kia Sportage Airbag Failure Leaves Mother and Son Shaken After Groningen Accident
Janine, a 61-year-old resident of Stadskanaal, is questioning the safety of her Kia Sportage after a collision on July 10th left both her and her son injured, and the car a write-off – all while the airbags failed to deploy. She shared her frustration on facebook, stating, “Never a Kia for us again!”
The incident occurred on the Rigaweg in Groningen while Janine was driving her son to a job interview. Despite sustaining damage from two impacts, the airbags in the Kia Sportage did not activate.”We have had two hits, but nothing went off. I don’t feel safe that way,” Janine told RTL News. The car was deemed irreparable following the accident.
Janine’s son, who is two meters tall, suffered knee injuries when he impacted the dashboard. Janine herself sustained back injuries, requiring daily pain medication and upcoming therapy. She fears she may eventually need a back brace.
Following the accident, Janine contacted Kia, initiating a correspondence reviewed by RTL Nieuws. Kia commissioned an autonomous research agency to investigate the airbag non-deployment. The agency concluded that the “measured forces and speed change” during the collision were insufficient to trigger the airbags.
Janine disputes this finding, noting that the other vehicle involved, which sustained significant damage, did have its airbags deploy. She estimates she was traveling at approximately 50 kilometers per hour – the speed limit on the Rigaweg – at the time of the impact.
Adding to her concerns,Janine says police officers,a local KIA dealer,and a damage repair company all expressed surprise that the airbags hadn’t deployed. “And I didn’t get a sorry from Kia,” she added.
Kia responded to the situation through a spokesperson, stating, ”We can very well imagine that this raises questions from the customer. I can only talk about what we have been able to determine. And that research shows that the impact and speed have not ensured that airbags had to go off.” Thay further explained that while the incident appeared severe, the vehicle’s “crumple zone” functioned as designed.
However,Kia acknowledged the discrepancy between their findings and Janine’s experience.”We understand that the experience of the customer is different,” the spokesperson said. “We looked very carefully; did the car do what the customer could expect from it? We were unable to determine that. But we understand that it is very annoying.”
Janine expressed disappointment with the outcome of the inquiry.”I did not expect this outcome,” she said. “At that time I did not engage legal aid, because I thoght: this will probably come out.Not so.”
Despite the ordeal, there was a positive outcome. Janine’s son was later granted a rescheduled interview and was subsequently hired, and continues to work at the company.
