| Issue ID | 1386881 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 11000887 |
| Manufacurer | Kia Motors America |
| Brand | KIA |
| Model | SORENTO |
| Model Year | 2015 |
| File date | 01/12/14 |
| Component | ENGINE |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | (amendments to odi#s: 10668775 & 10663356 - update) on 12/01/2014, i was in a 2015 kia sorento lx (enterprise insurance rental) traveling on crabb river road, (a city street) sugarland, texas. I fully stopped at the traffic lights because it was red. Once lights turned green, i put the vehicle in motion by stepping on the gas pedal to accelerate but the car felt really sluggish so i gave it more gas in order to gain enough speed as i was about to go over some railroad tracks (approx. 55+ mph) which were on a road that was on an incline. Right as the car reached the tracks, the engine stalled, the steering wheel locked and i lost all control of the vehicle and it dove into a ditch; plowed directly into a steel billboard pole which was cemented into the ground because the brakes became unresponsive. There were no warning lights on the dash prior to the crash. Even though i was fully buckled, the seatbelt did not prevent my head from violently hitting the windshield and bouncing off the steering wheel since none of the 8 airbags deployed. I suffered near fatal injuries including a broken back (l2 fracture), spinal cord, head, eye, chin, jaws, neck and hip; broken teeth, permanent disfiguration (18 stitches), some vision & hearing loss from nerve damage and ptsd, mental anguish, chronic migraines, extreme stress, terrible recurring nightmares, etc. I'm a 5'2" woman and my chest was pinned to the steering wheel upon the impact with the pole and the fire dept. Had to free me and lift me up to the emts. I was transported to the er of a hospital by ambulance and later transferred to the trauma unit of memorial hermann hospital due to the severity of my injuries. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 19000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | FREEPORT, TX |
| VIN pattern | 5XYKT3A60FGXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | Y |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | Y |
| Was medical attention required? | Y |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 1 |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 57 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |