Kia Optima Complaints (2016)

764 consumer complaints on file.

#11460132April 8, 2022
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My 2016 Kia Optima EX with the 2.4L GDI I4 engine has been ticking for roughly a year. The ticking coincides with acceleration (the harder you accelerate, the faster the tick). I took it my local Kia dealer where I've gotten my service done since purchasing the car. They simply stated, "these cars tick, don't worry about it." So I continued changing my oil regularly and monitoring it. Shortly after this, I noticed my oil levels would be lower than normal midway through an oil change cycle (I check my oil periodically because I do not trust the dealership). I took it back in with a concern and they did an oil consumption test, stating my car is burning excessive amounts of oil. After this service, the dealer said it "passed" and that it would no longer be an issue. Still, ticking persisted and I took it back in and forced them to do a full diagnostic on the vehicle (with a hefty charge on my part) to get to the root of the problem. They then recommended a valve deep cleaning service as the next step in the oil consumption service as my car was "still burning oil". There were never warning lights or any other cause of concern of a failure to indicate something was wrong. This is a HUGE issue with Kia and they will not accept the blame for manufacturing faulty engines. My car is no longer covered under warranty and the dealership states that if the engine blows from an oil consumption issue, Kia will not cover the cost. I expect Kia to issue a recall on these engines as hundreds of thousands of customers across the USA are experiencing the same issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11460013April 7, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Egiene consum oil 1 quarter in 1000 miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458652March 28, 2022
ENGINE
Starting around 57,000 miles the engine started consuming excessive oil and occasionally experienced some knocking upon acceleration. I took it to the dealership and they put me on an oil consumption check every 1000 miles. After 3 rounds of checks they determined it was an issue with the GDI fuel system needing to be flushed which was performed by the dealership service department. The engine appeared to no longer consume excessive oil after I checked at about 1000 miles. After approximately 2000 miles, before my wife left for a long trip, I checked oil and it was down 1 quart. I topped off the oil and after about 750 miles, I checked the oil level and it was about 1 quart low again. The car is currently at the dealership and I'm told I will have to start the whole 1000 mile consumption check AGAIN! Based on other reports of engine seizing and fires I consider this a very possible hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458384March 25, 2022
ENGINE
Over the last year I’ve noticed my car burning a lot of oil, around 1qt every 1000 miles. I’ve also noticed the transmission slipping some. I’ve checked thoroughly for leaks and have found none and the place that changes my oil has said they see no leaks also.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458238March 24, 2022
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My car keeps running out of oil. I've taken it to kia and my mechanic. Both said I need a new engine. My car is hard to drive. I'm putting oil in my car after 200 miles because it's almost empty after having oil changes. I use 8 quarts of oil every time . My car drives horrible. I'm afraid it's gonna shut off on me when I'm driving and it's gonna cause an accident. I'm scared to drive it anymore and I owe 2 yrs left on it. I need a new engine and it's all been happening to my car after 1 yr of having it
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457535March 20, 2022
ENGINE
The car engine suddenly started making a lot of noises, so we immediately pulled over and stopped the car. The engine wouldn't start back up, and started smoking. We had it towed to an independent service center, where they confirmed that the engine had a crack in it and would need to be replaced. There was still oil (we had just topped it off 1 week prior as it used a large amount of oil). There weren't any warning lights on until the same minute it started making noises, at which time the oil and engine light came on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11456893March 15, 2022
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The engine is burning about a half a quarter of oil every 1000 miles. The transmission studers when trying to take off and sometimes lags when you accelerate harder.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455513March 7, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH on the highway, the engine was shaking and the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over and was assisted by her son who poured three quarts of oil into the engine. The contact restarted the vehicle and drove it to her residence. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455444March 6, 2022
STEERING, WHEELS, POWER TRAIN
My steering wheel will randomly lock in the middle of road while driving. I have to forcefully turn wheel to be able to pull of off the road meanwhile the there is on coming traffic. I have been told my car is having misfire and an engine knock code P1326 I have also got other codes and was told it could be a factory malfunction.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11454998March 3, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
I have a 2016 Kia Optima Pearl White and the paint on the hood just started peeling! It looks awful. What should I do to get this problem fixed?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11454564February 28, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have a pearl white vehicle paint is pealing on passenger back seat door
