NHTSA Complaint #11341238 — 2019 KIA STINGER

WHEN STOPPED, THIS VEHICLE IS DESIGNED TO AUTOMATICALLY STOP THE ENGINE WHILE IDLING, AND RESTART THE ENGINE WHEN I TAKE MY FOOT OFF OF THE BRAKE. SOMETIMES, WHEN THE ENGINE RESTARTS, THERE IS A DIP IN ELECTRICAL POWER THAT RESULTS IN THE CENTER CONSOLE LIGHTS AND DISPLAY BLANKING OUT AND COMING BACK ON. THAT SYMPTOM IS ANNOYING, AND A SIGN OF SOMETHING NOT BEING RIGHT WITH THE VEHICLE, BUT NOT A SAFETY ISSUE ON ITS OWN. BUT THERE IS ANOTHER SYMPTOM THAT OCCURS OCCASIONALLY THAT IS A SAFETY CONCERN. AT LEAST 3 TIMES SO FAR -- TWICE ON 7/17/2020 AND ONCE ON 7/23/2020 -- THE VEHICLE HAS FAILED TO RESTART THE ENGINE WHEN THE BRAKE IS RELEASED. INSTEAD, IT PRESENTS AN ALARM TONE AND THE MESSAGE: "AUTO STOP IS OFF. START VEHICLE MANUALLY". MY ONLY OPTION AT THAT POINT IS TO SHIFT INTO PARK, ACTIVATE MY SAFETY FLASHERS, AND ATTEMPT TO START THE VEHICLE MANUALLY. IT TOOK MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO RESTART THE VEHICLE THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED. ALL THIS WHILE HOPING I DON'T GET REAR-ENDED BY SOMEONE BEHIND ME THAT EXPECTS ME TO BE MOVING. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE LOCAL KIA DEALER, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO REPRODUCE THE ISSUE AND RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO ME WITH INSTRUCTION TO BRING IT BACK IF IT CONTINUES TO RECUR. I AM TAKING IT BACK AGAIN TODAY. I HAVE A VIDEO OF BOTH SYMPTOMS, BUT THEY ARE TOO LARGE TO UPLOAD. I AM ATTACHING A PICTURE OF THE AUTO STOP IS OFF WARNING MESSAGE.