Kia Optima Complaints

7,843 consumer complaints on file.

#11566074January 17, 2024
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, there was an abnormal burning odor inside the vehicle with an abnormal clanking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled off the roadway and stopped the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that an engine bearing had cracked and that there were metal shavings in the engine block. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was 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 130,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565546January 15, 2024
ENGINE
I was driving down the highway and my car just went out in the middle of traffic I almost got into a accident with my kids in the car.there were no warning lights or anything on before it went out I finally pulled over in the far right lane and my car wouldn’t turn back on and started flashing various lights on the dashboard and still wouldn’t turn on I had to call triple A and have the car towed that put me in a very dangerous situation especially with my children in the car
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565563January 15, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY
Paint delamination on top surfaces of the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565654January 15, 2024
ENGINE
I was driving in morning traffic at 65MPH when the warning lights went flashing stating the HEV Electric engine was shutting down, I was crawling to 20 MPH. I had the car towed to a Kia dealer and was told the electric engine was fine, the gas engine oil was bone dry! NO LOW OIL light ever triggered! Not a single warning. Just out of the blue! This is wrong on so many levels! I get oil changes when they are due and use top synthetic oil. The dealer is reporting it to Kia and said at 87,500 miles I'm under the extended warranty, but Kia will tell them how to handle the issue. I cannot afford a new engine! This is the second Kia I had this problem! They said it passed the bearing test, so why is my engine bone dry? This is dangerous to be driving at high speed and have your car drop speed to 20MPH, then drop to 10MPH. I'm still waiting for Kia to get back to me, the dealer says it takes 48 business hours. I dropped it off Thursday 1/11/2024, Hopefully, tomorrow I will find out. I cannot afford a new car and I still have a balance on this car. I've read multiple complaints on this sight, all the same.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565254January 13, 2024
ENGINE
My 2016 kia optima shut off on me and would not start on December 20th 2023. I had the vehicle towed to bergeys kia and they looked at the vehicle and said that it was the engine and it would cost between $6,000-10,000 to replace the engine. The vehicle has never had any problems. I do not bring my car to kia for oil changes because it is really expensive so we do that at home and kia is telling me they can’t fix my engine because I do not have a receipt of the maintenance. The engine has a recall and I was never notified about it. My vehicle was in their shop on September 6th 2023 and I was not notified then either. I am a single mother and I currently do not have a vehicle to take my son to and from school or to get to work. The engine is recalled so I think Kia needs to fix this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565298January 13, 2024
ENGINE
My car burns lots of oil also hear motor knocking with oil in it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565302January 13, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
I purchased my car in 2015 at 23k miles, now we're at 86k miles and I'm experiencing issues. How is there a recall for this car but no remedy yet when there is a high risk of fire? Shouldn't there be a resolution for this safety concern? I noticed my car in 2022 would smoke here and there when driving, and I would smell burning. I took it to my mechanic and he changed the head gasket, and the smoking stopped. There is residue on my engine from a leak from the oil. My mechanic at the time told me I might still smell burning oil just due to that. As time went on things were fine but a year later, the oil smell came back stronger. I notice it only on longer drives, so I do believe my car is leaking oil. Also, the amount of time I've changed my break lights this year and head lights. They dim so fast over time and eventually go out to where I have to replace them. There is 100% an electrical issue going on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565032January 12, 2024
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
It has started burning oil, we have to continually check it. There are no leaks but oil burns too fast, we check it almost daily.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11565219January 12, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2015 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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564778January 11, 2024
POWER TRAIN
While driving on the road, I came to a stop at an intersection. While waiting for the green light the engine stopped running. I tried starting the car by pressing the brake and the push start button and the car only clicked and did not start. I pushed the car off the road. After several attempts to start the car it wouldn't start and it started smoking it looked like it was coming from the starter location. It appears that the engine seized and it won't turn over.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564924January 11, 2024
SERVICE 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564960January 11, 2024
ENGINE
1- My 2018 Kia Optima engine seized while driving on interstate 64 West -Had the car towed to a mechanic (J TEAM AUTO REPAIR) and was told me to contact kia because after replacing the spark plugs and coils and knock sensor there was still no compressing in cylinder 4. My life and safety was at risk when my engine blew out on the interstate. When I went to Kia Dealership they confirmed that my VIN number was included in the recall and in the class action lawsuit. customer support told me since I wasn't the first owner of the car they weren't required to honor the recall -I asked why I was never informed they told me I bought the car as second owner my 60,000 warranty has expired and the extended warranty for engine doesn’t cover compression issues - its stated on the NHTSA website that they are required to send notices to all owners.When I contacted (Escalation Case specialist) with this information they said the extended warranty only covers the rod bearing connectors, and not compression. Completely contradicting the first call I had with another employee at Kia. Kia is deliberately keeping people in cars with engines that were manufactured improperly. I had the KSDS update-It takes more than reading engine codes to get to the bottom of things. Compression is part of the engine block. Prior to the Engine failure, my Kia Optima, was constantly burning oil.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564524January 10, 2024
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
HECU has been replaced by kia dealership but I paid although all recalls performed are free.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564542January 10, 2024
ENGINE
Driving my car on a busy highway. Car completely stopped. Putting myself in extreme danger! Tried having the car jumped off and that did not work. I waited hours on a tow truck on this busy highway! Had the car towed to a mechanic and was told that the engine has blown. Called manufacturer and was told that my vehicle was a part of the class action lawsuit, but I failed to comply with the recall. Well, I am the second owner and HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THIS RECALL!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564558January 10, 2024
ENGINE
Engine light is blinking
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564620January 10, 2024
ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stationary outside in the driveway, the contact saw that there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact went outside to inspect the vehicle opened the hood and saw smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact disconnected the battery and left the hood slightly open to allow airflow. The contact stated that the smoke was eventually dissipated by the wind. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact made the manufacturer aware of the failure, however, the contact was disconnected after providing information to the manufacturer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564664January 10, 2024
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact stated that while driving at approximately 80 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was placed in neutral(N) and steered to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564686January 10, 2024
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While we were driving home (3 people in my car), with no notice, my car lost complete acceleration and broke down while we were on the highway. We hardly had notice to understand what was happening, let alone the other cars/people behind us on the highway where we almost got hit before being able to pull over to the side of the highway. We then had to wait for a tow-truck, again, on the shoulder of a very busy highway. Later, I came to find out that this was "sudden and unexpected engine failure" that occurs in multiple models of Kia and Hyundai that was included in the Hyundai and Kia Engine Litigation, Case No. 8:17-cv-00838, and Hyundai and Kia Engine Litigation II, No. 8:18-cv-02223-JLS-JDE, New Theta II Class Action Lawsuit. Unfortunately, this was the first time I had heard of this, as I'd never received any recalls or notices for my car around this, even though my car is a part of this. As I am in contact with Kia Customer Care attempting to resolve this issue - which has been an awful experience so far - they have informed me that the RECALL CAMPAIGN PI1802B - PI1802 ECU UPGRADE - is a "product improvement" instead of a safety issue, in which I COMPLETELY disagree! This put the 3 people inside my car at the time of the engine failure in danger on the highway with zero notice except for when it happened, as well as the other people/cars on the highway surrounding my car. Clearly this has been a much wider issue for Kia and Hyundai that has called for class action lawsuits, and my experience has been terrible so far trying to get this resolved. I'm extremely unhappy with their customer service and "help" this far, and even more upset that this did cause safety issues that it feels they don't care at all about correcting or taking care of their customers.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564484January 9, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
HECU has been replaced but has not been free
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11564154January 8, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, his wife observed a burning odor inside the cabin. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was advised that parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was 158,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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