NHTSA Complaint #11300024 — 2019 KIA NIRO EV

MY BRAKES FAILED AS I TRIED TO STOP FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT ON A CITY STREET. THERE WAS A CAR ALREADY STOPPED AT THE LIGHT, WHICH I BUMPED INTO. AS I WAS DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL, IT 'GAVE', AND THE CAR CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD; I WAS UNABLE TO STOP. LUCKILY, I HAD ALREADY SLOWED CONSIDERABLY PRIOR TO THE BRAKES FAILING, SO NO ONE WAS HURT AND THERE WAS MINIMAL DAMAGE. THE OTHER DRIVER LEFT THE SCENE WITHOUT EXCHANGING INFORMATION, AND NO POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE KIA SERVICE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE: NO CODES SHOWED UP REGARDING ANY PROBLEMS; NOTHING WAS IN THE ONLINE HISTORY REPORT; NO LEAKS OR DAMAGED BRAKE COMPONENTS WERE OBSERVED; TEST DRIVING FAILED TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. ALTHOUGH HE SAID I COULD PICK IT UP, SO FAR I HAVEN'T ' I WON'T DRIVE IT IF THE BRAKES ARE NOT RELIABLE! THE ACCIDENT COULD'VE HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEEDS; SOMEONE COULD'VE BEEN GRAVELY HURT OR KILLED... I FOUND AN ARTICLE ONLINE THAT DESCRIBED A RECALL OF KIA OPTIMAS FOR WHAT SOUNDS LIKE THE PRECISE PROBLEM: THE 'SOFTWARE FOR FORWARD COLLISION WARNING (FCW) MAY PREVENT THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING (AEB) SYSTEM FROM ENGAGING AS EXPECTED WHEN FCW SENSES A POTENTIAL COLLISION WITH A STATIONARY VEHICLE.' NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V539. ARTICLE AT WWW.CONSUMERREPORTS.ORG/CAR-RECALLS-DEFECTS/KIA-OPTIMA-RECALLED-BECAUSE-AUTOMATIC-BRAKING-COULD-FAIL/ WHEN I BROUGHT THIS ARTICLE TO THE TECHNICIAN'S ATTENTION, I WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNLESS A RECALL SPECIFIC TO THE NIRO WAS ISSUED. I THEN CALLED THE KIA CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER IN THE ARTICLE I FOUND, AND WAS TOLD THEY WOULD INITIATE AN INVESTIGATION; SO FAR I HAVEN'T HEARD BACK FROM THEM.