NHTSA Complaint #11475535 — 2016 KIA OPTIMA

We purchased car used on 11/27/19. Within 3 days it was chugging, engine light started blinking, and we were broke down on side of the road. Federico Kia in Wood River IL had us tow car to service and told us then that there was an issue with these engines and they would be “replacing a part, and if it does this again, we would qualify for new engine. Would have been nice to know about issue with fires in engine prior to buying an 18000 car. After paying $400 for rental car they said it was fixed. Drove ok for another 9 months and then same thing happened yet this time we could smell something burning under hood. We were by dealership when this happened and due to it chugging and engine light, we took and dropped off again. We were then told spark plugs and needed oil change again after we had just changed ourselves 2 months prior. Said they were “flushing out engine” . Total cost was over $200 for us for oil change and flush. They said technically we were over our warranty time. SMH. It hasn’t been right since we bought it. We can’t afford to make their service dept rich, so we were told they would have to charge from them. We have had to replace same spark plugs 6 times as of today. We were just driving it after oil changes every 3 months even if miles driven were under 2000, and it’s chugging again and smoke and smell from under hood again. This engine is going to catch fire i fear. I won’t drive past 10 miles from my home because I have engine that chugs and overheats. Oil is not cheap and we put 2 qts in every 2 weeks or so. Dealership said there were no oil leaks they could see and yet puddle under car many times. Can someone please help us?