NHTSA Complaint #11245143 — 2012 KIA FORTE

KIA,HYUNDAI THETA 2.4 ENGINE FAILURE, UNDER 100K MILES. I HAVE A 2012 KIA FORTE HATCH SX WITH THE 2.4 ENGINE. I PURCHASED IT FROM SUNSET KIA OF AUBURN VALLEY WA WITH 66,000 MILES NOT QUITE 3 YEARS AGO. IN THAT TIME I'VE PUT ABOUT 30K MILES ON THE CAR. I'VE HAD THE OIL CHANGED REGULARLY, AND IT HAS NEVER BEEN LOW. LAST WEEK, ON AUGUST 11, 2019, WHILE DRIVING TO WORK THE ENGINE SEIZED ON THE HIGHWAY. I LOST POWER STEERING AND BRAKE ASSIST. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD WITHOUT CAUSING AN ACCIDENT, BUT ONLY BECAUSE OF THE TIME OF DAY. HAD IT HAPPENED DURING HEAVIER TRAFFIC A SIGNIFICANT ACCIDENT COULD HAVE OCCURRED. FROM ONLINE RESEARCH IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THIS CAR AND OTHERS THAT THAT USE THE SAME THETA II ENGINE. THIS CAR/ENGINE SHOULD BE RECALLED.