10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 8
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 44,870 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Car being driven by my daughter suddenly stopped in the middle of traffic with a pull over and safely shut off vehicle warning. She however could not move. The vehicle also showed an error to the vehicle charging system. We towed the immobile vehicle to the local Kia dealership and were told there were no codes and the battery was fine. They requested that I allow them to remove the valve cover to check on belts. I approved. I called the dealership the following day to check in because I have not heard. I was told the hybrid parts were covered under warranty but that the engine was locked up. No reason or explanation, no warning. My child could have died due to her vehicle stopping in the middle of traffic.
- Amarillo, TX, USA
My 2012 Kia Optima on multiple occasions has shut off while the vehicle was in motion. While driving, as I decrease my speed, suddenly the car will experience jerking and then suddenly shut off. This has occur while driving on the freeway and traffic has slowed down to 10 mph or less and while approaching a light or crossing and intersection and traffic is slowing down. While the car is at steady speed, at 20 - 40 mph the car jerks as I'm trying to maintain with the flow of traffic. My car has had routine maintenance and mechanics have been unable to identify or remedy the issue. My last two incidents were 8/21/19 freeway while in the fast lane next to the carpool lane and now 8/29 on city street. I also experienced this on March 3,2019 (had a fuel pump replacement which still did not remedy the issue)
- Downey, CA, USA
Ac air conditioning unit: We have owned this vehicle since day 1. when utilizing ac air conditioning system during hot temperatures, fan begins to blow hot and humid air even at the lowest temperature setting. This has occurred throughout the time we have owned the vehicle and when reported to the dealership, they always state that the unit is working as it is designed. Their only solution is to bring it in each time it happens, which is absurd since it sometimes happens after they are closed. When I asked to diagnose the electrical system that correlates with the ac unit, they state that I would need to authorize the work and they do not know how long it would take. It could take 2 or 4 hours. At mechanical rate, that would be around $500. The most recent event was on August 28, 2019 when the car had approximately 88000 miles. I will taking it back for warranty issue on the clicking of the steering and will have them do their basic diagnosis because a tear own would be at my cost. Because I maintain my cars to keep them beyond 100K miles, I am concerned at the cost of an ac unit that has shown to not work properly. I was willing to live with loose steering issue, but this is more problematic since my wife is in menopause.
- Elk Grove, CA, USA
On 4/9/19, my vehicle caught fire while I was driving it from my work on way to simi valley first Kia dealership. I was on 118 freeway westbound in slow lane in chatsworth, ca. Onto freeway shoulder to call aaa when a stranger pulled up ahead of me, got out of his car, ran towards me shouting to me to get out, the car was on fire beneath level of the windows so I couldnt see the fire.. I got out, it blew up, & was totalled. No collision occurred. My witness saved my life. He took a video.
- Simi Valley, CA, USA
Kia Optima 2012 with 43000 miles horn doesn't work while steering wheel turned to the right. It works fine while steering straight/left but the moment turned right horn will only click/ no sound. I do have the airbag light on don't know if it is related. Worst case is, I have my state inspection due and with the SRS light and no horn, it will definitely fail. I guess that's what I get for owning a Kia.
- Farmers Branch, TX, USA
I have intermittent problems with the car starting. I have read through some of the forums and see others are having the same problem. If I have the power "on" and put it in drive them back in park it starts after several attempts. I have had the started and battery tested and they are not malfunctioning. This happens almost everyday for the last several months.
- Telford, PA, USA
I was driving on the freeway in the state of Utah. I was going 65 mph on the freeway when the car started shaking, followed by a stall on the engine that forced me to slow down and park on the side of the freeway. I have no idea what happened but I heard cracking noise coming from the engine. Now the car won't turn on.
- West Valley City, UT, USA
The 2012 Kia Optima ex continuously shuts off at random times while driving without warning. I have done basic maintance and non have solved the issue. This is a safety issue because there is no warning and it could cause a serious accident amongs other involving me and my car.
- Belle Glade, FL, USA
As I was driving with absolutely no warning at the time or prior to the car stopped accelerating completely and will not start back up. When plugged up yo cables lights and all indicators come on but the car never starts and there is no noise coming from the engine. I was just leaving my driveway on a regular side street proceeding foward at maybe 15mph
- Fort Washington, MD, USA
I was driving my car in union NJ on September 25 2018. I was on my way to pick up my next passenger doing uber. When I get to the stop light less than a mile away from the customer I start seen smoke coming from the hood of the car. I accelerate the car so I can look for a safe spot to get out and inspect the vehicle. I took a right into the school parking lot and when I came out the vehicle the car was on fire! there was a police officer minutes within the car catching on fire and called the firefighters. Police called back up and another patrol officer came. Firefighters came in about 5 minutes and turned the fire off. The vehicle in totaled, everything in the engine bay burned. The police called a towing company and seton towing Inc came and took the car.
