Kia Optima Complaints

7,843 consumer complaints on file.

#11515393April 4, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The vehicle was sold to me with a known recall issues. I have taken it to the kia dealership close to me during the recall time period. They never told me about this issue coming up on their system. There was a certain time period that the recall was supposed to fixed, now kia is telling me that it's my financial responsibility to fix.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515444April 4, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
On October 11,2022 I was involved in a vehicle collision that resulted in damages to the front of my vehicle and the rear of another. My two children and I suffered injuries that we were not able to recover fully from. The driver of the other vehicle was uninsured and has not been accessible!
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
3
Deaths:
0
#11515466April 4, 2023
ENGINE
The KIA engine associated with the KIA Engine recall falls under the recall but KIA denied the claim to repair. The oil change documentation provided showed consistently with oil changes to prove no negligence. WE didn't have the complete oil change history as all of the paper receipts were no kept and the mechanic shop performing the oil change converted to a new system and therefore could not provide the documentation requested.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515138April 3, 2023
ENGINE
Faulty engine causing vehicle to consume oil rapidly and causing burning smell, as of car may catch on fire. Vehicle has been taken to several different auto mechanics that all say engine should have been a part of the recall and lawsuit should be filed. When taken to Kia dealership they are aware of the problem but refuse to do anything unless the car is listed under the recall list. This has been an ongoing issue for over a year now and there have been several gallons of oil poured into the car now.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515166April 3, 2023
ENGINE
My car has an oil consumption problem with more that a quart every 1000 miles. It has around 94000 miles on it now. Took it to dealers and they say its normal with Kias. Have not pulled it apart because I do not have the money.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515219April 3, 2023
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact stated he heard an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact observed white smoke coming from under the hood. The contact was able to pull over with the engine still running however, when he stopped and turned off the vehicle, he was unable to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the oil and battery warning lights were illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515236April 3, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated and lost motive power; however, the vehicle remained running. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was then able to coast the vehicle off the road and the vehicle stopped. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. The contact was then advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515323April 3, 2023
ENGINE
Heavy Oil consumption and adding oil every week
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515044April 2, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The paint on my pearl white 2015 Kia started chipping around windshield areas a few years ago. Front ,side and back. Now the whole trunk is coming off and an area around rear passenger side. It just keeps spreading and I am so embarrassed and frustrated. My car is in great condition. no dents , no accidents! I take good care of it and this is what it looks like? Not right and Kia needs to do something about it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515067April 2, 2023
ENGINE
The car has had issues for a long time. It had gone into limp mode multiple times and they fixed it and then would do it again later. Not long ago, it was acting badly again like it was going to die and they had me spend over $1,000 on new coils and plugs. Then the oil light was coming on. Took it in for check and did oil change at valvoline. They said it was empty. It was under 3k miles or just at I believe. Then 3k miles or less light comes on again. I took it to Kia they did new oil change and said I had to do 1k mile test. I brought it back at 1k miles and they said it was 2 quarts low. Said I should spend 700 or more cleaning the engine. I said I just spent over 1k fixing it and no one mentioned anything about cleaning. I do all suggested maintenance and recalls and oil changes with synthetic at about 3k. So they said someone would call me and didn’t give me a paper. They also had said the engine was most likely bad. At the time I spoke with three employees one of which works in the garage. I never got a call. I emailed and messaged and never heard back- except to get the paper simply saying to check at 1k miles. It also had an employees name who I had not talked to. I took it back 1 k later and new guy said was quarter of a quart low. He showed me a dip stick with oil on it and said I should spend hundreds to clean it. Wouldn’t explain why suddenly oil fine. Now at about 800 miles oil out. Took it to valvoline and oil out. Last Kia I drove engine blew. This feels unsafe. I have no other car. I don’t trust them telling me there is oil and pushing more expensive needless things. The engine is obviously bad. It is just under 100k and have a letter saying engine extension until 120k. Original owner.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514901April 1, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Paint is peeling off of vehicle for no apparent reason. Large size pieces on the trench hood.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514865March 31, 2023
