10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
12 / 75
Injuries / Deaths:
14 / 1
Average Mileage:
65,032 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #353

Apr 112021

Optima

  • 165,000 miles
While my husband was driving the vehicle the engine shut off and locked up. Luckily he wasnt on a major highway with lots of vehicles. He was on a straight road but had trouble pulling the vehicle off the road because everything was locked up. This is a known recall on Kia vehicles and the dealership is denying to fix it. There is an open class action lawsuit against Kia for engine failure that we will be signing.

- Bastrop, TX, USA

problem #352

Apr 192021

Optima

  • 128,100 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at 45 mph, the vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to vandevere Kia (328 w market St, akron, oh 44303) to be diagnosed. The mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 128,100.

- Mogadore, OH, USA

problem #351

Apr 172021

Optima

  • 71,000 miles
2013 Kia Optima ex with 71K miles. Car had a very slow start. Trouble light came on. Had left lights on for about 2 hours so thought that was the issue. Seemed okay so drove home. Notices slight gasoline smell in cabin. No more driving that day. Took to local shop. Code reader came back as fuel pump failure. Did some research and noticed many with same issue on this make/model/year and a recall or two as well. VIN check returned no outstanding recalls. Called Kia customer service. Was told my VIN was associated with a recall in 2018 (SC 147) but 'passed the test". SC 172 was issued later for a call back of those vehicles that had engines replaced under SC 147 for a high pressure fuel pipe issue. I honestly think my Optima is currently having whatever the issue was under SC 147 but since it tested okay in 2018 - oh well! since the fuel pump warranty expired in 2018, I guess I'm on my way to an almost $1,000 repair! seems like Kia should allow getting the original service call issue looked at again free of charge to see if it is now an issue. Disappointed.

- Ridgecrest, CA, USA

problem #350

Apr 152021

Optima

  • 130,000 miles
I was driving on a highway going 70mph when my engine loses power and all the warning lights on my dashboard turn on. I pull over on the shoulder of the road and turn off the vehicle and try to turn it back on unsuccessfully. Smoke began to come out of the hood and I opened it up to see the issue. The smoke begins to increase and in a couple if minutes a fire started underneath/around the engine

- Eagle Pass, TX, USA

problem #349

Apr 182021

Optima

  • 67,000 miles
2013 Kia Optima sx turbo. While driving approx. 65 mph on a hwy, the vehicle suddenly decelerated hard enough to make me lunge forward toward the steering wheel. I saw multiple warning lights come on the dash and when the gas pedal was pressed the car would not accelerate at all. I was able to get the car pulled off to the side of the road where I turned the vehicle off. I pressed the Kia's start button, and the car would not start. The lights on the dash would all come on and there was a very strong odor of burnt electrical wires coming from the engine compartment. I had the car towed back to the dealership where they are currently diagnosing the problem. This is a very dangerous safety issue. Scary, to say the least.

- Roseburg, OR, USA

problem #348

Apr 092019

Optima

  • 88,000 miles
Gas got into my engine. Car keep losing oil. Seemed to affect a lot of other areas

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #347

Apr 032021

Optima

  • 99,642 miles
The car just shut-off while in motion and would not start after that. The car has 99,642 miles on it. Car was towed to a Kia dealership for diagnosis and it was established that the engine had failed and Kia is not covering the repairs.

- Torrance, CA, USA

problem #346

Jan 012021

Optima

  • miles
I loaned my car to my son a few months ago and he said there was no oil showing on the dipstick. He added oil and I have been having to add oil regularly too since then. I've always had Toyota in the past and could "always" depend on the oil level staying safe between oil changes. I have 148,000 miles on my car. I kept cars in the past with double that mileage with no engine problems. I still owe $4,000 on my car and need to keep it a long time. The Kia service department told me my car would have to be knocking in order for them to honor the recall. I'm sure if my son didn't catch the problem that the engine wouldn't been knocking soon. The production date of my car falls in the affected dates listed on recall # 17V-224. Is there any way to get my engine repaired through that recall? thank you for your help.

