Steering Column problems of the 2014 Kia Motor Forte

My 2014 kia Forte has started making a clicking/popping noise when I am turning right or left. It sounds like the steering wheel is gonna come off of the steering column where it locks, and I am afraid it is gonna lock up on me driving down the road. It clicks/pops whether the vehicle is stationary or if you are driving, and is getting worse.

There is a noticeable noise each time when turning the steering wheel both at rest and in motion. The vehicle and steering wheel has excessive vibration when braking. There is also excessive play in the steering wheel. The suspected problem is a failure of the flexible coupling in the steering column. Kia has addressed this issue in other model cars such as the optima of the same model year but not for the Forte.

We are a driving school with about 100 different cars from kia, we have about 95 vehicles right now in use that are Forte models between the years of 2010-2017. This is now the second vehicle this has happened to of ours over the past year. The last time was the kia Forte 2015, and now this time it is the kia Forte 2014. The steering wheel becomes misaligned with the wheels and eventually the entire assembly of where the steering wheel column is falls down completely into your lap and you lose all control of the vehicle. We took the 2015 vehicle to the mechanic and they were able to fix it, now the same thing happened again with the 2014. The specific part which failed is called the "reinforced beam"- kia. It is the bar assembly which connects the steering wheel column. The metal from the beam which secures the steering column tears, and causes the steering column to become unsecured and it falls, leaving no control over the vehicle whether it is in motion or at a standstill. Also, it blocks the brake while driving. The previous 2015 Forte luckily fell apart in a parking lot while an instructor was teaching parking and had to be towed to the mechanic. This week the 2014 driver (one of our instructors) was driving on the highway with a student when she started noticing the disconnect. Since it sounded familiar we took it straight to the mechanic and they were able to diagnose the same failed part again. This is an extreme safety hazard. Retail it is about $2,000 to fix. It's about $500 for the part, and $1,500 for the labor. Thank you.