KIA Sportage Incident

Customer contacted Kia via Web Note on June [XXX], 2025, and reported he was involved in an accident while driving his 2024MY Kia Sportage with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) enabled at approximately 40-45 MPH. Customer claimed that another vehicle was stopped at a traffic light and the subject vehicle did not slow down as expected. Customer then attempted to disengage the ACC and manually apply the brakes, but the system failed to respond, preventing me from stopping the vehicle. Customer added that the ACC system did not reduce speed appropriately or allow me to take manual control in [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION] to avoid the crash. Customer reported there was a significant collision, during which the airbags deployed. He confirmed that he was able to drive the vehicle away from the scene. Customer reported sustaining injuries to his thumb and stomach because of [REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION] seat belt and requested warranty coverage, a vehicle replacement, and compensation. The customer confirmed they were not transported to the hospital and is not currently under any medical attention. Kia Customer Care (CC) contacted customer to obtain additional information regarding the incident. Customer reported that Highway Driving Assist (HDA), Smart Cruise Control (SCC) and Lane Following Assist (LFA) were also on at the time of the incident and provided post-incident photos of the vehicle. The photos provided by the customer show damage to the center portion of the front bumper, consistent with contact against the rear tow hitch on the other vehicle which is also visible in the photos. Kia escalated the case for further review. Kia confirmed that both SCC and LFA were engaged at the time of the crash. While the customer reported that HDA was also active, Kia confirmed that HDA was not engaged at the time of the crash. Kia also reviewed the ECU data which confirmed that the brake pedal was pressed two seconds before impact, which disengaged the SCC system. The data also indicates that the Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) system detected a vehicle ahead and issued a Level 1 audible and visual warning prior to the collision. These data points suggest that the driver did not brake early or forcefully enough to avoid the collision. The subject Kia Sportage is equipped with HDA, LFA, and Smart Cruise Control (SCC). Another name for SCC is Adaptive Cruise Control, which is how the customer refers to the system. LFA is a supplemental system that helps to detect lane markings and/or vehicles on the road and assists the drivers steering to help keep the vehicle between lanes. The functionality of LFA is contingent upon several outside factors and it is always the responsibility of the driver to safely steer the vehicle and to maintain the vehicle in its lane. Further, post-impact drive cycle data shows no braking concerns. The vehicle was driven away from the scene without reported braking issues, and the brake system continued to function as expected. Kia is currently working to obtain additional information to evaluate this incident. *** 8/15/2025 Monthly Update *** On July 15, 2025, Kia received a request from Mr. Teitelman via email for materials relating to the incident report. On July 23, 2025, Kia provided Mr. Teitelman the requested information via NHTSA's SLFTS portal. In addition, the customer has since stated he is unable to provide any additional information because he sold the vehicle to his insurance provider. Kia has no further information.