Kia’s Silence Puts Families at Risk — It’s Time for Accountability

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On May 11, 2025, my life changed in an instant. I was driving my 2011 Kia Sportage SX through Derry, Pennsylvania, when suddenly, smoke filled the cabin. My throat burned, my eyes stung, and panic set in as the car filled with choking fumes. The engine had caught fire while I was behind the wheel.

I managed to escape, but what haunts me is this question: What if my children had been in the back seat? What if it wasn’t just me, but my family trapped inside a burning vehicle?

After the fire, I contacted Kia America immediately. They opened a case (Case #25237525) and sent an inspector to examine the car. I waited, anxious to know what caused the fire, to know if others might be at risk. But when the inspection ended, Kia refused to release the findings. They denied my claim without explanation. No answers. No restitution. Just silence.

This silence is not just frustrating — it is dangerous. Kia knows there is a problem, but by refusing to disclose information, they are gambling with people’s lives.

And I am not alone. Kia and Hyundai have a long, well-documented history of engine fires and defects. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has logged thousands of complaints about fires. There have been massive recalls affecting millions of vehicles. In 2021, Kia and Hyundai agreed to pay $760 million in settlements related to engine fire claims. Yet here we are in 2025, and their vehicles are still catching fire.

I have filed complaints with both the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and NHTSA, but the danger is bigger than just one agency can handle. Kia continues to put profits over people. They hide behind silence, corporate bureaucracy, and denial while families remain at risk every time they get behind the wheel.

This is bigger than my car, bigger than my case. This is about families across America — maybe even yours. Every day Kia stays silent, another parent, child, or friend could be trapped in a burning vehicle.

That is why I am asking you to stand with me. By signing this petition, you are demanding that Kia stop hiding and start acting.

We demand that Kia:

Release all fire inspection reports to affected owners.
Acknowledge and disclose the true causes of these fires.
Provide fair restitution to owners whose cars have burned.
Implement safety-first reforms to prevent more tragedies.
Put families over profits.
Kia’s silence is not neutrality — it is guilt. Every day they refuse to act, they risk more lives.

This campaign isn’t just about me. It’s about preventing another family from going through the terror I experienced. It’s about protecting the next mother, father, child, or friend who could find themselves surrounded by flames on the highway.

If corporations are allowed to stay silent while families burn, then none of us are safe. But together, we can change that.

By signing and sharing this petition, you are joining a movement that says corporate greed cannot outweigh human life. You are helping to shine a spotlight on Kia’s silence. And you are protecting families who haven’t yet faced what I lived through.

Now is the time to act. If not now, when? If not us, who?

Please sign this petition today. Share it with your friends, your family, your coworkers. Every signature adds pressure. Every voice makes us stronger. Together, we can force Kia to listen — and prevent another family from suffering the same fate.