- Glenwood, NJ, USA
I've been maintaining the health of my 2012 Kia Optima ex since I purchased in 2014 like clockwork. Last month, I experienced all the dash lights come on while in motion on city roads and I was unable to use the gas pedal. I frantically pulled over and turned the car off then tried to start it, only to be met with a weird sound and a cloud of smoke from the hood. My starter was fried, according to my mechanic. I had it towed to my mechanic and when he changed the starter, the new starter burned again as well as the engine locked up/seized. After finding out a recall (SC147) was active at the time, I called Kia consumer assistance and they replaced the engine issues after confirming that was the problem. Once I picked my car up, I noticed the car was starting up in an odd manner but thought it was due to the engine replacement. About 3-4 days later, my car did the exact same thing as the first time (same smell, sound, and smoke cloud but luckily I was parked at the time). I assumed the starter would be a part of the recall since it broke down the exact same time as the recalled engine, I took the car back to Kia, who told me they wouldn't pay for a new starter even though the engine recall caused it to burn up in the first place and is considered a component of the engine. I contacted Kia consumer again and the case was given to an escalation manager. I had to speak to about 8 different agents and put an email in action to her supervisor to get her to even contact me on this issue. It took her almost a full month to contact and tell me Kia is not responsible for the starter. I'm confused as to why it would not be covered because I've never had an issue with my starter until the engine failed. I am at a loss as to what I need to do to get Kia to see who is really at fault. My mechanic also stated this is the 1st time he's ever seen those 2 parts break simultaneously.
- Fort Pierce, FL, USA
Locked out of car automatically while key is in the car on two separate occasions. In the first instance (July 2018), I was en route and stopped briefly, got out of the car with it running while the key was still in the car. As soon as I closed the door, the car doors locked me out automatically. This was inconvenient and caused much distress because I was away from home picking up my infant child from preschool, and did not have the second key available. This was also embarrassing as my phone also was locked in the car. In the second instance (December 2018), I used the remote start to start the car in my driveway. After I put my infant child in the car seat and closed the door, the car turned itself off and all the doors locked automatically. My key was locked in the car with my child. This was a terrifying experience and it was colder than 40 degrees outside. I had to wait over 30 minutes to get my child out of the car. This is not just concerning, it is negligent for the manufacturers of this car to put unsuspecting car owners in this dangerous and unsafe position. The first occurrence I thought was a freak accident, but then it happened again. I researched the issue and found many issues and complaints from other owners similar to mine. This problem needs to be addressed immediately. There needs to be some owner awareness issued on how to rectify this and resolving this all together.
- Bowie, MD, USA
Driving my 2012 Kia Optima on the highway. Noticed the smell of smoke then visually saw smoke. Began to pull over and flames began to billow from under the hood. The brakes were not operational. Rolled to a stop and exited the vehicle. Car was fully engulfed within a minute.
- Miami, FL, USA
The morning of July 19th, 2018, I was driving my Kia Optima to work. I had just gotten on interstate 20 and was driving in the right most lane during rush hour. My sunroof shade was open but my actual sunroof was closed. Suddenly I heard what sounded like a shotgun going off in my car with the windows closed and somehow, I was able to drive fairly straight without jerking the steering wheel and causing a multi car pileup. Glass was flying around inside my car, all over me, the seats, floorboards, and console. I pulled the car over into the emergency lane so that I could figure out what had happened. After I exited the car and looked at the top, I noticed that the sunroof had a hole the size of a softball protruding outward. I looked around inside the car and nothing but shards of glass covered most of the interior. I then got back in the car and shut the sunroof shade so no more glass would fall inside the car and pulled off the nearest exit, which was very close to my office location. Once at work I searched online to find out if this was a common occurrence with other Kia Optima owners and as it turns out it appeared to be a well-known and documented problem. I then called the nearest Kia dealership and asked if there were any safety recalls associated with exploding sunroofs and was told 'no'. he said that he was aware that they sometimes occur but it was not a recall. Even though I have not incurred injury's or expenses (just aggravation and inconvenience because I had a second vehicle to drive) I feel that it is necessary to report this occurring due to it being very unsafe. The average driver probably would have pulled the wheel and possibly been killed or injured themselves or and others. Apparently, Kia does not appear to be very concerned about the issue and the safety of others, therefore something needs to be done to force them to address this problem.
- Leesville, SC, USA
I drove my vehicle home from work (12 miles), parked in my driveway (vehicle turned off, not running) and walked inside. I sat down and within a couple of minutes I heard a loud pop, I looked outside to see flames coming from under the hood of my car. By the time the fire department arrived and put out the fire, the car had burned to the ground and had melted all of the siding off of the front of my garage.
- Vale, NC, USA
Motor is locked up, shouldn't have happened
- Sulfur Springs, TX, USA
My steering wheel shakes when I am coming to a stop at a high speed.
- Vacaville, CA, USA
While my family and I were driving home at a speed of 45mph we lost engine power and brakes. Upon the vehicle finally stopping, black smoke began to pour out of the engine compartment. We immediately exited the vehicle and saw flames begin to spread from the engine. We were notified by an off duty deputy that he was going the opposite direction when he saw us with a fire underneath our vehicle while still moving. The vehicle ultimately went up in flames along with everything we had inside.
- Suffolk, VA, USA
Kia Optima 2012 LX complaint..I like to start off saying that the right passenger side up front stop working. All of a sudden, it will not whine down or up sometimes. It is an issue and more. The car sounds like when I crank up, it is a weird noise when warming up stand still. That goes for the window and car overall stand still. It has become an burden for the window can not go down.
- Kingstree, SC, USA
- Memphis, TN, USA