10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 48
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 7 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 71,366 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
On 08/12/12 while driving in cruise control at approximately 72-74 mph, I eased out into the passing lane to put myself behind someone going faster. The car suddenly downshifted and accelerated with maximum throttle. I touched the brake pedal moderately to disconnect the cruise control. The car continued at maximum acceleration and in the passing gear. I then applied the brakes with great vigor and the cruise control disconnected and the vehicle slowed down. After a short while I reactivated the cruise control and drove about 60 miles without any further malfunction. I presented the car to the Kia dealer service advisor. The car was checked and I was told they could find nothing wrong with the cruise control. I asked them if they reported these very dangerous observations to Kia or NHTSA. They said no they never do. Incidental to this event, I had an engine malfunction light on 7/25/12. I took it in for service the next day and told it was a transmission heat sensor. A part was ordered and I was told to drive the car normally. Within several days, I became aware the cruise control was not activating when driving the first time in a day. But if the engine was stopped and restarted, the cruise control worked normally. I duplicated this 3 distinct times exactly as written. The service department was not able to link the difficulty to anything they had seen or read, they summerized it may have been a brake light sensor that failed but the computer dispelled that notion.
- Clinton Township, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact was driving 20 mph when the vehicle stalled without warning. There were no warning lights illuminating. The engine was turned off and then restarted within ten minutes. The dealer was notified and the contact was waiting on a return call. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 17,000.
- Wells, ME, USA
- Auburn, AL, USA