I could not brake and almost caused a car accident. Brakes gave out, no gas, it smelled like it was going to catch on fire.

- Portage , IN, USA

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.

- Victorville, CA, USA

18V363 17220 it has made a loud clanking/knocking noise. It stalled then completly died once I got off the main highway and wouldnt crank again. It uses an awful lot of oil. Upon first oil change it had shards of metal in it. The place I got the vehicle from says they put new motor in it among other things but I havent seen in change in things other than it doesnt smoke under the hood while idling.

- Berry, AL, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 20 mph, the contact attempted to make a right turn and the vehicle shut-off without warning. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where he was informed that engine had seized. The contact then had the vehicle towed to jts Kia of rock hill (840 N anderson rd, rock hill, SC 29730) where the vehicle remained in their possession. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000. The VIN was not available.

- Rock Hill, SC, USA

Transmission is sometime shifting abruptly, & also slow to up shift gears.

- Lesage, WV, USA

Recently when I hit about 103,000 miles my 2011 Kia Optima 2.0 turbo transmission has been acting strange. When driving for a little while and coming to a complete stop as I'm pulling off accelerating the car jerks make and won't accelerate past 40 mph. After doing acouple research I was told it's the transmission temperature sensor. I. believe this is a serious problem due to the fact as your pulling off after the complete stop it jerks so hard you jerk so hard with the car. Also if anybody is behind you and it does that sudden jurk it can cause an accident because the driver behind you isn't aware because it's not like your hitting the breaks. I also searched online that this model and year car has two open recalls for engine and transmission problems (unknown).

- Pennsauken, NJ, USA

While on my way to pick up my daughter from school at around between 1 and 2 oclock pm I was stopped at a 4 way stop at ga hwy 225 in springplace, as I proceeded through the 4 way while in motion I hear and feel a sudden jolt to my vehicle and I skid to a stop thank god it had just went through the stop sign and did not gain any speed. I exited the vehicle and glanced underneath thinking that I had hit something, instead I noticed that my motor and transmission where no longer connected to my vehicle on the driver side but they where laying almost on the ground. I had to call a tow truck to have my car towed home and make arrangements for my daughter. My vehicle was one on the list that had a recall on the motor the replacement motor was installed around March of 2017. It has not showed any signs of trouble until this.

- Chatsworth, GA, USA

Vehicle will not start. Engine and ignition replaced due to bearing wear recall. Transmission replaced 2 weeks ago for rebuilt one, and now car won't start. It's been 2 days and Kia has not been able to tell me what is wrong with it. The reason I wanted to submit this complaint is because I believe there should be a recall on transmissions installed in these vehicles. Kia wanted me to wait from 10 Sep to mid Dec because these transmissions are on back order. Which means there's so much demand that Dec is the earliest they could receive it. Their shop is full, mostly of these cars (Optima). They expected me to wait 3 months without a car in order to give them time. It just boggles my mind that they could do this. The craziest thing is that expect everyone to wait this long. I talked to 3 different costumers who are all having the same exact problem with the same cars, and they were told the same thing. I purchased this vehicle in 2014 used, only one previous owner, never had any accidents, now has 111,000+ miles. Always did all maintenance checks, oil & filter changes, tune ups, fluids change and yearly inspections. Only used for going to work and coming home 5 days a week (approx. 54 miles per day). I decided to repair transmission at other place & ended up saving $1100. Kia wanted to charge $2,700 for rebuild transmission & found a guy that charged me $1,600 for rebuild one. Kia never gave me quote copy. Just told me over the phone. How convenient! guy told me the way these transmissions were built it's simply bad engineering. And showed me the part of the transmission that broke. Would upload the documents, but I left in my car! can still provide them though! the safety issue was that the transmission went out while driving at 65 mph on a busy highway in houston! the car simply died on the middle of the highway. So I can only assume you know what that feels like!

- Montgomery, TX, USA

Beginning in spring 2017 my 2011 Kia Optima ex turbo (I bought it brand new, only owner) began stuttering while in motion (as if someone were pumping the brakes). The car stalls and dies at red lights and stop signs and needs restarted. It also stalls and dies while in motion, most disturbing in high speed, high traffic intersections and at 70 mph highway speeds. I will be traveling on high speed interstates and the car just dies and I have to hope I have enough momentum to safely get over to the breakdown lane without causing an accident. The check engine light usually goes on and off at least four times in between each service attempt. It has been analyzed and given attempted repairs by a Kia dealership four times since late May 2017 (see attached records), but the stalling and stuttering problems persist. I picked up the car from its last service on 10/18/17 and the same problems began manifesting again. This is now the fifth time. I have no idea what the problem with the car is (unknown) and it seems Kia's service help line for mechanic assistance does not either. The most recent time the car was at the dealership for service, Kia sent out a national service specialist to investigate the car, to no avail. 1) 5/31/17 - replaced map sensor (I paid $600 and it did not fix the problem) 2) 6/30/17 - tested grounds and replaced connections 3) 7/25/17 - replaced turbo and intercooler system 4) 10/12/17 - replaced engine computer 5) unknown - still problematic - asking for replacement vehicle from Kia the car has 91,410 miles and is still covered under the 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. This car is a major safety hazard, especially when it stalls and dies out in high speed, high traffic intersections and on freeways while traveling 70 mph. Kia obviously does not know how to fix it.

