NHTSA Complaint #11556499 — 2019 KIA OPTIMA

The morning of 9/26/2023 as I was driving on the freeway road and I experienced an intermittent reduction in engine power and had to pull over on the side of the freeway road. This was a very traumatizing experience and I was very lucky that I was not hit while awaiting to be towed. After my mechanic inspected my vehicle we received error code P1233 and advised me to call the dealership as this is something covered under an extended warranty. I scheduled an appointment for 9/27/2023 however, I dropped my car off on 9/26/2023 since I was able to arrange dropping it off a day earlier. I received a call very early on 9/27/2023 from Chuck, one of the mechanics at Westside Kia and he stated that my car was working perfectly fine. After I informed him of the issue I had he stated they would need to keep my car for about 48 hours until they could determine the issue. I received a call from Chuck on 9/28/2023 and he stated that the issue with my car was not covered under the extended warranty and that I would have to pay $1,200.00 to get the issue fixed. He agreed that the issue was in relation to the low pressure fuel pump and should be fixed at no cost however, he stated the only way this could be fixed is if they received approval from Kia Consumer Affairs. On 9/27/2023 I opened case number [XXX] and after a month they denied my case stating that they will not fix my car free of charge because the fuel pump needs to be replaced and the recall only takes care of replacing the filter and not the pump itself. I have argued with the dealership and Kia Consumer Affairs that if the fuel pump goes bad due to a bad filter that has been recalled then it is their responsibility to cover the cost. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)