NHTSA Complaint #11481686 — 2017 KIA SORENTO

I was picking up my daughter from school. I drove there a considerable distance. I parked because I got there early. Once it was time to get my daughter I put my car in reverse and it made a loud clanking sound and the wheel became hard to maneuver. As soon as it made the sound a steering wheel with an exclamation point red light came on. I looked it up on Google and found that there was a technical bulletin issued for my year car regarding the MDPS/EPS system extending the warranty to 15 years on 01/05/2022-01/07/2022. When I took my vehicle to Kia of Hollywood service center in Hollywood FL, they were able to reproduce the problem. However after looking at the bulletin and parts covered under that particular bulletin, they told me that the issue that is causing the noise was not covered by that technical bulletin for the MDPS warning light and the actual cause of the noise in my vehicle was my car needed a new rack and pinion. Once they told me the repair would not be covered by the extended warranty I asked for the price. Kia is selling the rack and pinion for $3280. The same part after market is $339. I of course took my vehicle to a different mechanic and did not pay the total cost of parts and labor that they quoted me which was $4460. I believe Kia is aware that this particular part is defective and are taking advantage of some sort of loop hole. Maybe not enough consumers knowing they can file complaints. There's a reason why they are selling this particular part 10 times its after market value. The part was also readily available and wasn't back ordered which means they have plenty in stock probably due to demand. I was not able to control my steering wheel which is a danger while driving. My car has had previous structural damage but nothing that affected the power steering in my vehicle at any time. This problem just came out of nowhere.