10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 16
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
50,853 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #104

Feb 092024

Optima

  • miles
the engine stop ruanning i got the code P1B96, P1B74, POA4C

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #103

Jan 042024

Optima

  • miles
My vehicles check engine light came on and I started feeling a lack of power in my car. Sluggish to accelerate. When the car was plugged in and diagnosed, it came up as the knock sensors. We had those replaced and the car ran fine for a few days but then it died out of nowhere. Check engine light came on again and it came up as knock sensors again. We had those replaced again and also had an oil change. Again-?? it was fine for a few days than started to knock-?? as I was driving the vehicle is completely seized on me. I almost went off a bridge because it didn-??t allow me to press the breaks or anything. Brough it to the shop and they are saying the knock sensor popped up again but the engine is seized/blown. I was told this was not the first vehicle with my year make and model to do this and in this order.

- Marseilles, IL, USA

problem #102

Sep 252023

Optima

  • miles
In touch with 2 local dealers, one so far does not have the replacement part to resolve the recall on the hydraulic electronic control unit, one has yet to call me back to schedule for service. I am experiencing a burning/melting smell through my vents when the vehicle is not in motion.

- Dover, DE, USA

problem #101

Oct 052023

Optima

  • miles
car stopped mid freeway 3 times engine light turned on engine started smoking took too dealer per the recall notice and they took 3 months could not fix and wanted to charge me 600 for changing a battery but car still will not run so they want payment for a car I must tow and has had over 5 recall notices..at this point the car is unsafe I need remedy

- Ontario, CA, USA

problem #100

Jan 172024

Optima

  • miles
I bought my 2013 Kia optima ex from a private seller about half a year ago. I've had a few problems here and there that we're easily diagnosed and fixed. The radiator, alternator, starter, battery, serpentine belt, headlights, tail lights, licence plate light, tires, cabin air filter, and keyless start key fob have all been replaced. I just recently got my key fob(OEM) programmed by a licensed mechanic. The next day the car was perfectly fine. Ran smoothly and had no problems at all. I parked it and went to bed. Next day I get up early and start the car to warm up before I take my kids to the bus stop for school. It was between 5-7 minutes later and I went outside to the car and smelled an overwhelmingly strong plastic/chemical burning type smell coming from the car. I got in and saw that the air conditioning was on low and i turned it off, thinking the smell was because it was cold and the air needed to be off to stop the smell... I drove my son to the bus stop one block away and there was no dash light on but the smell was still there so I turned the car off and we got out of the car. After the bus got my son, I got in the car and could still smell the burning smell but tried to start it to take it home and the dash lights came on like normal then all turned off except the check engine light, oil light, battery light, key light, eps light. The car made one click noise under the hood and did not start or make any noises indicating an attempt to start. The key light the turned off but the oil, battery, engine lights remained. I turned the car back off and downloaded an app called justask to ask a mechanic about the problem and he said to call the master lube where I had gotten an oil change a few weeks prior and ask them what to do because of the oil light being on and the possibility that they overfilled it which could cause problems.i called. the oil was fine, no leaks, he has no idea why it isn't starting. So I call the mechanic. No idea what is wrong still....

- Carlsbad, NM, USA

problem #99

Nov 142023

Optima

  • miles
My 2013 Kia Optima has a safety hazard recall and I want to know why is Kia dragging its feet on a possible fire hazard on a hecu fuse.....seems like a simple fix... but I am [xxx] old and cannot drive my car and must park it outside in this cold weather.....please ntsb look into what is taking so long for a simple fuse replacement.....thank you information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Selbyville, DE, USA

problem #98

Jan 112023

Optima

  • miles
The car dealership i bought my kia from is fully aware of this safety recall, Should he have sold me the car with out telling me" Can I take this car back and get my money back"

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #97

Oct 152023

Optima

  • miles
On or around Oct.15th 2023, My abs light, engine light, and all these other lights came on. So i got it home i got a recall notice in the mail that day saying to park my car away from structures and other vehicles. So i had it towed to a kia dealer here in town. they had it for a week. they said they performed a diagnostic on it and replaced the recall part to come get it. So i go get it i drive off got a mile down the road and all the lights came on and said pull over and shut car off. So there iam on the side of the road calling a tow truck to tow my car back to the dealer. if they would have drove the car after fixing it they would experianced the all the lights lighting up on my dash. Now that want to tell me there is no remedy to the recall fix and that i need a new electric battery and it is going to cost me $12,000. This is my only means of transportation. Can someone stop messing around and take this seriously, now the kia dealer is paying for a tow to tow my safety hazard car back to my house. Now it does not run... It ran when it got towed there.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #96

