10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
15,626 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #17

Oct 172022

Optima

  • miles
For the past 5-6 months I-€™m have ongoing issues with my engine and excessive oil consumption. I-€™ve completed the three oil consumption test per 1000 miles. On the last test(3rd check), I was told I passed and nothing further was needed. Approximately 1 month after that my engine light illuminated and my car violently shook upon acceleration and while sitting idle. Was informed it was my spark plugs and electric coil-€¦ oh and a routine oil change, which I paid to have repaired at approx. $650 this was in late August/Early September. Now here we are in late October and my oil lamp is on yet again! My car does not achieve speeds no higher than 50 mph. I-€™ve been to the dealership 7 times since April 2022. There-€™s an expense with owning cars but this is ridiculous. I-€™m currently a few hundred miles shy of 80,000 miles

- Riverview, FL, USA

problem #16

Jul 172022

Optima

  • miles
my fuse box melted, because of a burnt out fuse, too many electrical components made this fuse box melt and could have potentially started an electrical fire which could result in a crash and it could end up way worse maybe even death. I took my car to the service lane at kia and my service agent let me know that multiple cars are having this same problem where their fuse box burnt out. Its obviously a problem with a lot of kia optimas because i saw about 30 other kia optimas out in the parking lot waiting to be serviced and now ive been waiting two months for my car to get serviced.

- Phoenix , AZ, USA

problem #15

Jul 012022

Optima

  • miles
1. Headlights randomly fail and yes. 2. Headlights will completely go out at night while driving. Not being able to see in the dark while driving can be fatal to me, my family, and any nearby innocent bystanders. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No warnings at all and it started almost 2 weeks ago.

- Smiths Station, AL, USA

problem #14

Mar 052022

Optima

  • miles
March 2022, (approximately 72,000 miles)while driving to work my car shut off. I was in drive at a red light. Noticeable decreased acceleration and vibration. Took it to the dealership for routine oil change and mentioned incident. Technician was not able to find cause. Ok so be it. Now May at a little over 73,000 miles multiple lights began to illuminate and flash. Still with decreased acceleration it was noticed on a Friday morning on my way to work: 1. Oil light flashed on and off for approximately 2 minutes. 2. Air bag light stays on 3. Electronic Stability Control light stays on I scheduled an appointment for the next day. Took it into nearest Kia dealership. I was informed that my engine had no oil in it. The electrical board that signals my airbags and power steering is -€œmalfunctioning-€ and would need to be replaced. I was also told that since I just went for an oil change and was not due for another 3-4,000 miles maybe the -€œengine absorbed the oil as there are no visible leaks-€ I am set to return to Kia at the 1,000 mile mark to check oil levels to see if the oil is gone again. On my way to work again, on I-75 I felt extreme unsteadiness and loss of road grip with steering. Like I was loosing co trio of the vehicle while traveling at 55 miles an hour. As the original owner of this vehicle, with regular routine maintenance this is extremely concerning. I worry every day that my car will fail me and injure mine, my kids and others lives. I really hope this is looked into as a safety issue.

- Riverview, FL, USA

problem #13

Jan 092022

Optima

  • miles
My air conditioner all of a sudden went out. No air would blow. Took it to Kia and it turns out that a fuse box blew on the main wiring harness, evidenced by burn marks on the bottom which then blew out my fan motor. Seems that Kia has had a lot of faulty wiring harnesses and it could have definetly caused a fire and is a safety hazard. My car is out of warranty by 8k miles and they are trying to make me pay for something that I believe is a defect as they said themselves that they cant even determine the cause as this is not normal wear and tear nor something I could have caused. I cannot afford to pay for this and I do believe that Kia needs to make this right. Because everything electrical plugs into this one wiring harness, they have to replace the whole thing costing over $3600. There was no warnings or lights that came on. I do believe that this also messed with the airbag sensor in the passenger seat as well. This is not right for consumers to have to worry about this. This is a 2017 car... it should not be failing.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #12

Dec 162021

Optima

  • miles
Several weeks ago, we had trouble opening and closing the trunk of our 2017 KIA Optima. Then a few weeks ago, the trunk of our KIA Optima closed and would not open at all. Because of the pandemic, we didn't contact KIA. But today, 16 Dec. 2021, as my wife was driving north in heavy traffic on US Highway 25 in Albuquerque, NM, the trunk suddenly opened and blocked her view of the cars behind her. Luckily she was in the right lane and was able to exit the highway. Otherwise there might have been a serious accident. We bought the car in 2017 from Fiesta KIA in Albuquerque, NM (505-999-2745). They have been unresponsive.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #11

Oct 202021

Optima

  • miles
The vehicle automatically turns the headlights off automatically (at night). While driving and not touching the multi function switch, the vehicle indicate that the headlights were switched manually to the "off" position from the "auto" position on the multi function switch. This happens randomly at random intervals and most noticeable at night when the car is driving and the lights are turned off and is not reproducible on demand. The safety of both myself and the other vehicles around me are put at risk if my headlights cannot turn on or turn off by themselves at night while operating the vehicle. I went to the dealer, and they told me that even though the car is under warranty since the problem cannot be reproduced I would need to pay a $175 diagnostic fee, the dealer told me that Kia will charge them if they can't prove that the multi functional switch is defective. I contacted Kia customer service, they opened a claim, but did confirm that if the issue is not re-creatable on demand the dealer can charge a fee and there isn't anything they can do to waive that. They told me since it's a safety issue they could escalate the issue, so I agreed to escalate it. Then I never heard back after that. The lcd in the control cluster indicated that the lights were turned off (even though the switch was physically not touched and remained in the "auto" position for the lights). Other Kia Optima owners are experiencing this issue as seen here: https://www.optimaforums.com/threads/headlights-turn-off-automatically-at-night.169987/

- Maple Grove, MN, USA

problem #10

Mar 032021

Optima

  • 74,200 miles
The wiring harness was replaced in my 2017 Kia Optima in 2019 at approximately 45,000 miles. Kia replaced my engine January 2020 because it was consuming large amounts of oil. I just got my car back in January 28, 2021 with a supposedly new engine. On March 3, 2021, my car caught fire while pulling out of my neighborhood actually driving down the street. Smoke and flames were coming out from underneath the hood the of the car. The entire front end of the car burned. Thankfully, the fire department got the fire out and no one was injured.

- Sevierville, TN, USA

problem #9

Feb 022021

Optima

  • 24,000 miles
The wiring in these cars are coated with something that small rodents like to eat they chew through the tape then then wiring. Causing hybrid engine not to work lites come. Luckly no fire yet. Dealer say sorry that will be $ the cars wiring hybrid part. Rodents like to eat it Kia has coating on it that attracts them then it costs you thousands of dollars to fix their problem cause it's not covered by them. Luckly the car did not caught on fire yet.

- Lancaster, CA, USA

problem #8

Dec 312020

Optima

  • 64,000 miles
Getting onto the freeway accelerating, when heard rattling and saw smoke, exited the freeway and parked the vehicle. There was no warning or lights that came on prior or during this time. Had the car towed to the nearest Kia dealership in city of carson. I received a phone call on Saturday 1/2/2021 from tony at the dealership asking for permission to diagnose the vehicle. I agreed to the diagnostic testing. Received a call back within an hour to notify me that there was a hole in the engine, no repairs could be done and I needed a new engine. I asked how did the hole get in the engine. He said there was an internal rod that shot out of the engine creating a hole. It will cost $8,875 and will take around 3-4 weeks to repair. I purchased this vehicle in October 2017 with approx. 3000 miles on it. Started having issues with electrical about a month or two after purchase 2017-2018. I had to have it towed to the Kia in cerritos because it was inoperable, since then we have had it in to be serviced and have had multiple issues. Including another major issue in August 24, 2020 when they repaired the active air flaps and a new battery.

- Lakewood, CA, USA

problem #7

Aug 262020

Optima

  • miles
The plug that is attached to the charging cable for my electric charger caught fire while plugged into a dedicated wall outlet in my garage. Fortunately, no major structural damage nor bodily harm received. I contacted Kia and they have since replaced the charging cable with no further investigation or explanation as to what may have caused this to happen. As you can see from the pictures attached, the plug actually melted a little. I do believe major damage was subverted because I noticed my car was not charging and pulled the plug out of the wall to see if it needed to be re plugged. I don't know what would have happened had I not caught this right away. Usually I leave my car to charge over night. Scares me to think what could have happened.

