NHTSA Complaint #11416156 — 2015 KIA SOUL

RE: NHTSA RECALL 20V750, KIA SOUL 2015, VIN: [XXX]. WHILE DRIVING, 12/6/2020, MY CAR STOPPED RUNNING AFTER A BRIEF WARNING ON THE DASH. CHECK ENGINE AND OIL LIGHT CAME ON. WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, I HEARD A NOISE, AND THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. THERE WERE NO OIL LEAKS OR ANY FLUIDS UNDER THE CAR. I TOWED THE CAR HOME. I TOWED TO RAY BRANDT KIA IN HARVEY LA 12/7/20. A MONTH LATER, I WAS TOLD THE ENGINE FAILED. BY 1/4/21, I WAS ASKED FOR PERMISSION TO TEAR DOWN THE ENGINE FOR INSPECTION. 1/8/21 [XXX], SVC MGR. SAID VALVE COVER TO BE REMOVED FOR INSPECTION. FIDELITY WARRANTY/RAYBRANDT KIA APPROVED REPAIRS RE: RO101874. PER [XXX], THE INSPECTOR DIRECTED THE TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT. ON 1/13/21, TEST RUNS DONE TO SEE IF IT FIXED THE PROBLEM BUT NO COMPRESSION. NO ACTION TAKEN ON RECALL 20V750. PER [XXX], RAY BRANDT RECOMMENDED REPLACING THE ENGINE. USED ENGINE FOUND FOR REPLACEMENT WITH APPROX. 42K MILES. PER [XXX] AT RAY BRANDT SVC DEPT. I RECEIVED RECALL LETTER DATED 1/25/21 BY MAIL. CALLED [XXX] ABOUT THE RECALL. SHE CONFIRMED IT ON HER COMPUTER. RAY BRANDT CALLED DAYS LATER TO SAY FIDELITY DENIED MY CLAIM. THEY STOPPED ALL REPAIRS. TOLD I HAD TO CALL FIDELITY FOR DOCUMENTATION. CALLED BUT NO RESPONSE. AFTER SENDING A CERTIFIED LETTER 3/9 TO LEGAL. [XXX] CALLED. SHE SENT A REPLY DATED 4/7. FIRST TWO INSPECTIONS REVEAL OIL AND OTHER FLUIDS ARE GOOD AND NO SLUDGE IN THE ENGINE. THIS WAS PRIOR TO TWO MORE INSPECTIONS WITH DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS. FINAL INSPECTION SHOW ENGINE WARPED. DUE TO IGNORING THE RECALL, NO ACTION ON SERVICE DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS AND TEST RUNS WITHOUT REPAIRS, THE ENGINE WARPED. BEFORE THIS FAILURE, I HAD NO ENGINE OVERHEATING. SINCE 4/22/21, AFTER 4 CALLS TO KIA CONSUMER ASSISTANCE CTR., NO RETURN CALLS. IT IS NOW MAY 11, 2021. RAY BRANDT KIA AND FIDELITY WARRANTY SERVICES WILL NOT RETURN MY CALLS. STILL PAYING FOR CAR. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).