Kia Optima Complaints

7,843 consumer complaints on file.

#11433437September 18, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving down the interstate and all of the sudden the message “pull over safely and stop driving...check the hybrid engine system.” The car started to stall and seize up. Thankfully it didn’t die right in front of a semi on the interstate and I was able to at least make it off a nearby ramp before it died completely. I called my insurance for roadside assistance and it was towed to the nearest Kia dealer. They were unable to diagnose it because it would not turn on. They had to replace the hybrid battery before it could be diagnosed. I was also told that a safety fuse had been “fried” and they are still running tests.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433483September 18, 2021
STRUCTURE:BODY
I understand this will not sound like a safety issue, as I felt the same initially, but it is. My paint has been peeling off my Kia Optima for almost two years and sometimes the paint comes off in little pieces and other times it peels off in 6-12 inch sheets. Paint will come off during driving and while being washed. When driving the paint will fly to the back of my car and land of the ground, looks like snow is flying thru air. I have had safety issues to date. First tIme was on my way to work and a large section of paint came up from the bottom of the windshield area and stuck to my windshield. Not only did it scare me, but it blocked my vision.windshield wipers would not move it. I had to quickly pull over to remove it. Second time the same thing happened, but it landed on the windshield of the car behind me. I was unaware it happened until they pulled up next to me at the red light and got out of their vehicle to yell at me and removed the paint sheet. I understand this might not sound serious, but when something comes flying out of nowhere and lands on your windshield blocking your sight it is quite terrifying. I am not sure if this has happened to others with my same paint defect, but I know by researching my paint defect over the past two years, there are thousands of complaints on the internet about paint peeling off. When I contacted Kia in 2019 (corporate in Irvine, Ca), they informed me it was definitely a paint defect that originated during the painting process. Since there was not a recall isued, they were not going to pay for the car to be re-painted. At that time only the top of my car was affected, but now the majority of my car is losing paint. At this time I am wanting Kia to pay to have the car repainted, refund the cost of the vehicle or provide a credit to put towards a new car. At this point my vehicle is basically worthless because I can't sell it as is and trading it in results in me only getting approximately 30% of what the value is.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433291September 17, 2021
ENGINE
I was giving my brother a ride to work when the car stalled. There was no engine light on or any warning light what’s so ever all of sudden my steering wheel turned hard and I could not steer. Brake pedal was hard for me to step on I nearly wrecked in to a gate. I own this car for few years already and never giving me problems. I did notice there was a recall going on about engines on these 2013 2014 going bad. At first I thought it was my battery or alternator but everything has power. Just the engine don’t want to turn over. I would appreciate if someone can help me in this situation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433345September 17, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The brake light stays on.. causing the battery to drain. Even the vehicle is completely stopped / ignition off.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433400September 17, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:COIL:SPARK PLUGS
Vehicle is making a noise when trying to accelerate. Have replaced all spark plugs and coil #4. It is making noise still and shaking. Coil has been switched and issues are reading fuel injector or air intake or electrical. Previous reading was head gasket... Only on spark plug 4 coil is it reporting an issue...All dealerships locally are booked to even get a diagnostic test.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433216September 16, 2021
ENGINE
I pulled out from a parking lot into traffic and not less then 5 seconds later the car sputtered once and then completely shut off in the middle of traffic. I was able to coast into the bike lane but was in fear that I would be rear-ended and possibly might incur injuries or harm would be caused to others due to the the manner in which I had not control or could prevent an accident occurring. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic and was diagnosed on with Engine Failure/Engine Lock Code P1326 w/ Internal Kia Code SC147. The vehicle will not move. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms that would indicate engine failure and risk of a possible accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433227September 16, 2021
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Headlights, set in AUTO, randomly will briefly go dark at night while the vehicle is in motion, putting driver at risk of night-time crash. Headlights can be re-illuminated by turning the lights off and back on. This issue has not been by dealer, service tech, or any other party. The issue occurred twice 9/15/2021, and once previously on an unknown date. There were no warning signs, dashboard lights, or any other indication of malfunction.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433255September 16, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would shut off without warning. The contact would be able to restart the vehicle soon after the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where they replaced the spark plugs and cleaned the fuel injectors. Upon driving the vehicle home at 50 MPH, the contact's wife stated that the vehicle shut off again without warning. Despite the failure, his wife was able to restart the vehicle and drive home without incident. The next day, the contact called the dealer to notify them of the failure and they informed him that it may take some time to repair the vehicle due to the cleaning of the fuel injectors. The contact stated that the failure persisted despite the repair. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433289September 16, 2021
ENGINE
While traveling on a city street at approximately 40 miles per hour, the engine seized and stalled. After coasting to the shoulder without power, the engine would not restart. Vehicle was towed to local dealership and I was informed it has complete engine failure. Dealership stating Kia corporate refusing to repair vehicle despite multiple complaints of engine failure in this model.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433105September 15, 2021
ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at 15-20 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled and she saw smoke coming out from underneath of the hood of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated she was able to exit the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence, then it was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine had ceased. The dealer informed the contact that she would be responsible for the cost of the repair. The vehicle was towed to a second dealer (Kia of Riverdale 1 Windbeam Rd, Riverdale, NJ 07457). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not provide any assistance due to the fact that the previous owner of the vehicle had not completed the software update of the vehicle. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V331000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433042September 15, 2021
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, fuel odor was detected but the contact did not see fuel leaking onto the ground. The contact's cousin, an independent mechanic, inspected under the engine cover and saw that there was fuel leaking on top of the engine block from a cracked fuel line. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment for diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432935September 14, 2021
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the air bag and seat belt warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer for a scheduled repair of NHTSA campaign number: 18V161000 (Hybrid Propulsion System). After performing the recall repair the mechanic cleared the warning light however, the warning light returned soon after. The contact took the vehicle back to the same local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the driver’s and passenger’s side frontal airbags needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432962September 14, 2021
AIR BAGS
A straight line crack about 4 inches long appeared suddenly on my dash. Upon doing some online research, I found that the crack is directly over the dash mounted airbag. I took the vehicle to the local KIA dealer and they said it was not covered by the warranty. My concern is that the crack may impede the deployment of the airbag in a critical situation. I feel it should be investigated because there are a lot of exact same complains on the internet concerning a crack at the same location.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432974September 14, 2021
ENGINE
We’ve had our engine replaced by Kia for an issue with models with the turbo installed. The turbo seized up and in turn caused our engine to fail, so Kia said they knew about the issue and gave us a new engine and turbo at no cost to us and also gave us a unlimited mileage warranty for the engine because of the issue. Now just about a year later of them installing the new parts, the same issue has arisen. Turbo failed and in turn it messed up the engine, the Kia dealership we have it in has told us that they will not cover it under warranty and that the turbo isn’t apart of the warranty either.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433000September 14, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On 9/13/2021 about 8:10 pm my neighbor knocked on my door and told me my parked car was smoking and appeared to be catching fire. Black smoke was everywhere I yell for my son to go out to see what was happening while I call fire department seconds later the car begin to go up in flames. Fire department Arrived to put out fire on my 2013 Kia Optima.unsure of cause but from the smell it smelled like some thing electrical . It has been reported to insurance .No recalls have been issued on said vehicle. No previous warnings were issued before fire started .This could have cause a lot of damage to all vehicles parked in front and back of my vehicle had it not been put out in timely matter.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433002September 14, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Here in Wisconsin Kias are being stolen at an alarming rate. It’s the most stolen car. It is being stated that this is due to how the cars were made and that Kia knew this but didn’t disclose it. My car was stolen at work, along with other coworkers. This is beyond insane. How many more cars have to be taken due to manufactures negligence for something to be done.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432743September 13, 2021
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the TPMS warning light illuminated. The accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle then lost motive power and stalled. The contact slowly pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and attempted to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact had the vehicle towed to her residence. Several days later the vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. Due to the dealer being short staffed, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,581.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432659September 12, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was coming home from work doing around 75 mph on cruise control when all of the sudden the car jerked violently and lost all power, the car behind me would’ve rear ended me if they weren’t paying attention. I just hold the throttle down to get home, misfiring terribly, and the best way I can describe, it smelled hot if that makes sense. I had it looked at and was told it doesn’t have compression in one of the cylinders and that it wasn’t covered under warranty or recall. So now I’m paying for a car that I can’t drive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432663September 12, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I'm about to replace my THIRD window accuator on this car. The first one that failed was the rear passenger side at 54000 miles. The window was rarely if ever used, failed any way. The second failed at 60,000 miles.. driver side rear. Like the first, rarely used window. Now the third has failed at 66,000 miles. Cost to replace, over $300 because a $5 sprocket fails. Windows failing is definitely a safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432581September 11, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving at night with the "auto" function for the headlights on they turn off at random. This has happened numerous times during the past year. Very dangerous on dark roads. Dealer could not replicate situation to repair. No warning lights appeared.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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