While driving down the freeway, the engine began to smoke and caught fire. My husband and kids were in the car but were fortunately able to pull over without physical injuries. Our insurance company held the car and a third party company (hired by Kia) concluded â the origin of the fire is in the engine compartment at the exhaust manifold. The cause of the fire is internal engine failure resulting in a hole in the block allowing oil to escape and ignite on contact with heated exhaust componentsâ. There were no warnings, check engine light, etc. Kia pointed us towards a class action lawsuit but when you search our VIN # on Kiaâs website, thereâs are no recalls or issues reported, which is clearly false. Our family escaped serious injury/death but it could have easily been a different story. I will not stay silent and let this happen to other families. I am going to continue to advocate for my family until Kia listens.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation