NHTSA Complaint #11461408 — 2014 KIA SOUL

Vehicle's engine failed months after a recall was performed on it in October 2021 to "protect the engine from damage" while failing to reason why this was necessary. Upon my vehicle breaking down on April 1st, 2022, I had it taken to a repair shop that performed about $2,000 worth of work on the vehicle, not knowing that KIA had a known defect for code P1326 which was that the engine was defective and not that it was just a misfire as it is coded. My engine is similar to those of vehicles involved in class-actions and other NTHSA complaints around the same model year, THETA II engine, with similar problems with oil consumption issues and it failed at 99,800 miles. When I asked dealerships about the oil consumption earlier on in ownership, I was told it was when the oil was low, but not low enough to trigger a warning lamp. This is the same noise heard now when the engine runs. An increasing "ticking" as the engine increases in speed. The vehicle is available for inspection at KIA of Schaumburg who also advised me of the defects of this engine when they were able to receive it. Our safety was put at risk by the engine suddenly dropping speed abruptly without warning on busy roads and by inadequately warning of a defective engine. The problem has been reproduced successfully by both a KIA dealership and an independent shop, AAA of Skokie. It has been inspected by the manufacturer's representative. The warning lamps first appeared right after the vehicle lost power and went into "protection mode" and sharply dropped speed along a busy corridor. The vehicle failed a second time a day after receiving it from AAA Car Care Skokie from their initial work when turning onto a busy roadway, almost leading to a collision, with nowhere to immediately pull over. The vehicle's computer failed to immediately identify the misfiring until three separate turnovers and trips occurred.