← NHTSA complaints

2011 KIA OPTIMA — STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured · 2176697 · 2026-02-13

Vehicle

Make
KIA
Model
OPTIMA
Year
2011
Manufacturer
Kia America, Inc.
Component
STRUCTURE:BODY
Speed
55 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

While driving the Kia on the highway (in the passing lane on Route 93, Boston, MA), the hood of the car flew open and shattered the windshield. Prior to getting into the vehicle, there was no notification, warning light/display, that alerted to the hood or anything else not being 'closed', no rattling of the hood either. The hood blocked my entire vision with the exception of a small area below, where I miraculous got over to the breakdown lane without causing any accident. When I got out of the car, the hood was bent and the second latch was loose. It did not hold its shape. Called the police and the insurance company, the car was deemed a total loss. This incident occurred on January 31, 2026 at 10:05AM. The conditions were dry and sunny. The state trooper said that this incident could have had serious safety consequences to the driver and others since no one expects a hood to fly open, block visibility...this highway is a busy road and could have impacted several other vehicles on the road. We no warning lamps/message- this was traumatic- this put the safety of the driver and the public at great risk.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
11717872
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown