NHTSA Complaint #10667508 — 2011 KIA OPTIMA

WE WERE IN MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA ON A TRANSITION RAMP FROM ONE FREEWAY TO ANOTHER DOING ABOUT 45 MPH. AS WE ROUNDED A TURN WE SAW 2 CARS AND A TOW TRUCK ON THE SIDE OF THE RAMP WE THEN HIT A PUDDLE (LAKE) THAT WENT ACROSS BOTH LANES OF THIS RAMP. THE WATER SLOWED US BY MAYBE 20 MPH WITH WATER SHOOTING ALL AROUND US. WE THEN SAW A TRUCK COMING DOWN A ON RAMP TO MERGE IN FRONT OF US HE HIT ANOTHER PUDDLE AND SPUN SIDEWAYS AND HIT A GUARD RAIL. WE PULLED UP NEXT TO HIM TO SEE IF HE WAS ALRIGHT AND MY CAR STALLED. WE COULD SMELL GAS I THOUGHT IT WAS COMING FROM THE TRUCK AND I WANTED TO MOVE AWAY FROM HIM. THE CAR WOULD NOT START, I HAD MY 4 YEAR OLD IN THE CAR AND HE WAS TERRIFIED AND CRYING. LUCKILY A TOW TRUCK PULLED UP BEHIND US AND BLOCKED OTHER CARS FROM HITTING US HE PUSHED US OUT OF THE LANE. WHEN THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE KIA DEALER I FOUND OUT THERE IS A PIECE OF (PLASTIC OR METAL I DON'T KNOW WHICH) THAT RUNS DOWN THE CENTER UNDER THE CAR, IT HOLDS THE GAS AND HYDRAULIC LINES UP FROM THE FRONT TO THE BACK, THIS PIECE IS HELD IN PLACE WITH CLIPS ( NOT BOLTS OR SCREWS ) THE WATER PULLED THESE CLIPS FREE AND MY GAS AND HYDRAULIC LINES WERE PULLED DOWN, MY GAS LINE BROKE THAT WAS THE GAS I WAS SMELLING, IT THERE HAD BEEN A SPARK OR FLARE IT COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL. THIS COULD ALSO HAVE HAPPENED IF I WAS DRIVING IN SNOW. IN MY OPINION THIS IS A FACTORY DEFECT AND SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE DEALER SAID NO. SO I HAVE TO PAY $500 PLUS 5 DAYS OF CAR RENTAL. I'M 59 I HAVE DRIVEN EVERY MAKE OF CAR I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN BEFORE. *TR