10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 4 / 1
- Average Mileage:
- 55,682 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.
The contact called on behalf of his deceased daughter who was driving a 2009 Kia Optima. The daughter was driving at an unknown speed and went into oncoming traffic, went down an embankment and crashed into a tree head on where the vehicle came to a stop. The exact events were uncertain. None of the air bags deployed. As a result, the daughter was transported to a hospital where she was pronounced deceased. The front passenger sustained a fractured femur and the rear passenger sustained unknown injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center (riverside collision center located on 1441 South branch river rd, romney, wv 26757) where they were refusing to release the vehicle unless the manufacturer repurchased it. The vehicle was currently in possession of the collision center. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Paw Paw, WV, USA
The airbag (SRS) warning light came on and stayed on at about 88,200 miles in October, 2018. I first noticed this while driving but the light stayed on ever since then. Took the vehicle to a Kia dealer who checked the vehicle's diagnostic code (B1346) and told me the airbag clock spring was faulty and needed to be replaced. This was done after they ordered the part for a total cost to me of $329.72. The clock spring problem was covered under a recall for 2008 Optimas and some other Kia models. Since the SRS system may not function properly with a faulty air bag clock spring, this is a serious safety component problem and should be covered by Kia like it was for previous model years.
- Tucson, AZ, USA
SRS light came on while stationary and continued while vehicle is running..now it stays on all the time. No matter how many times they reset it comes back next day and stays on.
- Belle Chasse, LA, USA
The contact owns a 2009 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the air bag indicator remained illuminated. The dealer was contacted (university Kia, 6519 university dr nw, huntsville, al 35806, (256) 217-1700) to inspect and diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 94,913.
- Huntsville, AL, USA
Air bag light is on and we've been told by the dealer that it's a faulty clock spring in the steering wheel. There was a recall up to 2008 Optima's for this issue but not the 2009. This should be investigated as a known issue as I've seen many complaints. It's a safety issue that Kia should pay since the airbag may not deploy an it's an expensive replacement and special order. The dealer will not cover this replacement.
- Escondido, CA, USA
My car has 60,603 miles on it the SRS light is illuminated it has remained on for the past week. I have not been in an accident. After extensive online research I've noticed that there were thousands of Kia's recalled all the way up to 2008 for this exact problem as it stands now although it's a known problem it will not be covered under any hundred thousand miles warranty.
- Hannibal, MO, USA
Airbag light stays on. This is apparently an ongoing problem with 2009 Optimas
- Glendale, AZ, USA
Airbag light came back on, after passenger mat replaced on recall. They found codes B1346 and B1481 for driver's airbag resistance too high for stages 1 and 2. need to diagnose if airbag is faulty or clock spring.
- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA
Took 2009 Kia to dealership, Tuesday, August 2, 2016 because of air bag illumination. Was told it was two things. The OCS mat in the passenger seat was defective and the clock spring assembly located in the steering column. Kia issued a recall on the 2008 Optima for this very same issue (clock spring assembly). The recall should be extended to include the 2009 Kia Optima. We did, however, receive a letter from Kia regarding the OCS mat in the passenger seat. Unfortunately, Kia will not pay for the repair even though they know it is a defect on their part. Prices for repair? over $1,500. These two items are clearly a safety issue and Kia needs to step up to the plate repair these safety issues. These issues did not occur because of misuse - they are occurring and have occurred because of known defects.
- Cypress, TX, USA
The air bag warning light stays illuminated. Received letter from Kia in July 2016 that it would extend the warranty coverage for this issue. It stated to take the vehicle in and have it checked and that if any problems it would be taken care of. In reality, that is not true. Only if you purchased the extended warranty would these known air bag issues be handled by Kia. The cost to repair? $1,500.
- Cypress, TX, USA
Seatbelt light is on. Dealer says it's a clock spring that's not under my warranty or extended warranty and will cost $335 on top of the $84 I paid for diagnosis. It appears there have been several complaints on 2009's and there was a recall on 2008's for this problem.
- Wabash, IN, USA
Airbag light has come on, won't go off and now ehicle won't pass state inspection.
- Hickory, NC, USA
Air bag light stays on. Nothing happens on the vehicle
- Bloomington, IL, USA
My complaint regards the air bag system. The air bag light came on in 2015 and has remained on. My car will not pass inspection with the light on and while Kia recalled the 2008 models, they have not recalled the 2009 models despite multiple reports of issues with both the air bags and the air bag light. Last year, the dealer found a loose sensor that they reconnected, in order for the car to pass inspection. However, the light came back on the next day. At this point, I don't know if my air bags are functioning properly and I'm stuck because the vehicle won't pass inspection. The date is estimated as it happened between June 2014 and June 2015 when I was up for my next inspection.
- Leesburg, VA, USA
The light has been on since the middle of 2013 and the dealership when asked during each oil change is we will check it out. Ever since I have purchased this vehicle there has been problems with this vehicle.
- Duluth, GA, USA
While hitting several trees in my Kia Optima, going about 45mph, the air bags did not deploy. My insurance company said from their experience and from looking at the damage of the car, they also think the air bags should have deployed. However, nobody was seriously injured, no thanks to the air bags.
- Dry Ridge, KY, USA
For a long time, the air bag warning light comes on and stays on. We have taken the Kia to two different dealerships. Each one said that there is nothing wrong with the air bag and turned off the warning light. Both dealerships said that, if you put a cell phone on a Kia car seat, that will set off the air bag warning light even though nothing is wrong with the car seat. The air bag warning light comes on whenever we start the car and stays on the entire time, until we take it to a dealership to have the light turned off during regular service department hours. This means that we don't have an air bag warning light, because, if it's on all the time, we will never know when we do have an air bag problem. Since our Ford and our Hyundai never had this problem when we put a cell phone on the car seat, this is clearly a design flaw in the Kia air bag warning system. Because your form only allows one date and mileage entry, I will tell you that we took our Kia to king Kia on 09/26/2014, when the mileage was 68,239, and to herson's Kia on 10/21/2015, when the mileage was 71,649. So Kia has not fixed the problem. Updated 12/18/15
- Rockville, MD, USA
The airbag light has been cleared 3 times and it keeps coming on. They recalled there 2008 models and my car was made it 2008, and I see a lot of people online with the same problem, they need to recall 2009 models.
- York, PA, USA
There is an existing recall for this problem for this model up to manufacture date of Jan 2008 (SC094). However, my vehicle manufactured Oct 2008 exhibits the same failure. I believe this recall should be extended to the 2009 model year.
- Woodbury, MN, USA
- Oldsmar, FL, USA