Front passenger side door will mot open from the inside or outside causing you to be locked in the vehicle. Also when you try to open the door from inside the vehicle automatically locks the car. This is a safety hazard that needs to be address.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

Driver's side door will not open from either the inside or the outside. This is the second time that this has occurred but I was able to finally get the door open before and disengaged the actuator. As long as no one locked the door, it worked fine, however; mother recently had work done on her car and when they returned it, they locked the door. I've spent numerous hours trying to get the door open so that I can replace the mechanism and actuator but have been unsuccessful. After looking online, this seem to be an ongoing issue with Kia, this is a dangerous condition and needs to be looked into. Not sure how little elderly people are expected to safely get out of their vehicles in case of an emergency. (this happened while stationary on a flat, paved road).

- Cedar Park, TX, USA

Once the doors are locked, they can not be unlocked from the inside. The key must be inserted into the drivers side lock cylinder (outside) and manipulated for several minutes back and forth while at the same time pulling on the handle until the right combination of force and timing allow the door to be opened.

- Matthews, NC, USA

It is a well-known issue with Kia Optima cars that the door latch is faulty, and after various lengths of time, it will stop unlocking. By no longer unlocking, I mean under any condition. Using a remote, using the key, even sitting in the vehicle pressing the button on the door or manually moving the indicator by the handle. This is a severe safety issue. In the event of a wreck or other emergency situation, it is impossible to exit the driver's side door on my Kia Optima. No matter what you attempt, the door will not open. When you unlock it using any of the aforementioned methods, the car will automatically re-lock the door as soon as you touch the handle, either interior or exterior. While I can understand normal wear and tear eating away at the component, there is absolutely no reason for the car to default to the lock position in the case of such wear and tear. A simple solution would be to have the latch default to the open position, which will allow persons to exit the vehicle in case of emergency. If this has not already cost individuals their life, I am sure it is only a matter of time. This needs to be corrected immediately, before it costs me my family.

- Willis, TX, USA

The drivers side door lock will not unlock with the electrical button or manually. The lock only opens half way - pull handle to open - door automatically locks. Can't open door with key from outside. Must enter in passenger side door and climb over. Big danger as driving with children in the car.

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Kia Optima. The contact stated that he was unable to unlock and open the front driver's side door from the interior or exterior. After approximately twenty attempts, the contact was able to successfully unlock and open the door. The failure had since recurred on an intermittent basis. The vehicle was not taken to have the vehicle diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.

- Alexandria, VA, USA