NHTSA Complaint #11404874 — 2014 KIA FORTE

AT APPROXIMATELY 100K MILES IN 2018 CAR BEGAN CONSUMING WHAT I DEEMED MORE THAN NORMAL OIL BETWEEN 4000 MILE SERVICE INTERVALS AS WELL AS BEGAN A SLIGHT KNOCKING SOUND. KIA DEALERSHIP ATTRIBUTED THIS TO 100K MILES AND NORMAL ENGINE WEAR. KNOCKING WENT FROM SLIGHT IRRITATION TO SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG IN THE SUMMER OF 2021 AT 155K. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO MY LOCAL KIA DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION WHERE THEY INFORMED ME THE ENGINE WAS SHOT AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT FOR AROUND $7500. TOOK THE CAR BACK HOME VIA TOW TRUCK AS I DID NOT HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR A CAR I HAD JUST PAID OFF FINALLY. DID RESEARCH WHICH LED ME TO BELIEVE KIA HAD SOME KNOWN ENGINE ISSUE DIRECTLY RELATED TO WHAT THIS SEEMED TO BE AND IT WAS BELIEVED THEY WOULD ISSUE A RECALL. HELD ONTO CAR UNTIL RECALL WAS ISSUED AND AGAIN HAD IT TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. DEALER IMMEDIATELY INFORMED ME THAT I DID NOT QUALIFY FOR THE RECALL REPAIR AS I WAS 5K MILES OVER THE LIMITS FOR SAID RECALL SC200. MY READING OF THE RECALL STATED THEY WOULD DO REPAIR UP TO AND INCLUDING ENGINE REPLACEMENT AND WARRANT WORK FOR 15 YEARS OR 150K MILES WHICH EVER CAME FIRST. THEY STATED THIS WAS LIMIT FOR REPAIR AND NOT WARRANTY. CONTACTED KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND HAVE BEEN GETTING THE RUN AROUND FOR 3 MONTHS NOW AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE GOING TO REPAIR MY VEHICLE. I FEEL AT THIS POINT I AM FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE FOR KNOWN ISSUE AND KIA HAS LOST A CUSTOMER FOR LIFE AS I WISH I HAD NOT PURCHASED THE ONE I HAVE NOW IF I HAD KNOWN THEY WERE NOT GOING TO STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. OUT OF THE ROUGHLY 300K VEHICLES I DOUBT MANY WILL MEET THIS CRITERIA IF THAT IS INDEED WHAT IT IS SO THEY WILL LOOK GOOD IN SAYING THEY ARE RECALLING AND FIXING WHEN IN REALITY THEY ARE NOT FIXING MANY AT ALL.