NHTSA Complaint #11525251 — 2016 KIA OPTIMA

My steering wheel locked while I was on my way to work early Monday, March 28,2022. I was driving down county road Park Avenue around 30MPH and suddenly, I was unable to move the steering at all. Luckily, I was already in the right lane =; however, it was very challenging to steer to get off the road. I called the local dealership and they suggested I bring the car in for inspection to determine what the cause is. I took the car to the dealership and I was informed the vehicle was not drivable because the Steering Wheel Column Assembly and ECU needs repair. They also informed there was no recall on the vehicle. The mileage at the time was 67,400 miles which was very surprising. I received a letter from Kia Motors in February 2022 (6 years after the car was manufactured about the recall however, most cars at this point were out of warranty and Kia was aware no car met the warrantee qualifications). I was told by Kia Motors customer service that my vehicle was out of warranty at the mileage. I paid $3386 for repairs which should have been covered years in 2019 and 2020 according to other reports of the same incident occurring to other 2016 Kia Optima models.