- Urbana, OH, USA

My Kia was making a whistling noise on and off for awhile then my oil light would flicker so I figured I need an oil change. Got my oil changed and then the car started make a knocking noise and would get worse with acceleration and would have a hard time accelerating. It would jolt and vibrate and make knocking and flapping noises. Turn on my road to go home and lost power. My car slowly came to a stop I could not accelerate at all. My engine, battery, oil, and eps light came on. I tried starting it up and would come on for about 5 seconds make a lot of noise and the engine would turn off but my radio and windows still worked. My ac was on but not cooling. All the cabin lights work still but my brake are stiff.

- Marble Falls, TX, USA

On September 25, 2016, I was driving my 2011 Kia Optima to church with my 2 children. After coming up on a red light I stopped and then proceeded to go when the light turned green. I was able to get through the light and accelerate up a slight hill at about 35-40mph. After going over hill, I was not able to press the gas to keep going and my brakes ended up locking up so I had to get in far lane in order for the car to coast into a store parking lot. All the lights on the car came on and car literally just cut off. Thankfully it was not a lot of cars on the road to cause an accident. I contacted a tow company the next day to have it towed to a mechanic and said the car still wanted to turn over but something was blocking it from starting so I had it towed to a 2nd mechanic for diagnostics and it appears that the connecting rod is the issue. I've maintained the car with the same mechanic for the past 3 years and I have a little of 140K miles. I've talked with the dealership and said I could have the car towed there and they would perform a diagnostic test for about $99 an hour and if the engine was the issue it would not be covered because of the warranty is only for 120K miles and that I must have all my paperwork for maintenance from the mechanic I used.

- Huntersville, NC, USA

Shortly after test driving and buying a used 2011 Kia Optima LX, we began experiencing an intermittent engine hesitation problem when accelerating at low speeds. It may not occur for many miles of slow-and-go traffic but, when it happens, it is shocking because the engine feels like it is going to completely die for up to 3 or 4 seconds. This can be very dangerous while turning onto a busy highway or crossing a high speed intersection.I this hesitation problem will occur at random regardless of whether the engine or the weather is cold or warm. We left this car at a Kia dealer for several days but they were unable to determine the cause of the engine hesitation problem. The engine has hesitated several times in the past month.

- Little Elm, TX, USA

When putting the car in gear, it would jerk really hard like I had hit something. At first it only did it once or twice within a month so it was hard to duplicate. Recently it started getting consistent. It would jerk hard when putting it in gear or park. Also going down the road it shifted really had like something was slipping. It didn't matter if it was in the morning or afternoon. Twice this week, it did it each time I went somewhere. The shifts were sometimes shorter and more often. It felt like it was maybe slipping or needed fluid. I took it in and determined it was the transmission temperature sensor. They replaced trany temp sensor, code P0711. There was no code on the dash, they had to check it in the transmission. It worked.

- Va Beach, VA, USA

My Kia Optima (2011) had started a ticking engine noise at around 90K mark and now it's escalated to a lower end was told by service departmenta T about 92K it was normal noise of camshaft and I only noticed it under loads and higher elevation on overpasses. I have been using mobil1, fully synthetic motor oils and a K&N oil filters. This last week I have noticed that it was getting louder.and from the engine compartment. I asked the Hyundai dealership that my wife's 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe sport was gettingi ts oil changed@ and yes with mobil1, and they told me about a recall on the motor plant in Alabama that supplies the engines of both for those years models had an metallic fragments left un engine at manufacturer of engine and has issued a recall. So I called Kia consumer products department and they apparently have hidden behind the relocation to the Georgia plant and said that my car is Korean duh so that means that the engine is Korean. When I called dealership and machine shops both have same parts just a different part # so it will avoid a recall but that is splitting up the division of brands not the place where my Kia engine was made in Alabama and so was the sonatas. Just different numbers. Corporate governance needs to step in and take out the blatant disregard for the law and order of faithful owner's of the Kia and Hyundai vehicles. I have not heard from Kia and im in need of the nhsta to get involved. And do an investigation into the Hyundai and Kia motor plants recall for you and me the consumer products safety commission next step I guess.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

