KIA NIRO Incident

The owner of a 2023MY Kia Niro contacted Kia's Customer Care Center on March [XXX], 2025 indicating he was involved in a collision, the airbag did not deploy, and the vehicle's front end sensor went off, but the vehicle did not stop. The owner reported no injuries on the March [XXX] call. In a subsequent email communication on March 27, 2025, the owner reported he "had the cruise set at 58mph in a 55mph zone. Just before the next intersecting road [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]ell road [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION] had sneezed and it often causes me to close my eyes. I had become drowsy and dozed off. At this moment I struck the vehicle in front of me." The subject vehicle's side "headlamp area collided with a 2020 Dodge Durango striking them in the rear passenger area." The owner alleges that a "warning light and sound activated, but the cars collision prevention system did not activate and stop the car before the impact was made," and that the airbags did not deploy. In the March 27 email, the owner reported receiving unspecified "neck, back and head" pains after the incident. The subject Kia Niro is equipped with Highway Driving Assist (HDA), Lane Following Assist (LFA) and Smart Cruise Control (SCC). HDA is a supplemental system that helps maintain a set distance and speed from the vehicle ahead when driving on a highway and helps keep the vehicle between lanes while driving. HDA may not be able to recognize all traffc situations and may not detect possible collisions due to limitations of the system. LFA is also a supplemental system that helps to detect lane markings and/or vehicles on the road, and assists the driver's steering to help keep the vehicle between lanes. LFA does not operate at all times and it is the responsibility of the driver to safely steer the vehicle and to maintain the vehicle in its lane. It appears based on the owner's report that he was asleep at the time of the crash. Kia is working to inspect the vehicle, but has no further information at this time. *** 4/15/2025 Monthly Update *** On 4/14/2025, Kia submitted an email response to Mr. Teitelman's inquiry and requested for NHTSA's SLFTS link to upload currently available material. *** 5/15/2025 Monthly Update *** As communicated to NHTSA ODI engineer Mr. Teitelman on 4/16/2025, Kia extracted the EDR from the subject vehicle on 4/15/2025, which showed that the vehicle was not operating at ADAS Level 2 because Smart Cruise Control was not engaged nor turned on.