NHTSA Complaint #11488960 — 2015 KIA OPTIMA

I was driving down the freeway and my car engine shut off and lost all power. Pulled off to the side of the road and the car started back up and was running fine. About 10 miles later the engine started clicking and continued to get worse as I tried to get off the highway and into a Kia Dealership. When I was about a tenth of a mile away from a Kia Dealer, my engine made a loud bang noise, and started smoking immediately as my car completely shut down. I had cars behind, alongside, and in front of me that were put in obvious danger as my engine blew up and smoke filled the air around the area. Making visibility poor for others as well as my speed dropping without brake lights due to the engine failing. The problem cannot be reproduced as the engine will not start but the Kai Dealership the car is currently at stated that the engine needs to be completely rebuilt. Vehicle was inspected when I lived in North Carolina in 2018 and 2019, nothing was stated as a danger at that time. There were no warning lights when the vehicle first shut down. The check engine light did not come on until about 20 minutes after the engine started clicking.