Kia Optima Complaints (2013)
1,443 consumer complaints on file.
- #11625946November 18, 2024ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact became aware an excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was taking to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 135,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11624131November 8, 2024ENGINE
Engine failure after a pass sc147 safety recall. Vehicle has a rebuilt title and does not qualify for manufacture warranty. Does this engine not still qualify for the sc147 recall,
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11623159November 1, 2024AIR BAGS
I was in an accident on 10/18/24 where a person switched lanes and hit the front end of my vehicle. My airbags didn't deploy.
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 2
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11622889October 31, 2024ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the ABS and engine warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the failure was not related to the repair of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 43,494.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11620840October 20, 2024ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Was driving down the highway with no indication of any problems with my car. It just shuts off completely had to coast to the side of the road get someone to tow me home. While on side of the road opened the hood and saw white smoke come from the engine. Just had an oil change and coolant is fine.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11617287September 30, 2024SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11616865September 27, 2024FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, smoke was coming from the hood of the vehicle, and the entire front of the vehicle caught on fire. The origin of the fire was unknown. The vehicle was occupied; however, the contact and her daughter were able to exit the vehicle safely before the flames spread. There were no injuries sustained and no medical attention was sought. There entire front of the vehicle was damaged including the windshield and everything lined up with the dashboard. The fire department was involved and had to come to extinguish the fire. A fire department report was not filed. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The contact did research and became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V100 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the contact was not notified before the failure. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable and remained at a friend of the contact's place of residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11615310September 18, 2024STEERING
A few months ago I started hearing a clicking noise while moving my steering wheel from side to side I went to the shop and had my steering column replaced thinking that would solve the issue but the noise is still there. I heard there was a replacement for customers I purchased my call after that bulletin was issued
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11614687September 15, 2024SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
In May 2024, I took my 2013 Kia Optima (2.0L T-GDI) to my local dealership to have several recalls completed, including SC284QF (Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit). The dealership completed the recalls and I have a receipt showing all three recalls were completed. On Sep 12 2024 I received a recall notice stating the recall SC284QF had NOT been completed and to contact my dealership to schedule this recall repair. I looked up the Kia Safety Recall Campain instruction, detailing the repair step-by-step. I then went to my vehicle fuse panel (where the recall repair was to be performed) and was able to verify the recall has NOT been completed, despite the Kia dealership claiming (and documenting) the recall as being complete. This recall states that the risk of not competing this recall is potential engine fire while being driven or parked. I park this vehicle inside my garage (attached to my house) and this could have caused a fire which could have endangered the lives of my family. I have attached the Kia Safety Recall Campain instructions as well as a photo of the affected fuse.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11613770September 10, 2024UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2013 Optima SXL Snow White Pearl Pain Has been peeling since approximately 48,000 miles This has been discussed with Kia Service reps on multiple occasions since it was first noticed. Vehicle is now at 148,000 miles and paint continues to chip away on the hood and pillars of car. It is evident the problem is not isolated to my car. Every snow white pearl car i see driving down the road has similar paint chipping.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11613791September 10, 2024STRUCTURE:BODY
My car's paint began chipping and peeling about a year ago, it continues to get worse day by day and exposed areas show a bare metal with some areas rusting. This is happening very rapidly and appears the whole car may lose its paint quickly. Please help!
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11612279September 3, 2024STEERING
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, there was significant play in the steering wheel and the steering wheel made abnormal sounds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering column coupler had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the repair was not covered under TSB Number: CHA060. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11611362August 28, 2024SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owned a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that after parking in the garage and turning the vehicle off, approximately six hours later it was discovered that a fire had started in the garage area and had begun to spread inside the townhome. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During the fire, the vehicle was destroyed and later towed away. Also, a second vehicle parked inside the garage was destroyed and a third vehicle parked outside in the driveway sustained fire damage. The garage was destroyed and the townhome sustained significant fire damage. A fire report was taken at the scene but the cause of the fire was not determined. The contact later received a recall notice for the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000(Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced that same failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 170,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11610964August 26, 2024ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that after the vehicle was repaired under recall, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly while depressing the accelerator pedal and there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the same local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from under the hood, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated the vehicle was repaired under an unidentified recall; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11609292August 19, 2024SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:ANTILOCK:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE
See attached document for complaint
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11609070August 16, 2024ENGINE
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
- #11607919August 12, 2024FUEL 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, 2024ENGINE
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
- #11607297August 8, 2024ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, STRUCTURE, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling), 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic), and 22V560000 (Structure); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle experienced reduced engine power and the engine started overheating. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact parked and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated while attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the dealer informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under the recall because the product improvement campaign for knock sensor software update had not been performed on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that they were not legally required to complete the recall repairs. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11607140August 7, 2024ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:COIL
The car as a fire hazard
- Crash:
- Yes
- Fire:
- Yes
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0