Oct 152023

Optima

  • miles
in the middle of october around the 15th 2023 (HECU) hYDRAULIC electrical control unit light, the ABS light, the ENGIN light, and a couple of other unknown lights up and than my car tell me to pull over and shut down. you will have to tow it for inspection upon request due to all the warning light. my car had 117,000 document miles on it when i bought it, it now has 128,000. I paid cash for this car and it was my only means for my daughter and i to get to school work and with her dad in the hospital slowly still not out of the woods recovering throat cancer surgery patient. (ALL DOCUMENTED) on legal true facts statements dated sealed and signed documents for every statement stating true facts of this information that i am representing to you on December 1st 2023 My Neighbors, animals, property and family are at safety risk with the cars capability's to just combust SITTING OR DRIVING. Kia Corp. and Kia of Tucson both via verbal telephonic told me there is not a part to fix the recall just yet.. I do have a open case with NHTS. There were no prior warnings.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #95

Nov 172023

Optima

  • miles
NINE RECALLS FROM KIA AND VERY DANGEROUS. RIGHT WHEN I THINK KIA CANT GET ANY MORE DANGEROUS WITH 2013 KIA OPTIMA AND BEING UNLUCKY ENOUGH TO OWN THE WHITE PEARL MODEL WITH PAINT THAT IS DOWN TO THE METAL, LAST RECALL AIRBAGS, SEATBELTS ECT. THIS LETTER TAKES THE CAKE. OUR RECORDS SHOW YOUR VECHICLE IS AFFECTED WITH PART WE DO NOT HAVE YET BUT -?? PARK YOUR VECHICLE OUTDOORS AND AWAY FROM STRUCTURS AND OTHER VECHICLES CAR ENGINE CAN CATCH FIRE DRIVING OR PARKED. SHOOT FORGET ABOUT US IT GOES ON TO SAY IF YOU BURNING MELTING SMELL WHILE DRIVING PULL OVER AND REMOVE KEY EXIT CAR TO SAFE LOCATION..WELL KIA THANKS FOR THE HEADS-UP HOPE WE MAKE IT OUT OF CAR AND WOW YOU WILL SEND LETTER WHEN PART COMES IN..TERRIFYING LETTER BUT, LOVE THAT YOU CARE MORE ABOUT PARKING AWAY FROM STRUTURES, OTHER VECHICLES OUTDOORS UNTIL YOU CAN GET THE PART. BAD ENOUGH PAINT IS ALL OVER THE ROAD CHIPPING OFF. Guessing don't have to worry about that right now knowing I can catch on fire even when it is parked. NOTHING TELLING US NOT TO DRIVE JUST MAKE SURE IF WE CATCH FIRE TO GET OUT! YOU WERE CLEAR ABOUT PROTECTING STRUCTURES AND OTHER VEHICLES. WORST COMPANY AND DANGEROUS COMPANY. TELL YOUR NEIGHBORS COWORKERS FRIENDS DO NOT BUY A KIA. UNTIL NEW CEO AND ACCOUTABILITY THIS COMPANY CARES LITTLE ABOUT LIFE OR LOSS. MANY OF US ARE JOINING CLASS ACTION SUIT. NHTSA GOV DO YOUR JOB HOW ARE YOU LETTING THIS COMPANY BE SO CARELESS ARE YOU NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE 1000 of complaints and fear on this model and company? EVENTUALLY, THIS WILL ALL BLOW UP AND LIFE WILL BE LOST MORE THAN SHOULD BE ALREADY.

- Westlake Village , CA, USA

problem #94

May 202023

Optima

  • miles
My car is a total lost. Car caught fire while I was driving with my 2 Daughters. Brakes went out had to jump out of car.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #93

Feb 062023

Optima

  • miles
When going over bumpy roads, turning right or leaning on the driver side door the car thinks it-??s open and lights come

- Brighton, MA, USA

problem #92

Jan 042023

Optima

  • miles
While driving the EPS light comes on and after that the dash board stops working to wear you're not able to see the speed limit anymore. It also declines the car of any speed. And if you put it in park it won't allow you to shift out of that gear. Dealership said its the HECU.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #91

Dec 202022

Optima

  • miles
1. Vehicle refuse to start had to have it towed to a shop to have a new battery placed in 2. Replacement of battery caused a short in stereo system resulting in the replacement with a new stereo system 3. Engine began to knock 12/19/22 took car to Car-Mart was given a list of mechanics to call made an appointment with Dominion in Farmington Arkansas for the morning of December 21st 4. Car decelerated and check engine light came on just before Exit 70 on I-49 near Johnson Mill Boulevard pulled over to the side of the interstate was able to move the vehicle forward to Exit 70 at 20 miles per hour to get off the interstate and park at Casey's General Store on Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale 5. Car was towed to Dominion Auto in Farmington Arkansas 6. I was not informed of any recall on my vehicle or any dangers impose to me or my family including my two small children upon purchase of the vehicle or registration of the vehicle or within 90 days of registration 7. Came to this website to post a complaint and found out I not only have one recall but two that I was unaware

- Fayetteville , AR, USA

problem #90

Jan 202021

Optima

  • miles
I have been having electrical/lighting issues for about a year. It initially started with the inside lights intermittently flashing when opening the door or attempting to use the interior lights; however sometimes the automatic interior lights did not come on at all when set to automatically turn on when a door opened, but now the lights don-??t come on at all when opening the door. I have also had some headlight and dashboard lights going on and off while driving. I have experienced this on at least 3 occasions since last June or July. I have done some of my own testing by switching the lights to different functions, on and off, etc. Because it has only happened 3 times I-??m not sure exactly what the issue is and scared that at some point, they won-??t work at all. This is very concerning and obviously a safety issue. In addition, just recently my interior speaker system began having issues when using the hands free call option. With every call I make or take while using the hands free option, the call goes in and out constantly and consistently. It doesn-??t happen to those on the other end of the line. It does this every time for about the past month. The speakers work fine when listening to the radio. My phone works perfectly through the regular calling option or on the speaker option but that is not ideal while driving. As new issues continue to pop up, increase, progressively get worse, I-??m concerned there could be other current or future electrical problems in the engine or in regular safe functioning of the car leading to melting, fire, or a malfunction while driving, causing catastrophic results.

- Meridian, ID, USA

problem #89

Oct 062022

Optima

  • miles
Started with oil light flashing, then the other lights came on. Started losing speed, then lost all power to the engine, will not start back up with the engine, when trying to start it, the engine started smoking.

- Ramseur, NC, USA

problem #88

Oct 082021

Optima

  • miles
The vehicle-??s headlights have been extremely dimmed for years and my wife has just -??dealt with it-??. We-??ve had all the bulbs replaced and the issue persisted. Given recent medical conditions paired with this technical oversight, this could lead to severe injury or death if not resolved. Let me also add that the headlights no longer turn on as of this morning and Kia refuses to acknowledge or claim responsibility for this because -??the issue stems from identical vehicles manufactured in South Korea and not Georgia-?? -?? even though the symptoms very identically line up to TSB Number: WTY014.

- Winder, GA, USA

problem #87

Aug 192022

Optima

  • miles
I was driving on the highway, and knocking noise came out form the engine. The engine began to lose power, and I had to immediately to pull over the car. This car has a theta II engine, and had gone bad due excessive connecting rod bearing damage. I brought the car to a dealership, and confirmed this is the case. The engine only has 77k on it, and will need replacement. These engines are not safe, and should be replaced by dealerships.

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #86

Aug 032022

Optima

  • miles
The issue is with the front turn signal harness. After, changing the right side turn signal bulb twice I brought my Kia to West Hills Kia in Bremerton, WA-??The technician informed me that the front turn signal harness was not the correct harness for this type of vehicle. The service person at West Hills suggested that I contact Kia Corporation. I had emailed Vice President Mr. Shamit Choksey, Kia corporation for the above issue.

- Silverdale, WA, USA

problem #85

Jul 082022

Optima

  • miles
Unknown, car was fine then stopped out of no where yesterday, I was scheduled with Kia dealership to have recalled fixed next month but they called and canceled my recall this is now the 2nd attempt and they still have yet to fix recall and now car isn-??t working properly!

- Lawrenceville , GA, USA

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