NHTSA Complaint #11490545 — 2015 KIA OPTIMA

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized with knocking sounds coming from the vehicle. The contact’s wife pulled over, and the contact arrived on the scene to inspect the vehicle and check the engine oil. The contact restarted the vehicle and the failure recurred with knocking sounds coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the main bearing had fractured and the engine needed to be replaced; however, the manufacturer declined the engine replacement due to an unrepaired Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) recall. The contact had not yet received the recall notification. The vehicle was not repaired; however, the dealer offered to buy back the vehicle from the contact. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and declined the engine replacement. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.