Kia Optima Complaints

7,843 consumer complaints on file.

#11487885October 4, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
The vehicles paint started peeling on one of the rear columns. I have noticed very many different Kia optimas with the same issue when it came to the same color paint. The paint is snow white pearl. I’ve had no success working with Kia and it is clearly a defective paint issue. I own several cars older and they never had issues. They are unwilling to help.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487230September 30, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made knocking sounds with the check engine, ABS, and traction control warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487206September 30, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The chrome finish on the inside of the low beam headlight reflectors has disintegrated resulting in very dim, almost unusable headlight light output. The dealer states while the manufacturer has a tsp and warranty extension (WTY014) on Korean-built Optimas for this MY it does not apply to American-built Optimas - despite the headlight being manufactured in Korea on the US models and it having the exact same issue. This extension should apply to all Optimas during the covered MY that have this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487022September 29, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The vehicle’s headlights have been extremely dimmed for years and my wife has just “dealt with it”. We’ve had all the bulbs replaced and the issue persisted. Given recent medical conditions paired with this technical oversight, this could lead to severe injury or death if not resolved. Let me also add that the headlights no longer turn on as of this morning and Kia refuses to acknowledge or claim responsibility for this because “the issue stems from identical vehicles manufactured in South Korea and not Georgia” … even though the symptoms very identically line up to TSB Number: WTY014.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487103September 29, 2022
ENGINE
Car has been burning oil since purchased. Over a quart in 1000 miles. Engine rattled during acceleration and sometimes stalls at red light. Every time I take it into Kia they state nothing is wrong. They performed an engine cleaning around 80,000 miles but won’t help me now that my car has 107,000 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486928September 28, 2022
ENGINE
Engine is making like a rattling noise and I am going through an excessive amount of oil in between oil changes that are done regularly ask about any oil leaks and was told I do not have any oil leaks that my car is just burning that much oil at my last oil change service
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486933September 28, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I brought the vehicle into Kia service for the recall including a computer operating system upgrade. After the recall work was done the car driving at high highway speeds failed, and immediately slowed down, almost causing a rear collision. The computer system turned off the drive mechanism and I was left with only the electric motor to propel the car. The car barely limped off the highway. The car was brought to the Kia Dealer and no defect was found and the computer was reset. This problem occurred two more times, at highway speeds (70 mph) and Kia was contacted to find out why the problems occurred and how to fix it. To date, Kia has not responded to how to fix the problem and has ignored all phone calls and emails. The car has been in the shop for 3 months. The problem occurred only after Kia upgraded the software due to the recall. Additionally, the recall work was done. I do not know why the recall work was not reported.
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
#11486699September 27, 2022
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
My car is experiencing excessive oil consumption, engine knocking and shifting delays, grinding or jumping during acceleration, the car jerking on the road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486765September 27, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Rough idle, chugged along before killing engine power. Has happened a couple of times. No check engine light has come on
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486391September 26, 2022
AIR BAGS, SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owned a 2007 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at 5-10 MPH, the vehicle before her vehicle slowed down suddenly. The contact slammed the brakes and the air bags deployed and deflated. However, the brake pedal hesitated to respond and became soft, causing the contact to crash into the vehicle in front of her. The contact was unsure whether there were warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that it appeared that the air bag deployment overrode the brake system and caused the stopping distance delay. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was totaled. A police report was filed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The contact stated that what appeared to be a deflated airbag blocked her view of the road in the same moment that she slammed on the brakes. There was a delay in the brakes actually stopping the vehicle so as a result, her vehicle hit the vehicle in front of it. The vehicle is now a total loss. The contact was not aware that the dealer and manufacturer were supposed to be notified of this incident.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486501September 26, 2022
ENGINE
Engine suddenly failed. Heard loud tapping sound and engine stopped working. No assistance from KIA,
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486502September 26, 2022
STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Just Started Having Problems On It’s On The Car Only Has 38,000 Miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486511September 26, 2022
ENGINE
My car is consuming 2 quarts of oil for every 1,000 miles. This falls under the oil consumption that needs a motor replaced and I am getting a run around from the dealership about getting it replaced. They are saying that Kia does not like to replace the motors and I'm better off trading it in. I bought this car intending on keeping it long term, not purchasing a new one. All of the regular maintenance has been done on the vehicle. I've been into the dealership a multitude of times a month due to issues with the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486212September 24, 2022
STEERING
Vehicle lost power steering completely. Has been inspected. Steering wheel sensor needs to be replaced. ABS light active as well as steering wheel light. No reason as to why this happen but it seems to be and ongoing issue for Kia Optima owners after reading other reports online.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486092September 23, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
I was driving with an SUV in front of me at 18-wheeler in front of them. This is on a road where the speed limit is 65 however there's a section on 301 where there's a traffic light. All three vehicles came to a slow normal stop and the adaptive cruise control was doing a good job of slowing the vehicle down without my input. But the SUV when we were at about stopping speed but had not yet come to a complete stop, the SUV switched to the left lane. At which point I was maybe 20 ft behind the 18-wheeler and all of a sudden the car is adaptive cruise control tried to accelerate the car back up to the setting of 65. It didn't register the 18-wheeler at all It just registered that the car in front of me had cleared the space and if I had not been paying attention and immediately applied the brakes to stop the car manually It absolutely would have accelerated directly into the back of the 18-wheeler. I was maybe 5 ft and it was still accelerating when I slammed on the brakes. I've been able to since reproduce the effects, it doesn't register 18 wheelers correctly in this specific situation as vehicles. I've even had the camera recalibrated in between tests. I have everything on video but unfortunately do not have access to the car's computer logs. I would be willing to send in my ECU for whatever is needed to identify this further.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11485801September 22, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On Saturday, 09/17, I took my vehicle in for a standard oil change & alignment with a 3-party mechanic (pepboys). Once the work was done I was informed by the mechanic that the Driver's side window was in the down position and would not go back up. I was informed that it was because the Regulator went out and it is a Kia only part. Kia is unavailable on the weekends so they would get the part on Monday. On Tuesday, 09/20 Pepboys was able to get the part and repair the window to the tune of $822.67. The part alone was $542. Today, Thursday, 09/22 on my drive into work the back Driver's side window began to slide down while I was driving. This is a severe safety hazard that needs to be address by Kia. The Window Regulators will fail without warning & while the vehicle is in motion. I have 60k miles, this is not a high mileage vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11485856September 22, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Have a white pearl paint that is completely chipping off by the pillars, windshield sides, top of the trunk, roof, around the gas tank and some car door edges. Have read an excessive amount of kias with MAJOR white paint job problems. It is also obvious the paint is thin as water which is contributing to this issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11485473September 20, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Engine light on car will not accelerate past 60 mph
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11485542September 20, 2022
ENGINE
I have a kia Optima Hybrid that has an Open Recall for the engine according to Kia's website' which they failed to address or informed me of it needing it on 07-30-2022 which was installing the KSD update for the engine. The engine started knocking on 09-12-2022. The informed me that they do not make the KSD sensor update available to customers anymore since it is passed the campaign in dates in 2021, and that is why it was not installed. Although the owners site shows the recall and asks if I want to make and appointment for it. They are doing this with multiple owners. I am also curious as to why my car doesn't show this recall on here and it shows on Kia's owner site as being and open recall along with another recall. Kia case #15050283
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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