NHTSA Complaint #11316535 — 2013 KIA SOUL

I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AND MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I FIGURED I WOULD TAKE IT TO MY MECHANIC THE NEXT DAY SINCE I DID NOT SEE, HEAR, OR SMELL ANYTHING AT THAT TIME. WITHIN 10 MINUTES, A KNOCKING NOISE STARTED UNDER MY HOOD. I IMMEDIATELY HEADED TOWARDS MY MECHANIC'S SHOP - I MADE IT 8 MILES, WITH THE KNOCKING BECOMING MORE FREQUENT, UNTIL IT STOPPED AND MY ENGINE DIED. I WAS IN THE RIGHT LANE OF THE HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH. I WAS ABLE TO COAST FROM THE CLOSEST EXIT RAMP INTO A GAS STATION PARKING LOT. I HAD MY VEHICLE TOWED THE REST OF THE WAY TO MY MECHANIC, WHO DIAGNOSED A SPUN OR THROWN ROD BEARING. HE IDENTIFIED ONE HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE ENGINE - THE EJECTED PART HAD PIERCED THE ENGINE BLOCK AND MY OIL PAN. I CALLED KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS, WHO ADVISED THIS SOUNDED LIKE AN ISSUE I SHOULD TAKE IT TO A DEALERSHIP TO HAVE EVALUATED FOR REPLACEMENT/REPAIR BY KIA. AS FAR AS I KNOW, THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL, BUT KIA SEEMS TO ALREADY BE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM IN SOULS AND HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL. THE REPRESENTATIVE ON THE PHONE AT KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS SAID I "MAY NOT HAVE EVEN RECEIVED THE LETTER YET". MY VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PREVIOUS RECALL BUT APPEARS TO HAVE SUFFERED THE EXPECTED ISSUE. THE RECALL SHOULD BE EXPANDED. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP, WHO COORDINATED WITH THEIR DISTRICT MANAGER AND KIA HAS AGREED TO REPAIR MY ENGINE. I AM CONCERNED THAT THEY WILL ONLY REPAIR THE DAMAGE BUT NOT ADDRESS THE ACTUAL ISSUE. THE DEALERSHIP ALSO IDENTIFIED A SECOND HOLE THAT HAD BEEN MADE IN MY ENGINE BLOCK BY DEBRIS WHEN MY ENGINE BROKE DOWN.