NHTSA Complaint #11176066 — 2012 KIA OPTIMA

VEHICAL HAS HAD PROBLEMS STARTING IN COLD WEATHER FOR 3YEARS NOW. WE'VE TAKEN THE VEHICAL TO A KIA DEALERSHIP NUMEROUS TIMES ONLY TO BE TOLD THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT OR (IT WOULD DO IT FOR US/ WELL IT STARTED FOR US). MOST RECENTLY THE VEHICAL WAS AT THE DEALER SHIP FOR 10 DAYS WHILE WE WERE VACATIONING AND THEY RETURNED THE VEHICAL ONLY FOR IT TO NOT START THE FOLLOWING MORNING. IT'S A PUSH TO START AND AS A SAFETY FEATURE THE BRAKE PEDAL MUST BE PRESSED IN ORDER TO START THE CAR. WHEN THE PROBLEM FIRST STARTED THERE WOULD BE A LIGHT ON THE DASH THAT WOULD INDICATE THERE WAS NOT KEY WITCH WAS NOT THE CASE. YOU COULD HAVE THE KEY PHOB IN THE CAR AND STILL WOULDN'T START. THIS WAS ONLY ON COLD DAYS. IT WOULD START JUST FINE UNLESS IT WAS BELOW 20 DEGREES. MORE RECENTLY THE CAR WILL SHOW NO INDICATOR ON THE DASH AND WON'T START IF THE TEMPERATURE IS BELOW 30-35 DEGREES. ABOVE THAT EVERYTHING WORKS FINE. WE CHANGED KEYS AND REPLACED BATTERIES IN KEYS AND MOVED THEM ALL OVER THE CAR BUT NOTHING WOULD GET THE CAR TO START UNTIL THE TEMPERATURE ROSE ABOVE FREEZING. MOST RECENTLY THIS MORNING I WENT OUTSIDE TO START THE CAR (AROUND 30 DEGREES AND RISING) AS I PRESSED THE BRAKE AND HIT THE START BUTTON I HEARD SPARKS AND A LOUD POPING NOISE FOLLOWED BY HISSING AND SIZZLING THE VEHICAL THEN BEGAN TO FILL WITH SMOKE. I EXITED THE VEHICAL AND TOOK A FEW STEPS BACK. ABOUT 10 SECONDS AFTER INITIALLY HITTING THE START BUTTON THE CAR THEN STARTED WITH ME STANDING ABOUT 20FT AWAY WHILE STILL SMOKING. I NEVER SAW FLAMES BUT COULD SMELL AN ELECTRICAL FIRE AND WAS WAITING FOR THE CAR TO BURST INTO FLAMES FROM THE AMOUNT OF SMOKE THAT WAS COMING FROM IT. MAJORITY OF THE SMOKE SEEMED TO BECOMING FROM DRIVER SEAT AREA (UNDERDASH AND ALONG DRIVER SIDE QUARTER PANEL). AFTER A FEW MINUTES THE SMOKE DIED DOWN AND THE EVENT SEEMED TO BE OVER. I HAVEN'T TOUCHED THE VEHICALSINCEMORNIN