NHTSA Complaint #11589024 — 2015 KIA OPTIMA

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while the daughter was driving at approximately 80 MPH and attempting to pass a tractor-trailer in the left lane, the vehicle behind her aggressively merged into the same lane causing a crash to the passenger side of the vehicle. The other vehicle fled the scene. The contact's daughter merged to the shoulder of the road. There was damage to the front passenger side door, and front passenger wheel well, and tire. The vehicle failed to restart. The police were on the scene however no Police Report was filed. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was towed to a collision center for cosmetic repairs but the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was then towed to a local dealer. The dealer diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer mentioned a recall related to the engine, but it was not eligible for engine replacement because the vehicle had not had a software update performed for the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.