Kia Optima Complaints

7,843 consumer complaints on file.

#11520433May 4, 2023
ENGINE
My car was unable to accelerate and ultimately had a broken rod, which required total replacement of the engine. Since I am the second owner and the original owner or dealer did not request the warranty extension in 2017, KIA refuses to reimburse any amount towards the repairs.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520508May 4, 2023
ENGINE
The contact’s son owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact then stated that her son was able to jumpstart the vehicle. The contact then stated that the battery was replaced however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact’s son was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was then towed to the contact’s residence. An undisclosed dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to an independent mechanic for assistance. The vehicle was then towed to the independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed back to the contact’s residence where it remained. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520510May 4, 2023
ENGINE
Car started making a horrible knocking.. Had a rod bearing failure. Engine was completely bad. And Kia refuses to fix and or reimburse me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520268May 3, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the engine had seized. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. However, the dealer declined the engine replacement because the contact did not have an unknown engine recall repair performed prior to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that she had not received the unknown engine recall notification. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.
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
#11520047May 2, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE
My car was sent to Kia on Covington Pike in Memphis, TN to repair the recalls but further repairs were needed stemming from issues with the recall on the low pressure fuel pump
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520052May 2, 2023
ENGINE
Unknown
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520100May 2, 2023
AIR BAGS, ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I took my car into the local Kia dealership after my engine failed while driving down the highway. I was approved for the engine replacement due to the recall. However after my engine was replaced, and still in the shop, the side curtain airbag module gave an error due to low voltage. Now I'm out $1200 for an item that should not fail within the first 6 years. I have had vehicles 3 times as old that did not have safety sensors or features failing. As Kia obviously has issues with airbag modules I believe my vehicle year and model should be included in this recall. Anytime there are multiple complaints for a failing safety feature on a vehicle less than 10 years old, the manufacturers should have an indepth investigation by an independent agency. These recalls should not be so narrow focused when there are many other models and years that have the same issues. Putting the responsibility on consumers to file complaints and beg for recalls to be issued seems like a backward system that is a burden to those that can't affoard to wait to MAYBE be reimbursed IF their car gets included in a recall later. When searching complaints for Kia airbags, there are several models/years that are not covered under current recalls.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520113May 2, 2023
ENGINE, TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS
The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the TPMS warning light illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the contact's daughter that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520117May 2, 2023
ENGINE
Burning oil at a rate of 4 quarts per 300 miles. The vehicle has had all the required oil changes and has even had a $400 top clean to help the oil burning problem, nothing has helped. Now the car is malfunctioning while driving wo codes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519777May 1, 2023
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH
On my vehicle Kia, Optima, 2019 vehicle the latch on the hood broke for the second time. The first time took it to the Kia, place where I purchase the vehicle. Jim Shorkey in Irwin Pa. They could not open the hood. I needed oil in my car. I don't know where the oil is going! Took to my mechanic he had to go under the car to release the latch. This is the second time. I keep paying, this is not fair!!!!!! The warning light for oil!!!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519880May 1, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My paint is bubbling, chipping and is destroyed for no reason. I was my car by hand with a special car wash soap and dry it with a shammy. I took pictures and within 2 months of having my car sit the paint it boiling? I have seen claims ona facebook page this is happening to other Kia models. My friend just got his Prius painted due to the same issue *same color Pearl White~ !!!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519643April 30, 2023
ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving the Kia Optima 2014 down the highway. Without any warning or indication that something was wrong my tires locked up, causing the car to chirp twice and then the engine just died. I had to pay 250$ for a tow company to pick up the car and bring it home. The whole situation was very dangerous. Now I am having trouble with the Kia owner website. It will not even let me report the issue or schedule a maintenance appointment with any Kia Dealer to determine if this is due to a recall issue, or anything.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519662April 30, 2023
ENGINE
Engine seized and went out while driving a normal road. Normal driving conditions and all of my scheduled maintenance is up to date. The car lost all power and would not accelerate. The engine started smoking
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519668April 30, 2023
ENGINE
consistently getting oil changes. if the car doesn't rcvd an oil change before 3000 miles the check engine light comes on and then the light removes after oil change. in between the time period of getting oil changes it may run junky or you hear the catalytic converter trying to push air thru and it rattles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519671April 30, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
headlights very dim . replaced bulbs . replaced wiring harness. replaced alternater . still dim . cannot see more than a few feet at night. have heard this is a common problem . would like any info to correct problem .no longer safe to drive vehicle at night. please reply asap.
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
#11519608April 29, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The issue with the car first occurred in 2021 when the vehicle had 109,000 miles. I was driving on the interstate returning from visiting my family when the car began to behave erratically. It started to seize, stall, and accelerated on its own. All of the lights illuminated on the dashboard with the error message hybrid engine, air pull over immediately. This was a serious event because my life as well as others were impacted. The car had just enough power to make it off of the shoulder when it died completely and had to be towed to the nearest dealership. They recommended I have the hybrid battery replaced which I did. That did not correct the issue because less than a year later in 2022 I was once again returning home and the car begin to do the same thing. Stalls, seizes, accelerates on its own and the same lights, the same warning message, and completely loses power when you’re driving! It was again towed to a dealership and this time they recommended I have the spark plugs replaced. The spark plugs were replaced and the day that the car was repaired and picked up it had to then be towed back just a few miles down the road with the same strange behavior, and the same issues. Clearly the recommended repairs are not fixing the root cause problem. And now three times my life as well as other motorists’ lives have been put in danger! I am tired of paying for recommended repairs that are not fixing the root issue when there are several hundred other persons who have been experiencing similar dangerous issues like mine with their vehicles. Kia needs to do something about this!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519389April 28, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in for routine maintenance, it was discovered that the engine oil level was extremely low. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who performed an oil consumption test. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11519490April 28, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My 2015 Kia is burning 1. a lot of oil and 2. The second is the car smells of gas scared it is one that will catch fire
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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