What 153 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Kia Rio

I received a letter from KIA corporation that they would voluntarily replace a part (the clockspring assembly) in the steering wheel shaft as the malfunction would impair the proper functioning of the air bags, in the letter they stated specifically that this would not cost me any money out pocket including the diagnostic, I took the car to one of their dealers and they refused to service my vehicle if I did not pay upfront. I called another of their dealers but they also said I would have to pay for the diagnostic. I then called corporate and also corresponded with them via email but they did not solve the problem. Ever since I have been involved in two separate collisions and the air bags did not deploy, also the horn stop functioning and after doing some online research I found out it also depends on the part that was supposed to be replaced to function, the steering wheel control such as cruise control etc. also stopped working. Corporate has not gotten back to me and I feel they are just going to let it die out and not do anything about it. Meanwhile I am driving the vehicle without air bags, horn and steering wheel controls. I have no choice because my family only owns this vehicle. Please let me know what I need to do to get help to get a solution for this issue/s. thank you. Note: At this moment I only have information related to one of the collisions but I could provide for the other if need be. Also, the car belongs to my wife [XXX] ) but I was the driver at both collisions as I am the primary driver in my family household. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11548828

I was sitting behind a S.U.V . when it started to move i doubt if we were going 5 miles I slightly moved my steering wheel not even a half a turn to move straight behind the S.U.V. My car shot to the right jumped a curb, hit a pole, thru two trees down a hill and into a fence. when it was all said and done my car wouldn't stop, my airbag never deployed and my car was totaled. i kept asking if there was a way this car could be examined.the insurance company took the car.i had started having problems prior to this incident that started around the end of May. but before that the car ran pretty good and only had 52,000 miles.1st it wouldn't start after driving it for a while. you would have to wait a few minutes and it would restart. So my husband took it to our mechanic. he couldn't find anything wrong and it even passed inspection. About a week and a half later i am driving and the car just stopped while I am driving no power.I finally get it to start again.get it to a safer place and called AAA towing. they towed it to Kia. they replaced some type of sensor i believe it was a crank.it ran smooth but it still didn't feel right.it had a hard time pulling hills and the acceleration wasn't right. it kept losing acceleration like it was going to stop on me again then it would seem to kick back in. I had planned that Weekend to take it up to pep boys for diagnostics and take it back to Kia to see what was wrong with it. but I had the incident that friday . i uploaded a police report. and i do have repair ,inspection & and tow bill if needed

NHTSA ODI 11484878

DURING A FULL SIDE IMPACT COLLISION THE SIDE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. I WAS TRAVELING 45 MPH AND THE VEHICLE THAT HIT THE DRIVER SIDE CENTER GOING 30 MPH. I WAS TRAVELING NORTH BOUND ON SAVANNAH HIGHWAY NEAR CALIBER COLLISION.

NHTSA ODI 11098951

ON AUGUST 22 2017 8:45 PM WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN A CITY STREET MY DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED, FOR NO REASON CAUSING ME TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND RUN OVER A MEDIAN IN THE ROAD. I PROCEEDED TO PULL INTO A PARKING LOT TO AVOID ANY FURTHER INCIDENT AND INSPECT ANY DAMAGE TO MY CAR. WITH THE CAR STILL RUNNING, I WALKED THE PERIMETER OF THE VEHICLE TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE, WITH NO BODILY DAMAGE VISIBLE I DECIDED TO DRIVE IT HOME. THE NEXT MORNING, I WENT TO CHECK ON MY KIA RIO AND FOUND TRANSMISSION FLUID ALL OVER THE GROUND. I CALLED MY INSURANCE AND REPORTED WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THEY SAID I SHOULD CONTACT KIA CORPORATION AND REPORT THE AIR BAG FAILURE I DID AS REQUESTED. THEN HURRICANE HARVEY HIT THE AREA AND DELAYED ANY ACTIONS TAKEN. AFTER ABOUT A WEEK KIA TOWED THE CAR TO THEIR LOT FOR INSPECTION. KIA ASKED WHAT I WANTED, I REPLIED REPAIR OR REPLACE MY DEFECTIVE VEHICLE. THEY WROTE A REPAIR COST ESTIMATED AT $9200.00 AND SAID THAT THE AIR BAG WAS NOT A RECALL ITEM AND DENIED MY CLAIM AFTER ANOTHER WEEK PASSED. I HAD TO FILE THE CLAIM ON MY INSURANCE AT THAT TIME AND SEND IT TO ANOTHER SHOP FOR INSPECTION. ANOTHER WEEK PASSED BEFORE MY INSURANCE FILED IT A TOTAL LOSS. AFTER ALL THIS LOST TIME FROM WORK AND RENTAL COST EXPENSES THAT HAVE YET TO BE REIMBURSED. THEN HAVING TO GO FIND A CAR THAT I FEEL WOULD BE TRUSTWORTHY AND DEPENDABLE AFTER THESE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES HAS PROVED TO BE DIFFICULT. REFINANCING ANOTHER CAR INSURING IT. I DON'T FEEL KIA CORPORATION HELD UP THEIR RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY IN THIS SITUATION. AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET I DISCOVERED THAT KIA HAD MANY AIRBAG RECALLS IN PREVIOUS YEARS, AND AIRBAG FAILURES IN OTHER KIA AUTOMOBILES ACROSS MULTI-YEAR MODELS.

NHTSA ODI 11030684

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KIA RIO. AFTER REAR ENDING ANOTHER VEHICLE, THE SEAT BELT FAILED TO RETRACT AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED CONTUSIONS THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,000.

NHTSA ODI 10875234

I WAS WAITING BEHIND SOMEONE AT A COMPLETE STOP FOR THEM TO MAKE A LEFT HAND TURN AND SOMEONE CRASHED INTO THE BACK OF ME AND SMASHED ME INTO THE PERSON IN FRONT OF ME. THE PERSON ADMIT HE DID.NOT SEE US STOPPED AND HIT ME AT ABOUT 45 TO 50 MPH AND MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY I WOULD THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE AT HOW HARD I WAS HIT AND HOW HARD THE CAR FORCED ME INTO THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME . I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH DOUBLE WHIPLASH AND SEVERAL TORN. MUSCLES IN MY CHEST AND SHOULDERS A BRUISE THE SIZE OF A SOFTBALL ON MY RIGHT HIP FROM THE SEAT BELT AND A BURN ON MY LEFT ELBOW FROM HOW HARD IT HIT MY DOOR BOTH THE PALMS OF MY HANDS WERE BRUISED AND I COULD BARELY WALK FOR 2 DAYS FROM SORENESS AND HAVE BEEN SEEING A CHIROPRACTOR FOR 5 MONTHS NOW MY CAR WAS TOTALLED

NHTSA ODI 10717560

AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY TILL VEHICLE WAS ROLLED OVER. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10680315

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KIA RIO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE SEAT BELT FAILED TO PROPERLY SECURE A CHILD PASSENGER. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MINOR BRUISING AND THE PASSENGER SUSTAINED WHIPLASH AND SHOULDER INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 24,000.

NHTSA ODI 10532377