A WOMAN’S car burst into flames outside her home just hours after picking it up from a dealership, and she says her daughter barely made it out in time.
The 2019 KIA Optima had just gotten a new engine when it caught fire in the family’s driveway.
WFMYA 2019 KIA Optima was engulfed in fire in a family’s driveway[/caption] WFMYTina Betterson said the car went up in flames only 10 miles after leaving the dealership[/caption]The terrifying incidents happened in Greensboro, North Carolina, approximately 76 miles from Raleigh.
Tina Betterson said her daughter was behind the wheel when the car started smoking only 10 miles after leaving the dealership.
“She’s like ‘Oh my god, I can’t get out’ – she then said she heard a click and the door opened and she jumped out,” Betterson told CBS local affiliate WFMY.
Betterson rushed outside after hearing her daughter scream.
She opened the door to find the car in flames. “Oh my God – I don’t want it to blow up!” she said.
“I just jumped out because I’d seen it was like popping – pop pop pop,” Betterson’s daughter recalled.
The Greensboro Fire Department responded to the scene.
“This could have been an unimaginable tragedy,” Betterson said.
“Thank God this is not a personal injury case that I’m sitting here talking about today,” she said.
She had taken the car to Battleground KIA weeks earlier for engine and returned to oil consumption.
The dealership replaced the engine and returned the car the same day it caught fire.
“The service manager… he didn’t know what to say, truthfully,” Betterson said.
KIA’s corporate team launched an investigation after the fire.
Four months after the fire, the company’s investigation concluded that an incorrectly routed wiring harness had melted and sparked the blaze.
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KIA’s findings blamed “an improperly routed wiring harness that contacted hot AC lines, melting insulation, and leading to the electrical event which ignited nearby combustibles.”
“As a mom, I was scared to death,” Betterson said.
Her daughter was given a rental car during the probe, with nearly $6,000 in rental charges covered.
But Betterson said she still hasn’t gotten full accountability from the dealership.
“I refuse to let it be nothing done behind their negligence,” she said.
The car had the same mileage of 90,591 before and after the engine job, according to the company’s documents.
The dealership later said it was a clerical error and that the car was only driven five miles.
Other dealerships told the outlet that test drives after an engine replacement should be at least 50 miles.
“You told me you test drove it, and it literally caught fire 10 miles into me driving it,” Betterson said.
Tina missed two car payments while waiting for answers and eventually had her insurance pay off the car to protect her credit.
“I finally said to my insurance, go ahead and pay it off so this doesn’t appear on my credit,” she said.
The dealership’s insurance agreed to pay the remaining $3,500 balance in the wake of WFMY’s reporting, per the outlet.
However, Tina refused the offer, saying it wasn’t enough to “make things right.”
Battleground KIA denied that Tina’s daughter was ever trapped in the car.
They also said she was relieved of more than $9,000 in negative equity after the insurance payout.
Tina is now considering legal action.
Battleground KIA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
WFMYThe dealership replaced the engine and returned the car the same day it caught fire.[/caption] WFMYKIA’s corporate team launched an investigation after the fire[/caption] Read More Details
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