On 5-4-14 I was driving from Wisconsin when we decided to stop at wal-mart, while we were waiting for a person to move out of its parking spot, my Optima start to accelerate even when I had my foot in the brake, my first reaction was to move the gear shift to neutral and then the engine start racing up the RPM were very fast (was in neutral), at the moment a lady and her small kid were crossing in front of my car, god knows what it would happened if I wouldn't move the gear to neutral. This is the third time last year it did the same thing in July when I was at the stop sign, the second time was this year in January when I came back home from work then I was parking when the car starting accelerating but I was holding up with concrete bar on the ground that is in my parking lot, at that time I shut the engine off, but it was not much of concern because I was not driving the car in the street. Next day (5-5-14) took the car to the dealer, and they contacted Kia to report this issue, on May 7 at 4:20 pm a gentleman from Kia his name was [xxx] called me to get some information about this sudden acceleration and told him everything that happened and gave a case #2706364, then on 5-7-14 another gentleman from Kia corporation called me, his name [xxx], and told me that he is in charge of my case now and will call me to let me know about the outcome of this, well he didn't call so I called him back on 5-15-14, (10 days later), he told me he was waiting for the dealership to call him, I went to the dealer and I was informed by ed the service manager that they were doing some tests, he called me later saying that he talked to [xxx] in Kia corporation and he gave 11 point of inspection to do. Situation should be investigated by NHTSA to avoid any future incidents that could cause some serious injuries or fatalities. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Harwood Hts, IL, USA

Sudden acceleration! happened approximately 6 months ago and again on May 10th. Going slowly towards a stop sign while braking to stop, the car suddenly accelerates and lunges forward. Stepped on the brake but car keeps going. Put shift lever in neutral with engine racing and after about 2 seconds the engine slowly drops to idle. No accidents caused because no one was in front of me. Very dangerous situation! took car to the dealer on May 15th and they could find no codes present and said the vehicle was operating as designed.

- Ft Myers , FL, USA

I have a 2011 Kia Optima LX, one night while driving home from work aloud boom sound with a jerk of the car and all power was gone at once. There was nothing, lights out, in and out and no acceleration, then after about 10 seconds all power returned, before and after this there was no warning of any kind, it has happened a total of three times so far.2nd time at an intersection and the 3rd time in heavy traffic, the only way I got out of traffic the car coasted, all the while steering was very hard, had to be towed to the dealership because power did not return. While they were about to check, once again the power returned all on its own in front of them, they run diagnostics, still not showing anything, so they keep giving me no answers, and putting me back into fear. 4 other repairs was made before these last 3 recurring incidents ;vehicle would not shut off with removal of the key; horns quit working; brake light switch, because could not get car into gear; fuse to the phone charger. Back to the shut downs the service techs.said they don't know what to fix! and the Kia Corp. Stand behind the same answer. They know how to make these cars what's wrong with fixing these problems especially electrical issues like this! I suggest to anyone who's reading this don't buy a Kia of anykind!

- Pageland, SC, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. While driving approximately 40 mph, the transmission exhibited a jerking motion and failed to respond when engaging the accelerator pedal. The rpms began to increase rapidly. The contact was able to maneuver to the side of the road. Upon restarting, the vehicle resumed normally for a short period and the failure recurred. The failure occurred three times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer three times for the identical failure and they were unable to duplicate or locate the problem. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 36,000.

- Riverside, CA, USA

This is update to ODI #10453907. Optima hybrid still experiencing power loss problems. Latest is at cold start, when it starts in ev mode, system indicates ready, shift into reverse or drive, car doesn't move. If we turn it off and re-start it, it operates normally. When this happens, dash icon indicates hybrid system malfunction. At re-start light goes off. Dealer can find no trouble codes stored.

- Marathon, NY, USA

Sometime around June 4, on an expressway at 70 mph, it felt like I had hit something. There was a violent slam in the front of the car. I pulled the car to the side of the expressway to see if I had hit something. After seeing that I had not hit anything, I got back in the car to get back on the expressway. I put the car in gear and tried to accelerate and the car would hardly move as though it were starting off in a high gear. I drove toward the next exit at 55 mph at around 3500 RPM and it felt as though the vehicle never shifted gears. When I got off the next exit to return home, the vehicle did not shift into low, it stayed in a high gear. I drove home in one gear and got home to back into the garage, and when I shifted the car into reverse, it slammed into gear. I parked and went inside for the evening intent on getting the dealer to send a wrecker for the vehicle in the morning. I got up the next morning to see if the car was still acting the same way. I started the car up and it drove perfect, shifting through all of the gears as it was supposed to behave. We took it to the dealer and they supposedly found the problem and we left with our "repaired" vehicle. On June 26, while driving the car at 50 mph on a surface street, the same "slam" happened in the front of the car, frightening my wife. She then pulled to the side of the road, stopped the car, and shut it off. She restarted the car and it shift as it was supposed to. She came back home, parked the car in the garage and called the dealer. She started the car on June 27 to go to the dealer, went down the road approximately 3 miles and the same event occurred. She pulled over, restarted the car and drove to the dealer. They now have the car and say they are going to replace the transmission at 12000 miles.

- Cataula, GA, USA