NHTSA Complaint #11193381 — 2013 KIA SORENTO

ON 27 MARCH 2019 I PARKED MY 2013 KIA SORENTO AT THE POST OFFICE. WHEN I RETURNED, THE CAR WOULD NOT START. I CALLED AAA WHO TESTED THE BATTERY AND FOUND IT OK. THE DRIVER SUGGESTED IT WAS THE STARTER. I HAD TO CAR TOWED TO MY REGULAR MECHANIC AS THAT IS WHERE I BUY TIRES AND FIGURED I WOULD HAVE THE TIRES ROTATED AT THE SAME TIME. THIS PLACE TRIED A STARTER AND THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. THE NEXT DAY THEY TRIED TWO ADDITIONAL STARTERS BEFORE DETERMINING THAT MY ENGINE HAD SEIZED. PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE 79,112 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE AND HAVE MAINTAINED IT PROPERLY. I HAVE ALL MY SERVICE RECORDS. ULTIMATELY I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED (AT MY EXPENSE) TO THE DEALERSHIP. AFTER NOT HEARING FROM THE DEALERSHIP FOR 2 DAYS, I CALLED THEM. THEY SAID THEY DID NOT KNOW ANYTHING. I THEN CALLED KIA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND OBTAINED A "CASE NUMBER" WHICH IS 13103094. NO ONE AT THE DEALERSHIP WILL TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THE STATUS OF MY CAR AND WHEN I CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE I AM TOLD THAT I HAVE TO WAIT A MINIMUM OF 4 WORKING DAYS. IN THE MEANTIME I MUST TRAVEL BY UBER WHICH IS GETTING QUITE EXPENSIVE. I READ AN ARTICLE IN FORBES ABOUT A RECALL IN 2017 ABOUT THIS SAME SITUATION, BUT APPARENTLY IN A DIFFERENT ENGINE. I AM APPALLED THAT THIS SHOULD HAPPEN IN AN ENGINE WITH SO FEW MILES. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT RECOURSE I HAVE.