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #6

Oct 072019

Optima

  • 15,450 miles
Bought on 9-12-2019 with approximately 15,400+ miles. It now has 15,750+ miles. It has stalled/powered off on me twice. First time was Oct 7, 2019, parked on the curb when I was picking up my daughter from school, when she got in the car and I was about to drive off from the curbside and when I lifted my foot off the brake and stepped on the gas, the car wouldn't move. I realized the power off so I switched the ignition to off and turned it on again to start the engine again. I thought it was just a little glitch. It happened again on Oct 26, 2019 when I was on the drive thru of taco bell. I was waiting in line and again, when I lifted my foot off the brake to move forward, it wouldn't move because the power had just shut off again. I had to restart the engine. I complained to my son about the car but didn't do anything about it because it was past the 7 day exchange or return. But planned to bring it up on my scheduled maintenance unless it happens again. I was always cautious and worried that I will stall in the middle of traffic or worse, while driving. Mostly the reason why I've only driven the car less than 300 miles since I bought it about 4.5 months ago. Then yesterday morning, Jan 28, 2020, on my errands to two doctor appointments, the passenger seatbelt sign was beeping and flashing the whole time I drove around that day, when there was nobody with me in the car. It finally stopped when in the afternoon when I was close to home and after I picked my prescriptions from the pharmacy close to my house. Now I am curious and wondering why the navy man traded this car in when he'd only had it for la year and spent money on new black rims and blacked out tinted windows. I would like to have an inquiry on what problems the previous owner had with the car because of the short time he owned it and drove it. I'm more terrified to drive after reading other's issues.

- Gurnee, IL, USA

problem #5

Jul 202019

Optima

  • miles
I was driving to work at night time for about a week straight my head lights would randomly turn on and off by their selves while I'm driving and then my car would be sitting in my parking space and my neighbors told me my lights would just be on all night and my car would be locked and everything and one day I went out to start my car and I couldn't even unlock it to get in it so I thought it might've been my car remote battery died and so I asked a neighbor that works on cars to see what it could be they popped my hood and checked my car battery and it was completely dead, they tried to give me a jump which was just enough to allow me to unlock and get into my vehicle but my car battery was completely fried due to headlight sensor.

- Columbia, TN, USA

problem #4

Jul 212019

Optima

  • 44,000 miles
While my significant other and I were driving down the highway our car began smoking from under the hood, then smoke began coming through the air vents inside the car; within seconds we seen flames coming out from under the hood and immediately evacuated the vehicle in heavy traffic with no where to pull over. Within minutes the entire car was engulfed in flames. There was no warning, our car was regularly maintained, there were no check engine lights or others displaying on the dash, no leaks or overheating to cause this.

- Santa Rosa, CA, USA

problem #3

Jun 172019

Optima

  • 39,000 miles
While I was driving probably about 45 miles an hour or so my car started to shake really hard then it shut off. Once it shut off the low oil light came on along with the check engine light and the low battery light as well. After that the car went completely dead. I turned the key to the off position and then tiredness it back on with with no problem. For my car to shut off while driving on a major street causes major concerns. One what if it happens again and I get in an accident or cause an accident.

- Victorville, CA, USA

problem #2

Jun 052017

Optima

  • 300 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the air bag indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to weseloh Kia carlsbad (located at 5331 paseo del norte, carlsbad, ca 92008 at (760) 496-3131) where it was diagnosed that the front passenger side seat belt was defective and caused the light to remain illuminated. The voltage alternator assembly needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle inadvertently drifted to the right and left. The vehicle was then taken back to weseloh Kia carlsbad, but no diagnostic codes were found and the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not repaired. On several occasions, while attempting to drive, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 300.

- Oceanside, CA, USA

problem #1

Apr 122017

Optima

  • 4,700 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Optima. While attempting to accelerate from a stop, the vehicle stalled without warning. As a result, another vehicle crashed into the rear of the contact's vehicle. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The contact was able to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to jeff wyler Kia (located at 5815 dixie hwy, fairfield, oh 45014) where it was diagnosed, but the technician could not find a failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer stated that they would get back with the contact. The contact had not heard back from the manufacturer. The approximate failure mileage was 4,700.

- Hamilton, OH, USA