NHTSA Complaint #11420015 — 2017 KIA SOUL

My KIA Soul did not have any warning lights on or strange sounds/issues when I began driving on the highway on 6/5/21 with my 12 year old special needs son. A short time after we entered the highway I began to notice a strange knocking sound and it felt like the car was struggling to maintain speed. Within a few seconds I started to smell a "hot" smell and immediately pulled over to the side of a two lane highway with a very small shoulder. When I pulled over the knocking became very loud and then all of the warning lights on the dash flashed on and then the car died. We were stranded on the side of the road in the middle of no where while trucks and cars flew by at high rates of speed. It was also incredibly hot and the car was not functioning to be able to roll down windows. I was able to use roadside assistance through my insurance company and it was towed to a local repair shop. I was told that the engine was blown and my engine had "thrown" internal parts. They said the engine was completely dead and needed replaced. They also stated that they have seen this issue a lot with Kia Soul's especially 2015-2017 models. In fact the owner said as soon as he heard what the car was he knew it was going to be engine failure. I am very lucky that I was able to pull over to the small shoulder before the car died or I would have been stuck in the middle of the road right after a hill and my car would have been impossible to see stopped by drivers coming over the hill before it would have been hit. This has also caused my special needs son to become extremely panicked in the car and afraid to drive with me. After a quick Google search I was able to find complaint after complaint after complaint about this issue with the 2017 Kia Soul at around 70-80,000 miles which is exactly where I am at. I know owe a great deal of money on a car that is totaled out unless I spend over $6,000 to replace the engine. Money that I do NOT have after losing my job due to Covid.