Kia Optima Complaints

7,843 consumer complaints on file.

#11500213January 4, 2023
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while her grandson was driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle started hesitating before the vehicle stalled in the middle of the roadway. The driver was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts, but the vehicle was idling rough. The contact stated that the near-stalling failure had occurred several times. The contact stated at the recent failure the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed by the contact's son-in-law who retrieved DTC: P1326 (Engine). The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,210.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499938January 3, 2023
ENGINE
Oil changes every 3500 miles, however between those oil changes having to add more oil about every 7-8 hundred miles. Car is sluggish to start after sitting at a stop light. Spark plugs have been replaced twice during the life of the car. I know Kia is aware of all the engine issues and this is very frustrating. You buy a car thinking it will be dependable only to discover that it is a road hazard every time you leave your home.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500029January 3, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
MY 2012 PEARL WHITE KIA OPTIMAS PAINT IS PEELING IN VARIOUS AREAS. LARGE AREAS OF PAINT WAS JUST MISSING WITHOUT PREVIOUS CHIPS. MY VEHICLE LOOKS HORRIBLE AND IS STARTING TO RUST IN SOME PLACES. BELOW YOU WILL FIND AN UPLOAD OF THE LARGEST PEEL ON MY VEHICLE, HOWEVER THERE ARE MORE!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499796January 2, 2023
ENGINE
I was driving down the highway and veered onto a secondary road when the engine shut off. No prior warning was given and the check engine light was not on. I was forced to stop the vehicle; there was no shoulder to pull onto, so I ended up blocking a lane of traffic. The engine seized and must be replaced, or the car will have to be scrapped.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499590December 30, 2022
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I purchased this vehicle about a year ago upon purchasing vehicle I noticed I was having to get an oil change every other week and when I would go in I would have no oil. Fast forward to now I am buying 5g oil from Advance Auto parts every week my car is burning through oil excessively and causing my sparks plugs and coils to go bad from the oil. I have had to get my coils and sparks plug replaced three times in 5 months. I took the vehicle to get an oil consumption test at the Conway Kia dealership and they said nothing was wrong which is inaccurate because no car is burning 5 g oil each week. My car is currently at 80,000 miles I know once it reach 100,000 my warranty voids and at that point Im left with no recourse on this vehicle
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499435December 29, 2022
STEERING
Steering column making rubbing noise when turning. It felt like a notch was rubbing against something. The car was no reason for this part to deteriorate the way it did. It just all of a sudden started this notch rubbing feeling in steering. I took car to Calavan KIA in Lithia Springs, GA to have it examined. They said the MDPS flexible coupling needed to be replaced. There are other KIA's that had this same issue, but repair was covered in recall. My repair was not covered even though it has less than 110,000 miles and is less than 10 years old.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499297December 28, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Severe chipping of the paint
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498953December 27, 2022
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V331000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The dealer replaced the engine; however, the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption after the engine replacement. The check engine warning light was illuminated while driving. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 115,805.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499013December 27, 2022
ENGINE
My engine has blown. No check engine light warning was given. Now the dealer says they will not replace the engine and it will cost me 10,000 for the repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499065December 27, 2022
ENGINE
I had my car for about 2 years and it had 1 owner before me. At first it was a great car no issues, but soon it became a nightmare. First thing I noticed was my lights would turn off by themselves whiles driving at night. I usually kept them on auto and they would randomly go off and I would have to turn they nob off and back on to get them to come on again. Soon after that I noticed that I would have to get oil changes more frequently. My oil light would come on and start to flicker only a few weeks after an oil change. My car was burning oil like crazy and it only got worse until it began to leak. Any time I had it serviced I was never told that I had a leak and my car would run fine for a few weeks and then the light would start to flicker again, usually anytime I pressed the brake. Not soon after that my car started to have problems accelerating and shaking really bad. I had the spark plugs changed and it ran fine for a few weeks and started to do it again. I took it into the shop and they told me that I needed a whole new engine and that it wasn't covered under the warranty. I would have to pay $5500 to get it fixed. So now it's just sitting because I can't afford it and Kia doesn't seem to care to do anything. I don't understand when I've read so many complaints with people having the same exact problems that I had. Now I'm stuck with a car that I can't drive and still owe on and have to find a new way of transportation to get to work. This is messed up that Kia knows about this and refuses to recall this car. Its a crap car and they couldn't care less about it. I've read other stories about the car locking up or stalling while people have been driving. This is a very dangerous and serious problem. I drive my kids around and their lives were in danger and I didn't even know it. Kia needs to do something!!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498914December 26, 2022
ENGINE
2020 Kia Optima with 39,000 miles. Check engine light came on for knock sensor and put into limp mode. Before the check engine light came on I've been noticing a faint noise during acceleration from the engine. Waiting to hear back on the overall problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498673December 23, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
Front brake calipers seize and burning smell and smoke coming for front wheels. Have replaced the rotors, calipers and brake pads(twice) and it does not seem to fix the problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498592December 22, 2022
