NHTSA Complaint #11462339 — 2014 KIA SORENTO

On 2/15/22, I accelerated to pass another car while driving home from work. As soon as I accelerated, my car stopped running. I coasted to the next turnoff from a busy street (about 1 block) and stopped at the curb in a residential area. The control panel/dashboard was completely dark, then suddenly lit up again. I tried to start the car but couldn't because I was unable to depress the brake. I waited a few minutes and tried again and a small amount of smoke came out from under the hood. In a minute that went away. At this time, I was very near my house and walked home. When I got there I called the Kia dealership (local) and described what happened. They asked if there had been a 'check engine' or other warning message before this happened and I told them there had not been. I said I guess I would have to have the car towed in to them to see what was wrong. I was told they would call back. While waiting for someone to call back, I walked back to my car. (All of this took less than 10 - 12 minutes.) As I turned the corner I saw police cars and a firetruck where my car was parked. The fire had been put out and there was only a shell of the car left; the entire motor and everything inside was destroyed. Later, my insurance company declared it a total loss. A neighbor saw flames and had called the fire department. There was some damage to the neighbor's yard - grass and shrubbery. The police called a wrecking service to tow the car. It was later picked up by my insurance co. No one was injured, thankfully; but I can only imagine what would have happened if I had made it home and parked in my garage. The local Kia dealership never called back. I called a week or so after this happened and was told they would have someone call me and no one called (again).