Kia Optima Complaints (2016)

764 consumer complaints on file.

#11480143August 19, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was firm while depressed. The vehicle failed to stop immediately. The contact's daughter drove over a curve to stop the vehicle. The contact's daughter pulled into a parking lot and parked the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11479359August 15, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
On July 27, 2022 the oil light on my 2016 KIA Optima came on intermittently. I called the dealership and they told me to have it towed in. So I had it towed to the KIA dealer. The car had only 37,075 miles on it that day. It was not due for an oil change until 39,647! After they had it for a week they told me that it was burning oil. To fix the problem I would have to get a new engine installed! They told me that this was not covered by KIA or my Extended Warranty. They added oil -- that was it. Their recommendation was that I should put oil in it more frequently. So the oil light went off. I read that when cars burn oil inappropriately the residue can affect the engine and other parts. Putting more oil in doesn't solve the problem of excessive oil burning! I am afraid to drive it now. I've read that some vehicles with this problem stop right in the middle of the road. That is dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478880August 11, 2022
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with an unknown warning light illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle occasionally overheated while the coolant level was full. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact related the failure to a faulty low-pressure fuel pump. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478589August 10, 2022
ENGINE
We're experience excessive oil burning. The oil is not leaking. Internet searches have led me to many others complaining of the same issue. The engine is at risk of seizing. This can cause accidents if it happens on the road and expensive damage to the engine. We get the low oil indicator lamp and we check the oil levels, it's a good quart or so low. I don't believe we're even getting 1000 miles before the lamp comes on again. We do have the dipstick to tell us it's low. We have not yet had it to a shop for futher investigation to see if a sensor is involved or not, but our mechanics have said burning oil is a common issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478428August 9, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Despite maintaining the vehicle and replacing the battery, the car will have weird acceleration jumps during highway and city travel. It will also not start properly on occasion where it will idle rough and stall when trying to shift into drive or reverse.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478070August 7, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My 2016 is burning excessive oil. to the point I have to put oil in every 3 days.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11476957August 1, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My Odometer is going fast.Odometer is rolling very fast. Say if I travel 5-miles Odometer registering 15 miles. Calibrate Odometer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11476484July 29, 2022
ENGINE, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact also stated that she smelled an abnormal gasoline odor. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that an engine cylinder had failed. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle could not repair under NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V907000 (Fuel System, Gasoline, Engine) unless the engine was knocking. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the engine was misfiring while driving and the vehicle would not exceed 40 MPH. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine was misfiring and oil was leaking onto the spark plugs. The dealer informed the contact that she had to pay a repair fee for spark plug replacements, and then the dealer would determine whether the engine should be replaced under the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11476098July 27, 2022
ENGINE
Driving down the highway and lost power. check engine light came on the engine shut down and had to coast a mile down hill no shoulder to pull off to. came to a spot to pull over and tried starting it and it started but made a heck of a noise. took it to the dealership and it needs a new engine 60,234 miles on it no warning at all. just paid it off and received the title to it. in the mail the day before in the mail. lost power steering braking had too put it in neutral and coast down hill for a mile. this is mechanical engine failure and a safety issue. 2.4 liter GDI engine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11475535July 24, 2022
ENGINE
We purchased car used on 11/27/19. Within 3 days it was chugging, engine light started blinking, and we were broke down on side of the road. Federico Kia in Wood River IL had us tow car to service and told us then that there was an issue with these engines and they would be “replacing a part, and if it does this again, we would qualify for new engine. Would have been nice to know about issue with fires in engine prior to buying an 18000 car. After paying $400 for rental car they said it was fixed. Drove ok for another 9 months and then same thing happened yet this time we could smell something burning under hood. We were by dealership when this happened and due to it chugging and engine light, we took and dropped off again. We were then told spark plugs and needed oil change again after we had just changed ourselves 2 months prior. Said they were “flushing out engine” . Total cost was over $200 for us for oil change and flush. They said technically we were over our warranty time. SMH. It hasn’t been right since we bought it. We can’t afford to make their service dept rich, so we were told they would have to charge from them. We have had to replace same spark plugs 6 times as of today. We were just driving it after oil changes every 3 months even if miles driven were under 2000, and it’s chugging again and smoke and smell from under hood again. This engine is going to catch fire i fear. I won’t drive past 10 miles from my home because I have engine that chugs and overheats. Oil is not cheap and we put 2 qts in every 2 weeks or so. Dealership said there were no oil leaks they could see and yet puddle under car many times. Can someone please help us?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11475212July 21, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Headlights will randomly turn off when set on automatic lights. Turn signal might be part of the issue. Headlights will turn off when driving on winding road or randomly when you turn on the turning signal. I was driving rounding on the hillside when my headlights randomly turned off. So scary because I could have driven off the cliff. No specific dates because it happens consistently. I will enter the most recent but it goes back about 2years. I should add for safety sake, that it also happened when I was driving on a relatively straight-smooth road
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474859July 20, 2022
STEERING
