SAN ANTONIO — Jim Ellis walked out to his driveway in December to find his Kia Sedona's window broken and glass on the pavement. Even worse, the steering column was torn apart and the vehicle was undrivable.
The 89-year-old had the vehicle towed to World Car Kia on Fredericksburg Road, where he bought the van, but he couldn't get it back.
He said the dealership just couldn't find the parts to fix it and he got the same answer every time he called.
"(They said) 'Still no parts, it's on back-order' every time," Ellis said.
Ellis said he heard Kia had a part shortage after social media videos showed how to steal the vehicles, but he had hoped it had been addressed.
Meanwhile, the van was still at the dealership four months later and Ellis felt bad about having to call friends for help every time he had an appointment.
"I have beaucoups of doctors appointments and I have to depend on friends to call to get me transportation out there," Ellis said. "It ties up their time."
Ellis said his friends had also seen Call KENS stories before and they kept telling him to call. Eventually he did.
"I said 'Ok, I'm gonna call.'" Ellis said.
KENS 5 first drove over to World Car Kia and spoke to Service Manager Mark Simpson. Simpson said the dealership had already done everything they could to request the needed parts and the system simply said one of the parts was not available.
KENS 5 also assisted Ellis in contacting Kia's customer care team. That team responded by saying, "Your part is on the most expedited status and is still currently on backorder." They also said Ellis's case had been sent to their "escalation office."
Finally, KENS 5 reached out to Kia's corporate office last week and informed them of Ellis's situation.
And then, on Friday afternoon, Ellis received a call.
"The local (dealership) called and said 'we found the part,'" Ellis said laughing.
Less than 48 hours after KENS 5 reached out, Kia said they found all the parts the vehicle needed. Kia Head of Corporate Communications James Bell said the company took action quickly.
"We scoured the country when we heard about Mr. Ellis's situation to make sure that all available parts supplies were looked into. We were able to identify the needed parts and they are now in transit to the local dealer for processing Mr. Ellis's vehicle thereafter," Bell said.
Bell also told KENS 5 the wave of social media-inspired thefts of Kia vehicles has actually required the company to restart production on certain vehicle parts because so many of those parts are needed for repairs. He said Kia has worked to upgrade vehicles to prevent further thefts from happening.
"We've now upgraded more than 1.1 million vehicles around the country and are working with local law enforcement to close this issue out once and for all," Bell said.
Ellis said he is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel and he's glad his friends told him to call KENS 5.
"If it hadn't been for you I don't know when the hell I would have got the car," Ellis said.
If you have a problem like this, we want to help you fix it! In our series, Call KENS, we do our best to solve problems for our viewers. The number to call is 210-470-KENS, or fill out the form on this page.