NHTSA Complaint #11436639 — 2020 KIA FORTE

My expectant granddaughter was driving the vehicle on a trip. The transmission started intermittently slipping en route. She stopped and when she returned to the vehicle she discovered it would no longer go forward or backwards. It is still under warranty. The vehicle is still in Colorado. This happened Sept 4, 2021. It is now 10/13. I have contacted Kia multiple times speaking with different people. I escalated the call and was told someone named Melissa was my escalations person. I have never spoken to her. I have requested a buy back of the vehicle due to possibility of reoccurrence. My granddaughter was stranded for a week. The car is at a dealership, Ft Collins Kia. We have had to pay for hotel, car rental, and a flight out of pocket. I requested reimbursement. They have not responded. I filled out the information for the buy back, but I do not have all of the paperwork. It is in the car in Colorado. We live in South Texas. No way to get access to it. This is wrong on so many levels. We are at a loss as to what to do. If the transmission had quit while she was moving the results could have been disasterous. Kia says the part is sitting on a dock somewhere waiting to be picked up. Is there an expected timeline? We had to replace the vehicle due to the cost of car rentals.