Kia Optima Complaints (2012)

1,029 consumer complaints on file.

#11531260July 10, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
SUNROOF TRIM SEAL LOOSE, The rubber seal/trim catching under the sunroof glass.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530469July 5, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder however, the vehicle failed to restart. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 143,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11527362June 16, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving ~40-45, mph and my car stopped on its own, a warning ⚠️ came up in the dash regarding ABS and to stop and not drive, luckily no one ran into me and I was able to pull over. I called a service center and they told me I could bring it in and they would do a diagnostic. I turned the car off and back on, the message was gone and my husband came and followed me to the shop. They ran the history and it was a code for ABS, they reset it and I was on my way. Not long after, I started hearing what sounded like a woodpecker under the hood and loud, while the car was on, in route and off. I took it in and service center was unable to diagnose/duplicate the noise and was told I would have to leave it, however, due to not having another means of transportation, I was unable to leave it. Twice more it gave me the ABS dash warning with stop and do not drive. I took it in and was told it Brake booster/ABS was making a noise, however, I need to take it to Kia for further assessment, which is not for 11 more days. According to accounts read online, this is a common issue and is dangerous for a car to stop you while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11525688June 6, 2023
ENGINE
The engine is knocking and stalling out. Lawrence Kia has had my car for three weeks, and nothing has been done. After investigating the issue, the failure is related to NHTSA Campaign Number 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The recall is to replace engines. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 104,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11525467June 5, 2023
ENGINE
We have tried numerous times to get Vanguard Kia in Arlington, TX to address the recall on the engine. They have only updated a short term fix which is a software update. It will be 2 years in October that we have been trying to get the recalled engine replaced. They updated in their system that they replaced the engine but the same old engine still remains in the vehicle. They have charged us for many other repair issues and now tell us they don’t know what is wrong with the vehicle and can offer no solutions. We have repeatedly asked for them to correct their error and they refuse. I believe individuals working for the dealership may have fraudulently reported addressing the recall engine and may have kept it. We have reached out to Kia and have not heard a response. Is this legal?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11525147June 3, 2023
ENGINE
I tried to speak with Kia about a recall the engine on my making model I remember seeing it on your guises website this issue was never fixed and I’m currently having issues with my engine and they’re refusing to replace it. I’m trying to avoid a lawsuit and a serious accident because of the way my car is acting up. It is accumulating me a check engine, light, as well as a oil light I’ve brought the car in many times to vanguard kia and they could not figure out what was wrong with the car , and holding it for week the two times i brought it in and it seems as if you’re continuing to drive it is creating more issues because I had to pay $1300 out of my own pocket because my engine started overheating because it has a problem that kia could not find but is showing signs of the recall that was on this year make and model , VIN and everything the car currently will jerk whenever I’m going let’s say this speed limit 60 it will downshift all the way to 30 now this can cause a horrible, horrible accident
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11522764May 18, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
I was driving on the highway and all of sudden my car started decelerating. I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed the brake lights were illuminated although I was NOT pressing the brake pedal.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11522556May 17, 2023
ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
My engine went out on my 2012 Kia optima hybrid in 2022. I was not aware of a recall on the engines. We paid for repair. Can we get reimbursed? Also we are now having issues with the braking system and the abs light is coming on. I see that there is a recall on this. Can this get repaired? I uploaded receipt well bank statement showing purchase from Martin imports in the amount of $1391. And we were charged $700 to put motor in.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11522265May 16, 2023
SEAT BELTS, SEATS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2012 Kia Optima EX with 67000 miles driver-side seatbelt dash warning goes off even it is buckled securely while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11521341May 10, 2023
STEERING
The component that failed is the steering coupler. I believe this is a huge issue as it can affect the steering of the car, causing frequent vibrations and jittering of the steering wheel. No, it doesn't need to be inspected, it is obvious as this has been recalled in their vehicles and for some reason this model is not included while many have the same issue. Yes, clicking noises and vibrations at the steering wheel, many videos can be found online with the same issue and a repair for it. It is exactly the same as many others, this should've been recalled in more models. Problem appeared at around 100k miles and 10 years of use.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520278May 3, 2023
