Kia compensates car owner after noncrash fire

CHARLOTTE — Sasha Moffitt bought a used 2011 Kia Optima, and she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke she had it for almost one year when it started making an unusual noise.

Her brother drove it to the mechanic for her.

He got about five minutes down the road and it started smoking, Moffitt’s brother said.

“Fire was coming out of the glove box and the air conditioning vents. He was scared. He was nervous. He was calling me. He videoed it,” Moffitt said.

He almost took her grandson in the car with him and the fire made it to the backseat where he would have been in his car seat.

"I was scared. I started crying,” Moffitt said. “I was so upset because my baby could have been in the car."

Stoogenke checked her VIN and found four recalls, including one for the risk of fire. It’s not clear if anyone made that repair.

There's a legal settlement that Action 9's been telling viewers about, and Kia has agreed to pay customers $258 million. Moffitt's year and model was on the list, but the court hasn’t signed off on the deal.

Moffitt told Stoogenke her insurance didn't give her money for a new car, because she only had liability coverage. Moffitt said in addition to that, she still owed money on the car and had just spent hundreds of dollars on new tires.

She called Kia and asked for financial help, and the company agreed.

It sent her a letter, offering to buy back the car and cover the cost of the tires -- more than $12,000.

If you have a noncrash fire, ask Kia or Hyundai to buy back the car.

If that doesn't work, wait to see what happens with the legal settlement.

Action 9 will let you know if the judge approves it and if that happens, what your next steps would be.

Another local Kia owner says his car caught fire without being in wreck. Another local Kia owner says his car caught fire without being in wreck

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