NHTSA Complaint #10744565 — 2009 KIA SORENTO

ALMOST A YEAR AGO, I WAS DRIVING ON THE TURNPIKE WITH A POSTED 65 MPH WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT GOES ON AND THE ESC OFF LIGHT LIGHTS UP ON THE DASH. I STARTED LOSING ACCELERATION AND COULDN'T GO ABOVE 40 MPH. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND CONTACTED THE GARAGE. THEY TOLD ME TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND RESTART IT. THE ESC OFF LIGHT WENT OUT AND I WAS ABLE TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY BUT, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON FOR 2 MORE DAYS. EVERYTHING WAS FINE UNTIL 8 MONTHS LATER WHEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND ESC OFF LIGHT LIT UP AGAIN AND I COULDN'T ACCELERATE PAST 40 MPH. HOWEVER, THIS TIME I HAD TO PULL OVER - TURN OFF THE CAR - RESTART MY CAR( 6 TIMES) TO TURN OFF THE ESC OFF LIGHT!!! TWICE THIS JULY THE SAME SITUATION HAPPENED AND I TOOK IT IN FOR SERVICE. OF COURSE ALL LIGHTS WERE OUT AT THE TIME. THERE WERE ERROR CODES ON THE COMPUTER BUT WHILE CONVERSING WITH THE TECHNICIANS THEY BELIEVE IT'S A FAULTY GAS PEDAL/ACCELERATOR AND NOT TIRE/BRAKE SENSOR CODES. I WAS GIVEN A QUOTE OF $350 FOR REPLACEMENT HOWEVER THIS IS A REAL SAFETY ISSUE AND I FEEL THE CONSUMER SHOULDN'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRECTING THIS PROBLEM AND IT SHOULD BE A RECALL ISSUE. MY PARTICULAR CASE HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES IN LESS THAN A YEAR. OBVIOUSLY, THERE ARE MANY OTHER CONSUMERS HAVING THE SAME DEFECT ISSUE. IT'S NOT SAFE IF YOUR ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION CAN ONLY ACCELERATE TO 40 MPH ON A DANGEROUS ROAD TRAVELED BY COMMUTERS AND BIG RIGS GOING AS HIGH AS 80 MPH OR MORE. THIS IS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN! KIA IS PLAYING WITH PEOPLES LIVES HERE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE KIA AND THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY ISSUE...OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT STABLE. MA 10/8 UPDATED 3/22/2016*JS UPDATED 12/13/2017*CN