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11450848February 7, 2022
Other/I am not sure
Window regulator in the car 4 of them went out Oil light is flashing when but there is no leaks and just got a oil change
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11449418January 29, 2022
AIR BAGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Suddenly, the warning lights on my dashboard resembled that of a christmas tree. I was seeing warning lights for the passenger airbag, blind spot warning/assist, auto-hold, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, etc - were all suddenly offline. After finally getting an appointment scheduled with my local dealership, I was told that the airbag module had gone bad and needed replaced. With that module out, the car could not communicate with the other systems and thus was the cause of the errors/warning lights.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448535January 23, 2022
ENGINE
The main problem with the car is the error p1326 is the knock sensor. I have this car for almost 5 or 6 months. The error has never been inspected by any insurance or police. The only warning about this problem was the "engine light" on the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447998January 19, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
In November of 2021 at about 18500 miles the right rear window regulator drive gear disentigrated and the entire regulator had to be replaced. In Decemeber of 2021 at about 19700 miles the right front window regulator disintigrated and had to be replaced. The first 2 photos are the December failure the 3rd is the December failure I found it interesting that the same year model Kia has a recall for the exact same problem. Here is the link. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10176915-0001.pdf I am attaching photos of both failures. I have in my posession the front regulator if you want to examine it I will not dispose of it until I hear from you.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447683January 16, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When starting to move from traffic light, engine revved to full throttle, brakes would not stop the vehicle. I swerved right to avoid the vehicle in front of me, then went over a sidewalk and struck a tree. Car still would not stop. Finally came to rest in a ( luckily empty) bowling alley parking lot. Vehicle sustained heavy right side front damage and had to be towed from the scene.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447053January 11, 2022
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that they were unable to assist. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446382January 5, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
#1Headlights & break lights going out often. Bulbs can’t be replaced anymore due to wiring burnt ( 1 headlight ) Took it in and they didn’t even look at it. Have do Documents to back that up #2 Engine light coming on, diagnostic testing indicated spark plugs need to be replaced . Had to do this two times with oil on plugs Took it in and they NEVER look at the spark plugs #3 car burning excessive amount of oil anywhere from 1 quart a week to 3 1/2 quarts after driving 600 miles. Took it into the shop for oil consumption testing only to be told that their warranty would not cover it and it needs a new engine. I have a 10 year or 100,000 mile warranty on my car! and at the present time I only have 88496 miles on my car I have documentation to back up my claim, I have been a loyal Kia owner for 18 years and they have absolutely treated me horrible in regards to this saying that it was lack of maintenance and they never checked the issues that led up to their findings. They indicated that there was sludge in my engine but could never prove or show me anything that they did to document the sludge and trying to blame it on me. This car is a safety hazard as I am aware of mini other Kia optima’s dad have either caught fire or repaired to have their motors replaced due to the same issues. Anything you can do to help me with this issue ! I’m 60 years old and know how to take care of my car
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446056January 3, 2022
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
The contact's grandmother owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the rear driver’s side window inadvertently fell. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and pulled up the window manually. She then inserted a piece of paper in the upper right corner of the window to keep it in place. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving. The front and rear driver’s side windows and the rear passenger’s side window also inadvertently fell. The contact inserted pieces of paper in the upper right corner of each window. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle would be repaired at her expense. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 83,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445663December 30, 2021
ENGINE
In Sept the car oil light came on. The car was out of oil. Took it to shop and they could not find a leak. The car was filled with oil. Less than 1,000 miles later in Oct the same situation occurred again. The car was inspected an no leak was found but the oil was gone. In Dec after going 2 500 miles the same situation occurred again and another shop inspected and could not find out why. In all 3 situations the driver had to pull over immediately and be stranded until oil came.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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