I was driving 35 mph on a six lane commercial road (three lanes in each direction) when the vehicle suddenly decelerated to below 20 mph. The cars around me had to swerve to avoid hitting me, and I had to turn on the hazard lights to warn the surrounding vehicles. I tried pressing on the gas several times, but the speed would not go above 20 mph. However, the rpms were going above the red line (above 6,000) and the engine was revving very loud. The speed of the vehicle did not go above 20 mph for the next fifteen minutes of driving. I slowly made my way to a safe place to stop the car and pulled over. I turned off the car and waited for several minutes. I turned the car back on again and the speed control returned to normal. However, I am no longer comfortable driving the car, as the sudden deceleration may occur again. Maryland law requires that a vehicle on the highway must have a speed capability that exceeds the speed limit by 5 mph. The sudden deceleration and inability of the Kia Rio to speed up again means this vehicle has a defect that is in violation on Maryland law. The sudden deceleration of the vehicle in fast moving traffic put my life in danger, and I'm filing this report so a public record exists that this problem has occurred with a Kia Rio (4S) 2014 model.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA