NHTSA Complaint #11503295 — 2017 KIA SORENTO

I'm the (third and current) owner of 2017 Kia Sorento LX which was working absolutely fine, with no issues or any warning lights on. On 1/14/23 (Saturday) while travelling with family on highway I-95 (in florida), the engine suddenly failed with smoke and oil spurting out from underneath. The engine service lights and audio warning kicked in. Despite the confusion and nervousness, I was able to safely maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder within seconds and escaped crash or fire. Immediately called my insurance and got the vehicle towed to the nearest Kia dealership. I had to drop the vehicle at the dealership (and drove home 700 miles to Virginia using one way rental). Few days later the dealership confirmed that the engine is not good anymore and it needs a replacement. They told me that since the recall (PI1802 ECU UPGRADE (KSDS)) was not performed on the vehicle, Kia will NOT pay for any expenses and I have to pay out of pocket more than $8500.00 for the replacement. It came as a big surprise and shock to me as I never heard or got any communication from either the dealer (3rd party) from whom I bought the vehicle or KIA regarding such recall or the fix needed, to prevent such a failure. I would appreciate it if your legal team can help me to have Kia replace the engine at no cost to me. As I'm searching, I'm hearing a lot of news about KIa's and Hyundai's having the same engine issue and many have resulted in fires and even death. Youtube and other online forums, have many of these horror stories, also few highlighted by the media. Now looking back, I feel lucky that we narrowly escaped!