Kia Optima Complaints

7,843 consumer complaints on file.

#11448535January 23, 2022
ENGINE
The main problem with the car is the error p1326 is the knock sensor. I have this car for almost 5 or 6 months. The error has never been inspected by any insurance or police. The only warning about this problem was the "engine light" on the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448491January 22, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
The body paint is delaminating and coming off so fast. Every auto body shop I go to says its a manufacturer error. This isn’t okay. I know many other kia optima cars doing that same for the same year. I have many pictures to provide. I shouldn’t have to pay for a new paint job when it was a manufacturing error.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448333January 21, 2022
ENGINE
Oil consumption in my vehicle is well above 1 qt per 1000 miles. This is a known problem but Kia engines and Kia doesn't take responsibility for it. The oil light never comes on and the car runs out of oil every 1500 miles. It's not leaking, it's being consumed. Kia does not see it as a problem, even though there are so many reports. Please expand the recall for 2017 Kia's.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448421January 21, 2022
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My air conditioner all of a sudden went out. No air would blow. Took it to Kia and it turns out that a fuse box blew on the main wiring harness, evidenced by burn marks on the bottom which then blew out my fan motor. Seems that Kia has had a lot of faulty wiring harnesses and it could have definetly caused a fire and is a safety hazard. My car is out of warranty by 8k miles and they are trying to make me pay for something that I believe is a defect as they said themselves that they cant even determine the cause as this is not normal wear and tear nor something I could have caused. I cannot afford to pay for this and I do believe that Kia needs to make this right. Because everything electrical plugs into this one wiring harness, they have to replace the whole thing costing over $3600. There was no warnings or lights that came on. I do believe that this also messed with the airbag sensor in the passenger seat as well. This is not right for consumers to have to worry about this. This is a 2017 car... it should not be failing.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448153January 20, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the contact’s mother’s residence and then to the contact’s residence. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that a software update had not been completed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided due to a discrepancy. The approximate failure mileage was 144,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448269January 20, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 25-30 MPH on a one-lane road, the vehicle inadvertently began to stall. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stopped and turned off the vehicle but was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact attempted to jump-start the vehicle with the assistance of her friend however, the vehicle failed to start. The contact’s friend informed her that he smelled a burning odor. The vehicle was towed to the contact’s residence. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the battery, the starter, and the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to bring the vehicle to their location for diagnosis. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 126,620.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448279January 20, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
Paint on car is chipping away little by little . Has been ongoing for a while now & rust spots are starting to pop up around the car . I’ve had the car detailed waxed and sealed and still continues to get worse. Was told by a body shop that the paint was not done right from the beginning
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448282January 20, 2022
ENGINE
I took my vehicle in to get serviced due to a recall. Upon driving home, there was a loud knocking noise that had never been there before. Got home and called the dealership and they sent a tech out. There was no knocking noise because the vehicle wasn't in motion for him to hear. Due to my medical issue I wasn't able to take my car back to them. About a week later my car wouldn't start. Bought a brand new battery and it lasted for a few days. I didn't have any problems until after the dealership serviced the recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447998January 19, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
In November of 2021 at about 18500 miles the right rear window regulator drive gear disentigrated and the entire regulator had to be replaced. In Decemeber of 2021 at about 19700 miles the right front window regulator disintigrated and had to be replaced. The first 2 photos are the December failure the 3rd is the December failure I found it interesting that the same year model Kia has a recall for the exact same problem. Here is the link. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10176915-0001.pdf I am attaching photos of both failures. I have in my posession the front regulator if you want to examine it I will not dispose of it until I hear from you.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447969January 18, 2022
STEERING
Steering column makes clicking noise and shakes violently when driving at 65 mph or more.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447746January 17, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Refer to all the complaints of the pearl white paint flaking. I am filing another complaint and the dealership is not helping. Please help! https://www.google.com/search?q=kia+pearl+white+paint+recall&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS970US971&oq=kia+perl+white+pai&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i13l2j0i22i30l7.6591j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447773January 17, 2022
ENGINE
The piston and valve are failing and yes it is available for inspection. My vehicle lost power in the middle of the freeway. I took it to the dealer and they said there was loss of compression in number 3, and there was cylinder scaring which they then said the valve malfunctioning. They then sent my claim to Kia motors and they said they aren’t going to put it under the warranty. There was no warning or any type of message before the incident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447802January 17, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
PEARL WHITE PAINT FLAKING AND PEELING OFF EXPOSING BARE METAL TO ELEMENTS INCREASING THE RISK OF RUST AND CORROSION TO BODY. NUMEROUS AREA OF VEHICLE ARE AFFECTED.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447683January 16, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When starting to move from traffic light, engine revved to full throttle, brakes would not stop the vehicle. I swerved right to avoid the vehicle in front of me, then went over a sidewalk and struck a tree. Car still would not stop. Finally came to rest in a ( luckily empty) bowling alley parking lot. Vehicle sustained heavy right side front damage and had to be towed from the scene.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447323January 13, 2022
STEERING
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the steering wheel in the straight position, the steering wheel experienced resistance when attempting to turn from the 12 o'clock position in either direction. The contact indicated that the resistance would suddenly cease causing the driver to over steer and potentially lose control of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 34,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447392January 13, 2022
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
THIS CAR HAVE PROBLEM ENGINE AND KNOCK SENSOR P1326. FUEL PROPUSION.SYSTEM. I LOST DAYS OF WORK ..AND MONEY TOO.I LOST MY JOB Consumer stated vehicle is still in the dealership.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447222January 12, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
Paint started peeling on both sides of front windshield and has gotten worse over the years
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447040January 11, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Hello. Last week while driving on a motorway 80 mph engine in my 2013 optima SX 2.0 TGDI just stopped working. Due to fact this engines had problems and Kia recalled owners to replace seized engine, I would like to ask you here, how could I get help in this case. Thing is my car was imported to Europe (Poland) in 2014. Had 3 owners since new (first in US and two previous ones in Poland). Car ran smooth and without any problems till last Monday. Unfortunately engine just stopped on my way work, thanks God without any accident, just passed off motorway and waited for assistance. My mechanic said is impossible to turn an engine even manually, so it must be seized. Could you advise how I could get help from Kia to replace my engine? I’ve called Kia customer helpline, they redirected me to closest Kia dealer, and no one heard about these recalls on US market. Could you advise where I should report my case, to get any information how this recall could be done here with cooperation with Kia USA. Expecting yours [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447046January 11, 2022
FIRERELATED
The contact owned a 2017 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated that while her mother was driving at an undisclosed speed, a smoke odor was detected. Another driver alerted the contact's mother that there was a fire coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact's mother pulled over and exited the vehicle. There were flames coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle, and within seconds, the vehicle was engulfed in flames. No injury was sustained and no medical treatment was received. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A fire department report was filed. The vehicle did not have insurance and remained on the side of the road, where it caught fire. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V844000 (Engine) associated with the VIN; however, the contact did not receive the recall notification. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447053January 11, 2022
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that they were unable to assist. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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