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
the engine failed at 152000. it had a recall .so i took it in at 91000 and complained of the rod nock.and was told they checked the rod bearing clearance .and found nothing .i again took the car in again at around 111000 miles and complained of the rod nock again.and again was told they see no problem now im with out a car
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520052May 2, 2023
ENGINE
Unknown
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519699April 30, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Here I explain the problem better, when the car is at a low speed, such as when parking, the gasoline engine starts and it starts to rev up to 6k RPM and after that it brakes and hits hard, this would be dangerous on the highway and another problem is that when accelerating it has a delay of 1-3 seconds, and I want to report this problem to see if there is any solution
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11518269April 21, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Car was involved in the class action suite for the motor replacement and had the motor replaced at 156,763 miles on the car. Since the replacement the high pressure fuel pump has had to be replaced twice and is not needing replacement again with only 218,000 miles (62000 miles since replacement). There where no previous issues with the HPFP before motor replacement and KIA will not do anything about the HPFP continuous failure. This appears to be a very common issue with the KIA products and yet no recall has been issued. This is ultimately a safety issue as the vehicle can cut off while in motion causing a risk for collision but has not been addressed by anyone other than a Repair bulleting put out by KIA in 2013 to all their dealerships for this issue so KIA is aware of the issues with the failures. This needs to be addressed before someone is injured or killed due to this re-occurring malfunction part.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11516568April 11, 2023
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
.I recently have actually found out about the recall concerning my engine. Manufacture SC148. NHTSA recall 17V224m I called a dealership. When I asked them about the recalls this one was not mentioned. I wanted to ensure I was reading that properly. Can you explain what that means as far as the engine
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11511985March 15, 2023
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
My airbag light is on and I have no power to my steering wheel controls including my horn.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11511751March 14, 2023
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary in a parking lot, she was unable to close the sunroof and heard an abnormal noise. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with needing the sunroof to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the local dealers; Kia of East Hartford (99 Ash St, East Hartford, CT 06108:(860) 291-7000) and Gary Rome Kia (809 Enfield St, Enfield, CT 06082:(860) 253-4753) and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11509246February 27, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving down the highway going 75 mph and all of a sudden my car tells me pull over safely do not drive and it shut down while I'm driving. It never turned back on. It started smoking and you could see orange light coming through the vents. I was stuck on a [XXX] bridge for 4 hours and I missed court that day. I called Kia and they came to pick up my car. They said it was free because my car has been recalled but ever since they've had it, they stop answering my phone calls and emails and now they are trying to charge me 5000 to get my car back and fixed. Before any of this happened, I noticed an oil leak at the gas station but was unsure whether it came from my car or not. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11503539January 25, 2023
ENGINE
After careful inspection by certified auto mechanics at the service shop, "American Muscle" it has been determined that my Kia Optima 2012 2.0L Turbo has metal shavings in it from prematurely-worn bearings. While driving, my car suddenly went into limp mode from a knock sensor alarm while on the freeway. I took it to a professional repair shop, and they looked in the oil pan and found metal shavings from the bearings, both gold in color and silver in color. There was no engine light on prior to this event. It happened suddenly under normal, safe operation. It seems very similar to engine recalls of the same year and model due to metal shavings that resulted from engine manufacturing process causing premature wear of bearings. I have photos and video of the vehicle, the engine and oil pan with metal shavings present. The vehicle shows 100,667 miles at the time of the vehicle inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502168January 17, 2023
STEERING
In November 2022, I noticed that my steering wheel would stick after reaching 35 mph. After an unrelated issue in January, a mechanic confirmed this issue. Went for a second option and they confirmed that same issue, stating it was the steering column insulator. After consulting with another mechanic that can fix the problem, he encouraged me to reach out to KIA for recalls, as that he has repaired 3 other vehicles in the past 12 months with the same issue and they all had recalls. KIA does not have any recalls for this, or anything related to steering. They said that a component in my steering was covered but the warranty expired 2 years ago. Still checking for recalls, as that I'm seeing a lot of reports online of the same issue with Optimas.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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