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the engine was running however, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact pulled off the highway into a rest area. The contact stated that the engine and the vehicle were shaking abnormally. The contact turned the vehicle off and noticed gray smoke coming from underneath the hood on the driver's side near the windshield. The contact stated that he opened the hood and checked the fluid levels, and the oil and coolant were at normal levels. The contact restarted the vehicle and the vehicle started to shake. The contact shifted into drive(D) and depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and retrieved fault codes P0303 and P0404, related to engine misfire in all cylinders. The mechanic stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer, who declined to replace the engine. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact was advised by the manufacturer that he had five recalls associated with the VIN. The contact researched online and found that he had three recalls associated with the VIN and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498451December 21, 2022
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1. Vehicle refuse to start had to have it towed to a shop to have a new battery placed in 2. Replacement of battery caused a short in stereo system resulting in the replacement with a new stereo system 3. Engine began to knock 12/19/22 took car to Car-Mart was given a list of mechanics to call made an appointment with Dominion in Farmington Arkansas for the morning of December 21st 4. Car decelerated and check engine light came on just before Exit 70 on I-49 near Johnson Mill Boulevard pulled over to the side of the interstate was able to move the vehicle forward to Exit 70 at 20 miles per hour to get off the interstate and park at Casey's General Store on Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale 5. Car was towed to Dominion Auto in Farmington Arkansas 6. I was not informed of any recall on my vehicle or any dangers impose to me or my family including my two small children upon purchase of the vehicle or registration of the vehicle or within 90 days of registration 7. Came to this website to post a complaint and found out I not only have one recall but two that I was unaware of
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498453December 21, 2022
POWER TRAIN
On Thursday, I was leaving to drive my son 5 miles up the road and my check engine light started flashing with no warning. My car slowed down and started jerking. I took it to auto zone (on limp mode) to receive a code and it came back with p1326. My car only has 64,216 miles and I also just recently got the oil changed. I have not taken it to a dealer yet but I wanted to report this because my car is only 2 years old and shouldn’t have engine/power train issues.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498188December 20, 2022
STEERING
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact stated while reversing, the contact heard a popping sound, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to an impendent mechanic, and he reinstalled the inner shaft. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 110,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498242December 20, 2022
AIR BAGS, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECU/ECM)
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The traction control, air bag, power steering assist, ABS, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic twice, and the front passenger’s side wheel speed sensor and the ECU were replaced twice; however, the failure persisted. The mechanic advised the contact to take the vehicle to the local dealer. The vehicle was taken to Clay Cooley Kia (1247 E Airport Fwy, Irving, TX 75062) where it was diagnosed that the ECU needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred, and various unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was then taken to Vanguard Kia of Arlington (1501 E Interstate 20, Arlington, TX 76018) where it was diagnosed that the ECU, front passenger’s side wheel speed sensor and air bag clockspring needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the dealer awaiting the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498080December 19, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Recently my vehicle started smelling of raw fuel. I took the vehicle to my mechanic and was advised it was the fuel line issue that KIA had recalled the vehicle for. I contacted my KIA dealer and was advised my particular VIN was not on recall for the fuel line. KIA recalled the 2013 KIA Optima GDI Turbo for the fuel line issues but only certain VIN's. This vehicle was affected by the engine recalls. It initially had a short block engine replacement prior to the engine recall and subsequently that engine failed and the vehicle was replaced with a long block engine in 2018. The new engine has 30,000 miles on it. The VIN number does not have the original engine or potentially the original fuel line. How is KIA determining the current fuel line issue is not on my VIN? This is a 2013 KIA Optima GDI turbo. The vehicle does not have the original engine or likely the original fuel line. The vehicle has been serviced by KIA several times and the engine and fuel lines have been replaced. The vehicle at the time of manufacturing had 1 specific line but no one knows which fuel line is currently in my vehicle. I am requesting KIA contact me and advise they will honor this fuel line repair under the recall and I am questioning why only certain VIN's were recalled. KIA cannot definitively determine which fuel line is in each vehicle because most of the engines were replaced in the 2013 model based on the widespread engine recall/replacement of the engines. This is a major safety issue that needs to be addressed. If the initial recall was done on the manufacturers VIN info, the engine and fuel line data is flawed since these vehicle engines were replaced. There is too much of a coincidence in the fuel line issue on my vehicle and the recall despite what KIA is stating.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498142December 19, 2022
ENGINE
I got onto a highway on ramp, I had to slightly accelerate due to it being busy & my car started knocking & the check engine started flashing. Engine oil level is good but it has a Rod knock.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11497844December 17, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
As I would drive the vehicle a rattling noise would occur when every time I accelerate from stopping at a traffic light. Then the engine light appeared on the dash board. When I went to have the engine light checked the results came back about an oil gasket. I then got an oil change soon after. The rattling noise and the same acceleration problem still occurred. Soon after it gotten worst to the point couldn’t go faster then 10 mph and then the car kept shutting off.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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