NHTSA Complaint #11406261 — 2017 KIA SORENTO

THE FLASHING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON MY 2017 KIA SORENTO, THE CAR WENT INTO LIMP MODE, AND WOULD NOT DRIVE OVER 20 MPH. I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE AT THE TIME, AND IT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO CROSS TWO HIGHWAY LANES AT 20 MPH TRYING TO PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO BURNS AUTO SHOP. THEY PULLED UP CODE P1326 AND SAID THIS WAS A KNOWN KIA ISSUE AND A KIA DEALER SHOULD FIX IT FOR FREE. MY CAR HAS 35,000 MILES AND IS STILL UNDER THE 10 YEAR/100,000 MILES KIA WARRANTY. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO FRED BEANS KIA DEALER IN LANGHORNE, PA, WHO REFUSED TO CHECK IT FOR 10 DAYS. KIA REFUSED TO PAY FOR A RENTAL CAR (EVEN RETROACTIVELY) UNTIL THE MECHANIC CHECKED IT - A HUGE INCONVENIENCE TO MY FAMILY OF 6 WHO HAD TO USE 1 CAR FOR 2 WEEKS. WHEN FRED BEANS FINALLY CHECKED THE CAR, THEY CLAIMED TO NOT BE ABLE TO SEE THE CODE. THEY CONCEDED THAT WHAT HAPPENED IS A KNOWN KIA ISSUE AND COULD HAPPEN AGAIN AT ANY TIME. IT'S TERRIFYING TO KNOW MY CAR COULD AT ANY TIME SLOW DOWN TO 20 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. DESPITE KIA'S CLAIMS THAT THE CAR COULD DRIVE UP TO 55 MPH WITH THE CODE ON, MY SPEED PLUMMETED TO 20 MPH WITHIN SECONDS AND WOULD NOT GO UP DESPITE PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. KIA SAID MY CAR'S VIN WAS NOT AMONG THOSE AFFECTED BY THE RECALL. YET, SINCE THE P1326 ISSUE DID HAPPEN TO MY CAR, MY VIN SHOULD BE INCLUDED. DESPITE KNOWING OF THE ISSUE, KIA AND ITS DEALERS REFUSE TO TAKE MY FAMILY'S SAFETY SERIOUSLY. THEY BOTH SUGGEST I KEEP DRIVING 'UNTIL IT HAPPENS AGAIN'. AFTER READING ONLINE REVIEWS, IT'S CLEAR KIA AND ITS DEALERS ROUTINELY TRY TO AVOID FIXING PROBLEMS COVERED BY WARRANTY. KIA CLAIMS THEY HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THEIR AUTHORIZED DEALERS. YET, IT'S KIA'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY FOR ISSUES COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. I'D LIKE KIA TO FIX THE KNOWN CODE P1326 PROBLEM, SO I CAN ENJOY FULL USE OF MY CAR WITHOUT EXPECTING IT TO MALFUNCTION AT ANY MOMENT