Kia Optima Complaints (2012)

1,029 consumer complaints on file.

#11501398January 12, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE
My car keeps slowing down while driving. The breaks are squeaking and rubbing and making a loud sound. The lights keeping coming up on the dash board
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500213January 4, 2023
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while her grandson was driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started hesitating before the vehicle stalled in the middle of the roadway. The driver was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts, but the vehicle was idling rough. The contact stated that the near-stalling failure had occurred several times. The contact stated at the recent failure the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed by the contact's son-in-law who retrieved DTC: P1326 (Engine). The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,210.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500029January 3, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
MY 2012 PEARL WHITE KIA OPTIMAS PAINT IS PEELING IN VARIOUS AREAS. LARGE AREAS OF PAINT WAS JUST MISSING WITHOUT PREVIOUS CHIPS. MY VEHICLE LOOKS HORRIBLE AND IS STARTING TO RUST IN SOME PLACES. BELOW YOU WILL FIND AN UPLOAD OF THE LARGEST PEEL ON MY VEHICLE, HOWEVER THERE ARE MORE!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499013December 27, 2022
ENGINE
My engine has blown. No check engine light warning was given. Now the dealer says they will not replace the engine and it will cost me 10,000 for the repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498592December 22, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the engine was running however, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact pulled off the highway into a rest area. The contact stated that the engine and the vehicle were shaking abnormally. The contact turned the vehicle off and noticed gray smoke coming from underneath the hood on the driver's side near the windshield. The contact stated that he opened the hood and checked the fluid levels, and the oil and coolant were at normal levels. The contact restarted the vehicle and the vehicle started to shake. The contact shifted into drive(D) and depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and retrieved fault codes P0303 and P0404, related to engine misfire in all cylinders. The mechanic stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer, who declined to replace the engine. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact was advised by the manufacturer that he had five recalls associated with the VIN. The contact researched online and found that he had three recalls associated with the VIN and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495115November 28, 2022
STEERING
My Kia 2012 optima started having steering problems. The steering started sticking at higher speeds. When I tried to steer the steering wheel felt like it was stuck in the center position and I had to use extra force to steer it either left or right. It felt very unsafe while driving. I research this Kia problem and I found a kia TSB CHA 060 that addresses this same problem. So Kia is aware of this steering safety issue. I contacted my local Kia dealer and I was told that my vehicle was not covered under this. They told me that the safety TSB was only good for 10 years and my car is now 12 years old. I was told that there was another safety recall on my car about the headliner needing repairs and that was covered. So at this point Kia will repair my headliner for free, but not repair my steering safety problem under warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495136November 28, 2022
SEATS
The front driver's seat bolts loosened and came completely off the track. This could have caused me to crash as the seat was no longer stable and shifted about the car until I could get to a safe location. If I had gotten into a crash I would most likely not survived as there was nothing that held me in the car despite having my seat belt on. The vehicle is at the dealership now. There were no warnings that this seat was malfunctioning and the bolts were loosening.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11494910November 25, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
My first year of buying my KIA brand new, I started having small chips in the paint. It started near the sides of window frame and hood first. I was baffled that the paint was already chipping but related it to highway driving and assumes it was rock chips. Then about the third year of owning the car, a big chunk came off the roof. One big chuck right at the front and also near the back drivers door. Now those spots are becoming more and more visible as the paint is starting to come off in chunks. It is not completely off the car yet but you can see where it is bubbled and separating from the metal
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493513November 14, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving up an incline at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact became aware of smoke coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the knock sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493366November 13, 2022
ENGINE
Oil leaking out top of engine causing it to smoke could cause a fire
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492271November 4, 2022
ENGINE
New engine installed in 2018. New turbo installed in 2020. Started to loose oil daily. Checked it daily to add oil. The week before engine failure it had no power. Took to a mechanic who replaced the air filter and the sparkplugs. The next day, 10 miles form my house the oil light came on and then the engine light came on and died. I pulled over to the side of the highway. Diagnosis: Needs new engine and Turbo.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492088November 3, 2022
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the passenger’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the air bag sensor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 127,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492125November 3, 2022
STEERING
The steering wheel flex coupler is defective. There is a loud clicking sound when turning the steering wheel. Kia currently does not offer free repair since out of warranty. I am hoping they will instead offer a recall. Thank you.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491721November 1, 2022
ENGINE
Blown engine
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490362October 21, 2022
ENGINE
I had a recall on my engine back into 2018. They replaced my engine due the engine block being defective. Check engine light came before it stalled out. Now currently the vehicle is undrivable due to the head gasket blowing out on same engine that was replaced. They're telling me there's warranty on the engine they can't fix it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489507October 17, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Rearview camera does not display when vehicle is in reverse. Is this system required to comply with FMVSS 111 even if it is out of the vehicle manufacturer's warranty period?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489332October 14, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled, and the power steering and power brake assist also failed. The contact stated that the check engine, check oil, and battery warnings were illuminated. The contact pulled over, stopped, and had the vehicle towed to his residence. The vehicle had not been taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489193October 13, 2022
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, he heard an abnormal grinding sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11488670October 10, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
available for inspection front door latches, Driver and passenger, stick in down position and prevent closing of doors to latch. Someone who does notice could have a collision, be ejected, suddenly suprised and crash, break latches permanently. I contacted kia dealer, they said on Soul was recalled for same problem. Inspected by my insurance broker. Passenger side was December 2021, and driver side latch gave out june 2022.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486990September 28, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
Vehicle was broken into and stolen…steering wheel column damage, wheel locked, wreck…usb cord used to crank car..police report filed #2209013764ME
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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