW AND WHY I HAD SO MUCH DAMAGE TO MY CAR WHEN I WAS ONLY GOING 25 MPH. I FINALLY REALIZED THAT THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE I COULDN'T STOP MY CAR EVEN WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES. THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED JULY 10, 2013 AND ONE YEAR LATER ON THE SAME DAY JULY 10, 2014 MY BRAKES FAILED ON MY CAR WHILE I WAS WAITING FOR A GATE TO OPEN. I HEARD A TERRIBLE CRUNCHING NOISE, A WARNING SIGN CAME ON SAYING HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING SAFELY STOP AND DO NOT DRIVE AND THE ONLY WAY I COULD STOP THE CAR WAS TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE SAME WARNING SIGN CAME ON DURING THE ACCIDENT. I REMEMBER MY CAR WOULDN'T STOP AND ACTUALLY SEEMED LIKE IT GAINED A LITTLE SPEED. I HIT THE POLE AND THE CAR STILL WOULDN'T STOP SO I HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP IT. I SAT THERE IN SHOCK OVER WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED. I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY I HIT THAT POLE AND WHY THERE WAS SO MUCH DAMAGE TO MY CAR. NOW I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAPPENED. IT WAS DUE TO MY BRAKES NOT WORKING THAT DAY. ON JULY 10, 2014 WHEN THE BRAKES FAILED FOR THE SECOND TIME, I HAD MY CAR TOWED TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP DOWN THE STREET AND THEY KEPT IT FOR 7 WEEKS AND SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR SO I PICKED IT UP. I COULD TELL SOMETHING WAS STILL WRONG WITH IT BUT THEY WOULDN'T LISTEN TO ME. NOT EVEN 1K MILES LATER THE BRAKES WENT OUT FOR THE 3RD TIME. THIS TIME KIA PICKED UP SEVERAL ERROR MESSAGES. THEY STILL HAVE MY CAR AND ITS BEEN 4 WEEKS. THEY SAID THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE HYDRAULIC POWER UNIT. THIS IS WHAT THEY TOLD ME 2 WEEKS AGO AND ITS STILL NOT DONE. THIS IS NOT A SAFE CAR TO DRIVE AND I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING IT ANYMORE! *TR