The City of memphis has seen a massive spike in motor vehicle thefts. Which i have been one of the Kia vehicles stolen & damage that cant be fixed quick with the steering column. The Memphis Police Department has described the situation as a car theft “epidemic.” The car thieves’ main targets are Hyundais and Kias, which account for approximately 66% of all thefts across all vehicles. Kia and Hyundai, as well as their joint design center, Hyundai Kia America Technical Center (“HATCI”). As the Complaint details, these car thieves figured out what an entire team of Hyundai and Kia engineers seemingly missed: the companies’ vehicles are designed and manufactured with subpar security measures, thereby making them incredibly easy to steal. These design flaws pose significant safety risks and create a substantial financial burden for consumers. the Complaint alleges that many Kia and Hyundai vehicles are equipped with a defect that makes them incredibly easy to steal. Although local media outlets have reported as much, the Complaint describes in detail the nature of the common defect present in these vehicles, including how the thieves are stealing these cars. Given the incredible public safety threat this has created, we did not want to exacerbate this problem by providing aspiring car thieves, a playbook on how to steal these vehicles. Something has to be done.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474792July 19, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
My name is E........ M........ and I'm writing this email/complaint in hopes it can be resolved or you can pass this email along to the appropriate person or persons to have this matter looked into. We purchased a used 2016 Kia Optima a few years back and have had nothing but trouble, from electrical issues, recalls, transmission issues, oil consumption, and smoke coming through the air vents!!!! and there's more, the last time we had an issue and took it to a dealer for problems shifting, hard shifts, loss of power, and smoking, we were told the dealer could not duplicate the problems while driving it and that was that, not a damn thing fixed because apparently everyone is stupid or blind and I was more than pissed. On 7/13/22 the car has been at the dealer again (for almost two weeks now, but they were so busy they just got to it today) so the car is there for the same exact things listed before only this time they state the turbo turbine is bad and it's gonna be $4000.00 to fix it. First off NO, and secondly NO, I will not let this happen! BTW, please pay close attention to the part of smoke coming through the air vents!!!! Currently, the car is at a KIA dealer still, the general manager was to call me on the 14th and NEVER DID today is the 19th, I called today and they are acting like they don't even know me. NO warning lamps, the car can be completely out of oil, and still no engine or oil light will come on. The fact that this car has smoke coming through the air vents is of most concern, I need help dealing with this issue and will contact a lawyer if needed or if you advise me to. BTW I emailed all head people at Kia corporate and NO response from them as well. Thank you The consumer stated the general manager has the approval to move forward with the repairs and would like to rescind the complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474726July 19, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate the vehicle was vibrating abnormally. The oil level warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was previously taken to the dealer due to excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and diagnosed with total engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 123,281.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474755July 19, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to push the vehicle to the side of the road with the assistance of a police patrol. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was then towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the contact failed to complete an unknown independent recall prior to the failure. However, the contact stated that she had not received the recall notification. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474764July 19, 2022
SEAT BELTS
My Seat Belt has never been that good but as of recently it won't retract at all
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474361July 17, 2022
ENGINE
check engine light lit up when I was driving on a freeway, causing vehicle stalling. knocking noise was present when it occurred.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11473695July 13, 2022
ENGINE
140000 miles motor will not start. Oil leak has been an issue and having to stick a quart of oil in every 1000 miles. Vehicle went into safe mode and wouldnt go faster than 35 mph. Then vehicle proceeded to cut off mid drive and will not start back.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11472990July 8, 2022
ENGINE
Using a qt or more of oil every 1000 miles or less. Kia told me that was normal. There are no puddles or spots where I park but it's obvious there's about problem. Has had plugs replaced 3 times in last year and today I had a flashing check engine light come on and lost power with a suspected misfire. Car will need to go to dealership again. I have lost all trust in Kia and their engines. With all these these problems there should be some kind of resolution to get these cars fixed at no charge. I currently have 112099 miles. I have been to the dealership many times prior to car going out of warranty with them telling my oil consumption was normal.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11472762July 7, 2022
ENGINE
Purchased my 2016 Kia Optima EX om 10/20/20 with 82,000 miles and right away had issues with the car going into limp mode and check engine light on. Not knowing that there was already an oil issue, we took the car in to a repair shop where they told us the car was out of oil so they did an oil change. A few months later the check engine light was back on, so we took it back to the shop and diagnostics indicated an engine issue, so we took it to a Kia dealership. They had the car for 6 days then called and told us to pick up the car because it was running fine and the check engine light was no longer on. Check engine light came back on a few months later, took it back to Kia they said it needed spark plugs/wires and an engine cleaning which was $600. About 8 months later, the check engine light was back on, brought it back into Kia, they said we needed spark plugs/wires, transmission cleaning and break line cleaning, which was $450. 4 months later, got a regularly scheduled oil change, 10 days later, oil light came on and car was out of oil. Brought it to Kia, they did a combustion cleaning for $350. Did the 1000 mile test, which the car failed. Now Kia is saying I need a new engine which will be around $8500, and of course I'm no longer under warranty. My car has been using 6 qts of oil every 600 miles. Even if I could afford a new engine, I no longer trust the safety of my family in this vehicle. Plus there is no guarantee that a new engine wouldn't have this same issue. We are a one-car family, so this has also cost us in rental car fees and inconvenience. How has this engine not been recalled??? Kia should do the right thing and take responsibility for this engine problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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