On 6/3/2026, the Round Rock KIA service center had completed their diagnostic tests and test drives. I had picked up my vehicle and was driving it back home when the problem recurred so I turned around and went back to the dealership. The service manager, Wes, agreed to do a ride along. He insisted I drive so he could observe, and observe he did. We were about to conclude our drive when the problem recurred. Wes had observed a slight movement in the brake pedal as I was accelerating from a stop at a traffic light. Wes theorized that the position of my foot allowed my shoe to come into contact with the brake pedal as I was also pushing on the accelerator. Again, one should never have anything resting on the brake pedal while accelerating, however, in my case it was not intentional and I was completely unaware. Again, the vehicle's response is what I find totally unacceptable. Leaving the vehicle without propulsion due to operator error is unthinkable.

After the drive along with Wes, I was cognizant of my foot's position and was able to complete the trip home with no problem. And we are still trouble free as of this writing. Some might question why this problem did not surface sooner. The answer is simple. May 30th was only the second time I have driven this vehicle. The first was a short test drive the day we purchased the vehicle. Due to my disability, my wife does most of the driving these days

What I feel KIA Corporation should pursue:

1. Find out if our theory holds water. And if it does, design an immediate fix. Personally I would think this could be repaired via software. 2. The Round Rock KIA dealership should be reimbursed and commended for their efforts in solving this issue. 3. We have incurred approximately $250 in rental expenses that I would like reimbursed. My disability contributed to this failure, but the KIA design exacerbated the situation considerably and placed our lives in jeopardy. I might add that we had already decided that since our confidence in this vehicle's roadworthiness was at zero, it was going to be disposed of this week. We owe Wes a great deal of gratitude for restoring our confidence in this vehicle. This is our first Hybrid and it has been a major learning experience. 4. If your engineers wish any assistance in recreating/resolving this issue, I would be more than happy to assist any way I can. I will note that I have tried to recreate this problem by using my left foot on the brake while accelerating with my right foot. The vehicle has always responded appropriately. I can only surmise that it is a timing issue. Evidently the signals must be transmitted at the same time so as to confuse the computers.

We were driving on highway, approximately 2 miles from home, when we suddenly lost power to the drive train. Eventually it started moving again but after a short distance we again lost power to the drive train. It appeared that whenever it transferred from gasoline to hybrid or electric, we would loose propulsion. We were in traffic and this was not a desirable situation. We applied hazard flashers and were able to limp home. We had no way to lock the hybrid into gasoline mode so every time it switch to electric we stalled out and had to wait several minutes before it would transfer back to gasoline mode. The vehicle was towed to the dealership for diagnostic testing.