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
On 2/24 I was driving on Ben Hill Griffin Parkway, I was in the middle lane going thru an intersection, when suddenly while attempting to accelerate to go thru the light, all of my dash lights came on and the gas petal stopped working completely. I had cars in front, behind and on sides of me and I was unable to move out of the way. I attempted to restart the car to no avail. This could have been an incredibly deadly and dangerous situation and was extremely scary. With help I was able to move my car out of the way, call a tow truck and have it taken to the nearest Kia Dealership (Galeana Kia, 14483 Tamiami Trail, Ft. Myers) who advised they would evaluate the car and get back to me the next day. Tuesday I got word that my engine had seized and there was less than 1 qt of oil in it. I couldn't believe this as I just had an oil change 6 weeks prior. The service advisor, Jeff, said when an engine seizes they report it to Kia to see if they will replace but that Kia tech team advised they were declining replacing my engine as I didn't take my car to Kia for service and there weren't enough carfax reports to show proper care. This made no sense as I get my oil changed every 5k and use syntenic oil. I proceeded to send many oil change receipts only for them then tell me "it's owners responsibility to check oil between oil changes" and they aren't going to assist in any way. Sharing this story with others led me to learn that Kia is supposed to warranty these engines to 150k due to this being a known issue and multiple class action lawsuits about the engines burning oil and seizing while driving. I was in the middle of an intersection, that could have cost me my life! I called Kia Corp and they told me to work with dealership and they couldn't do anything for me. This after just replacing 4 window regulators where the regulator dies and your windows fall down (another safety hazard.) I appreciate you looking into and addressing this safety injustice for me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514559March 30, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
The car caught fire last night and burned up while parked.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514566March 30, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
Paint on vehicle on top of trunk has chipped off like a whole section out of no where.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514612March 30, 2023
SEATS, ENGINE
The passagen side seat belt comes on and beeps and stays on sometimes and other times it dont Then the check engine one day started flashing on me lost of power wouldnt do no more then 60mph
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514644March 30, 2023
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated to 60 MPH. The vehicle began to shudder and failed to accelerate above 20 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated and flashing. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514402March 29, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
1.Since 1/17/23 I've had 5 occurrences of the car yanking me to the left as I am turning right. The steering wheel gets stiffed, the dashboard lights come one, car slows down and I have to park the car and turn it off and back on. When I turn it back on, no dashboard lights are on and the everything is back to normal as if nothing ever happened. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership 3 times for a diagnostics and nothing comes up. The vehicles computer is not even tracing the times the dashboard lights have turned on as it shows zero history and that is not the case. I have taken pictures and video of the dashboard lights and have showed the guys at the dealership but since there's no record on the dashboard computer/history, they're not able to determine the problem. 2.My safety has been put at risk as I can get involved in a car accident and involve others safety at risk as well. The vehicle doesn't give any prior signs when it's going to act up when turning to the right, therefore it can happen at any given time. The first time I was leaving a parking lot and it happened on the freeway feeder. I towed my vehicle to the dealership the first time as I was in fear of driving it only to be told they can't find the issue. 3.The dealership has ran 3 different diagnostics on 3 different occasions and nothing comes up. It is still unresolved. 4. Kia service department has inspected in on 3 different occasions since the first incident. 5. No warning lamps or warnings of any sort before the first incident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514476March 29, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V093000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the ABS warning light, the traction control warning light, the check engine warning light illuminated then several other unknown warning lights started to illuminate. The contact then stated that the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the hydraulic electronic control unit (HECU) failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V331000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, 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 and the contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 173,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514485March 29, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the failure was related to the vehicle not receiving the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) software installation. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514173March 28, 2023
ENGINE
My engine light all of a sudden just started blinking, engine started smoking, and making Very loud clanking noise.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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