NHTSA Complaint #10915643 — 2012 KIA SPORTAGE

LEAVING A FRIEND'S HOUSE MY CAR MADE A CLICKING SOUND. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE AND THE SOUND APPEARED TO HAVE GONE AWAY. MINUTES LATER WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH ON I-85 N IN ATLANTA MY 2012 KIA SPORTAGE (WITHOUT WARNING LIGHTS OR ANY INDICATION THAT ANYTHING WAS WRONG) MADE A VERY LOUD NOISE AND LOST SPEED QUICKLY. I PUT ON MY EMERGENCY FLASHERS AND MOVED ACROSS LANES UNTIL I COULD EXIT. WHEN I GOT TO THE RAMP THE ENGINE DIED AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS ABLE TO START THE CAR AGAIN. IT STARTED OFF BUT DIED AGAIN. I TRIED IT ONCE AGAIN AND IT STARTED. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND PRESSED THE GAS SO IT WOULDN'T TURN OFF. I THREW IT IN DRIVE AND THE CAR DID BEGIN TO MOVE BUT IT NEVER GOT OVER 20 MPH DESPITE THE FACT THAT I HAD THE PEDAL PRESSED TO THE FLOOR. CARS WERE HONKING THEIR HORN AND PASSING ME RECKLESSLY. I PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT OF A PEP BOYS CENTER AND CALLED TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED. IT (AND ME) WAS TOWED BACK TO GAINESVILLE, GA TO THE DEALERSHIP AT 11:00 PM . THE SAME DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT AND HAVE HAD IT SERVICED SINCE I PURCHASED IT. MONDAY I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO SEE WHAT WAS WRONG. THE MECHANIC IMMEDIATELY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS MY ENGINE AFTER ONLY HAVING ANOTHER MECHANIC START THE CAR'.IT ONLY RAN FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. MAYBE LIKE 5-SECONDS HE STATED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER FURTHER INVESTIGATION I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT THIS IS INDICATIVE OF THE 2012 KIA SPORTAGE AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF OTHER KIA MODELS. I FOUND NUMEROUS TESTIMONIALS ONIINE WHERE THIS HAPPENED TO OTHERS. I ALSO LEARNED THAT THERE IS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST KIA CALLED THE ENGINE OIL DEFECT LAWSUIT WHERE THOSE INVOLVED IN THE SUIT SHARE EXPERIENCES EERILY SIMILAR TO MINE. KIA OF AMERICA AND CARRIAGE KIA HAVE NOT BEEN VERY COOPERATIVE IN THIS MATTER.