Kia Optima Complaints

7,843 consumer complaints on file.

#11609866August 21, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
Hi I have a 2015 Kia optima white(pearl). Like many other white Kia’s on the road, my paint is continuously simply flaking off. This problem is being ignored by Kia which is very frustrating. How is it that Kia is able to avoid this problem when several Kia’s are having the same problem but because our cars are “ out of warranty” for the useless first 3 years paint warranty they claim to have it’s ok. It’s outrageous a 2015 shouldn’t be having paint problems that insane to even think about.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11609924August 21, 2024
VISIBILITY, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the front driver’s and passenger’s side windows and the rear driver’s side and passenger’s side windows were inoperable and would not open or close. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the window regulators for each window had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted regarding the failure. The contact also stated that the exterior door handles on the front and rear passenger’s side doors had fractured. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 85,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11610060August 21, 2024
ENGINE
Driving on highway at about 60mph when the engine started knocking and the power decreased significantly. I pulled to the side of the road and called my day who came and brought his OBD 2 tester. The code was P1326 which is Knock Sensor. We had the car towed to a KIA dealer nearby and they updated the software. We picked up the car the next day. It seemed fine at first. Within two weeks the the same thing happened and we, once again had it towed to KIA. Within a few days, the service writer called and said that the engine needed to be replaced, but that KIA was denying an engine replacement. They said that they found sludge in the engine that in their opinion showed a lack of maintenance. We sent in receipts for oil changes every 5-6K miles. At this point, we do not have an answer regarding an engine replacement.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11609618August 20, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. Additionally, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle turned off unintendedly. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, the contact was informed that the repair was not covered under the Technical Service Bulletin NHTSA ID: 10252085 (Electrical System, Engine and Engine Cooling); with a similar failure description. The failure mileage was approximately 92,394.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11609737August 20, 2024
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
See attached document for complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11609766August 20, 2024
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the fuel pipe and determined that the fuel pipe was leaking into the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V907000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11609292August 19, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:ANTILOCK:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE
See attached document for complaint
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11609473August 19, 2024
ENGINE
The car is using oil like crazy and is not leaking anywhere out of the vehicle. Stalling out while driving and then accelerating. Has completely lost power and rolled down an onramp. Completely unsafe. Took for diagnostic and they wanted to say I needed a new gas cap. Replaced, still doing same thing. Hesitant to start even and the alternator is less than a year old.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608957August 16, 2024
ENGINE
Vehicle is burning through oil at ridiculous rates. I am putting in a quart almost every week. From what I can tell; my engine has no recall but it absolutely should! There is no evidence of a leak whatsoever.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608988August 16, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to immediately accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 15,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11609070August 16, 2024
ENGINE
We took our 2013 KIA Optima 4D EX to the local Kia dealership for diagnosis of what we perceived to be a knock engine sensor issue. We delivered the vehicle at 0920, 5 July 2024. The vehicle sat at the dealership for 4 weeks waiting for the diagnosis which was ultimately that the engine needed to be replaced...under warranty. On 16 August 2024, after so many calls to the dealership (Spradley Kia, Pueblo) and Kia Customer Support, we were informed that the service ticket was closed. No reason for it to be closed...just closed. Warranty work not complete. No offer to complete any of the other recalls on the vehicle. Not only would we like all recalls to be complete we would really like that to be completed in a timely manner.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608841August 15, 2024
STEERING, WHEELS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
1- Steering wheel. Yes 2- Not sure if something was going to happen while driving whether da or night or long distance traveling 3- I spoke with the service center a while back and didn't have a good time to bring it by. 4- No No just loud shaking from the steering wheel. It's been going on for at least a month
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608387August 14, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
This vehicle is a lemon. It is a 2019 with 81,000 miles. How in the world does the engine start knocking when i have consistently, kept up with the maintenance on this vehicle. If i do not hear something soon im weakening legal action. Since May 18TH i have been without a car.i am a single mom and this is so difficult. Mind you it was towed July 5th from where it broke down on me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608257August 13, 2024
ENGINE
I am having to change the plugs in this car monthly. The car goes into limp mode and will not go over 15 miles an hour. There is oil getting in the plugs and causing them to burn. This car uses a lot of oil. Lots of oil!! these issues started at 100,011 miles. I have also noticed that this car has started accelerating on its own.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11607919August 12, 2024
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact received notification NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V100000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) in 2022; however, the recall repair was not completed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608075August 12, 2024
ENGINE
On [XXX] @ approx. 9:30pm while driving south on [XXX] between Pullman, WA and Lewiston, ID. my 2013 Kia Optima SXL turn off with warning, the engine turned off and never started again. no lights, smoke, smells or leaks. there were no noises of any kind come from the car, nothing to alert me there was a problem. at the time there was no music playing. My daughter was sleeping so the only noise was the car, if there were any noises from the engine they were not muffled by conversation or music. I called my wife who came up and I tried to jump it, thinking perhaps the alternator failed. Due to the location, we were not able to fully exit the highway, the car was a half tire width over the white line. This is a rural location not an elevated interstate, as such traffic though moving fast was not bumper to bumper. Next day I drove up and pushed the car about 100yards behind where it was, on the opposite side of the road. Then called a roll back to haul the car to a local shop. They were able to best guess the diagnosis as a seized engine. as the engine was not turning over, and manually turning the crank was not possible. I trailered it to my house, removed the serp. belt and was able to very slightly turn the crank with a 2.5ft long breaker bar. it is currently in my garage. Oil was changed recently; it was not low. 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
#11607864August 11, 2024
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The KSDS in my engine is causing engine failure due to the dealership failing to fix the problem when I first experienced stalling, lagging and misfiring of my vehicle, which would often make it shake and I would have to turn the car off and reignite it, sometimes more than once. My safety is at risk when driving, because the vehicle will lag while trying to accelerate in traffic. My mechanic researched the issue and found the recall and Kia said they fixed it when it was issued and they didn’t. My CHECK ENGINE light is flashing now and it continues to lose power. I have contacted Kia about the issue and I’m waiting on a response.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11607439August 9, 2024
ENGINE
They are selling defective engines with out any leaks the car consumes a gallon per hundred miles , the acceleration of the car changes itself . the dealer has already informed that these engines are defective. I want to fix the issue from the company at their cost.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11607564August 9, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY
Paint peeling off for no reason. Car has zero damage, no wrecks, no issues of any kind. Paint started coming off the hood and it’s a known issue with the color of my car. Snow Pearl White. One spot is already rusting and it can lead to body damage and frame issues in the long run.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11607246August 8, 2024
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was flashing. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure. The contact stated that prior to the engine failing, one quart of engine oil was being added every week. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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