NHTSA Complaint #10764994 — 2013 KIA OPTIMA

MY STEERING USED TO BE GREAT, WITH NO ISSUES. A FEW DAYS AGO MY STEERING WHEEL STARTED TO FIGHT ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK. STRAIGHT, TURNING LEFT, TURNING RIGHT, IT SEEMED TO FIGHT ME NO MATTER THE SITUATION. ALL OF A SUDDEN, ANY TINY BUMPS IN THE ROAD THAT THE CAR COMES INTO CONTACT WITH THROWS THE STEERING WHEEL A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. ALSO, THE CAR VEERS RIGHT WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS PERFECTLY STRAIGHT. MY NORMAL DRIVE BEFORE THIS INCIDENT WAS PHENOMENAL, WITH NO COMPLAINTS... THE CAR TOOK TINY BUMPS IN THE ROAD BUT IT WAS NOT FELT IN THE STEERING WHEEL. I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALERSHIP AND THEY "FIXED" THE PROBLEM BY ALIGNING MY TIRES AND UPDATING THE ELECTRICAL POWER STEERING SETTINGS. I WAS EXCITED TO GET BACK INTO MY CAR WITH THE PROBLEM FIXED BUT ALL I NOTICED AFTERWARDS WAS THAT THE STEERING WHEEL IS TIGHTER WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS. THE TIGHTNESS OF THE WHEEL DOES NOT MAKE THE PROBLEMS AS NOTICEABLE, BUT THE CAR STILL DIRECTS RIGHT WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS STRAIGHT, THE STEERING WHEEL IS JUMPING WITH EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BUMPS IN THE ROAD, AND DRIVING THE VEHICLE IS STRESSFUL AND UNCOMFORTABLE AS I ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ON HIGH ALERT - THIS IS NOT PLEASANT WHEN I DRIVE LONG DISTANCES EVERYDAY FOR WORK. NEEDS TO BE FIXED!