- Bartow, FL, USA

problem #345

Jan 252021

Optima

  • 155,000 miles
January 25th my engine smoked a quit running. Mechanic inspected tryed to turn engine over by hand was seized and had no codes. Towed to dealer. Jan 29th dealer confirms engine is seized. Jan 31 call engine turns over and has throttle body code and also has to many miles to perform saftey recall. I watched mechanic try to turn engine over with a wrench at crankshaft and it wouldnt budge and mechanic scanned car and it had no codes stored. Dealer now want me to pay money for diagnosis I said no called Kia corporate. I explained to corporate saftey recall has no mileage limit and they still deny repair I explain to corporate that I had car diagnosed and I believe they were attempting to charge me a fee by changing diagnosis. 10 mintues after call to corporate I get a text from dealer my car is completed and ready for pickup no charge. I have car towed back to other shop they scan for codes and try to turn engine over by hand again and no codes and engine still seized. 2 weeks later corporate calls and says they were wrong about recall and they will buy car back. I asked if they could fix it and she said yes we will replace engine. 3 days later dealer calls ans says computers down nationwide and cant order engine. 3weeks later dealer calls and says they have to do tests on engine before they order new. I ca'll corporate and Feb 26th she emails me back that the engine was ordered 2 week later dealer calls and says they have to do a compression intake manifold leak and oil pressure regulator tests. I ask corporate why they said engine was orderd and they replied thats what the dealer told them. 2 months Kia has had my car and not done rhe saftey recall it seems they are stalling and trying to find a way out of doing it.

- Geneva, OH, USA

problem #344

Mar 092021

Optima

  • miles
My car is stalling when I accelerate and when I turn my car on to start it up it smells like gas

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #343

Feb 032021

Optima

  • 79,800 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the oil pan would leak. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V750000 (engine). The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to lou fusz Kia (1025 N lindbergh blvd, St. Louis, mo 63132) where it was diagnosed with the oil pan needing to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that they would not repair the recall due to the possibility of not being reimbursed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and stated that they were unable to force the dealer to assist with the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 79,800.

- St Louis, MO, USA

problem #342

Nov 202020

Optima

  • 135,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while her boyfriend was driving 10 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they were informed that shards of metal were found in the engine causing the engine failure. The independent mechanic changed the oil however, the vehicle failure recurred. The vehicle was then towed the contact's residence and was not repaired. There were three recalls with NHTSA campaign numbers: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling), 20V519000 (service brakes, hydraulic), and 20V100000 (fuel system, gasoline) associated with the VIN. The contact contacted an unknown dealer and the manufacturer however, no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 135,000.

- Simi Valley, CA, USA

problem #341

Jun 012020

Optima

  • 132,000 miles
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while his girlfriend was driving 25 mph, the steering wheel jerked to the left independently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver continued driving to her destination. The vehicle was taken to metro Kia of madison (5442 wayne terrace, madison, wi 53718, (608) 443-5700) where it was diagnosed with needing the ECU software updated. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. The contact also stated that the engine was replaced in July of 2020. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.

- Jefferson, WI, USA

problem #340

Feb 192021

Optima

  • miles
On February 19, 2021 at around 12:50 a.M., a friend and I were driving home in my 2013 Kia Optima hybrid ex on a city street and we were a little more than half-way home when the check engine light on came on. I started looking for an open gas station so I could stop and check if there was anything visibly wrong with my car. Before I could reach a gas station, I heard a ticking noise in the engine compartment and upon looking in the rearview mirror I saw smoke billowing out of the back of the car and saw and smelled smoke inside the cabin also. I immediately pulled over and shut the car off. The car then completely filled with smoke, so my friend and I got out of the car quickly. The engine area burst into flames. I called 911 and reported it to the police and waited for them to come. The car exploded a couple of times before they got to me and the fire quickly engulfed the car reaching into the cabin of the vehicle. The street had to be completely blocked off from all traffic. It was a very scary experience as we barely made it out of the car before it burst into flames and how risky it was being in the car before it caught fire. As fast as everything happened we feel lucky to be alive. It took the fire crew about an hour to put the car out. Everything inside the cabin was completely destroyed. After getting a ride home from the police I started researching online the issue I had just gone through and found that there was manufacturer recall #sc200te, NHTSA recall #20V750 for my vehicle which seemed to fit the experience I had with my car.

- Palm Springs, CA, USA

problem #339

Feb 212021

Optima

  • 92,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to a friend's house nearby. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.

- Tappahannock, VA, USA

problem #338

Feb 022021

Optima

  • 93,000 miles
My daughter was driving my 2013 Kia Optima on the fn interstate and the car stalled!! I was never notified of any recalls until someone that assisted her told her this! I am during you! she could have been seriously hurt! the engine completely shut off

- Tappahannock, VA, USA

problem #337

Jan 272021

Optima

  • miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V750000 (engine) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer Kia of vacaville located at 651 orange dr, vacaville, ca 95687 where it was confirmed that the software needed to repair the vehicle was not available. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the software needed was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Susan, CA, USA

problem #336

Feb 082021

Optima

  • 65,000 miles
Loss of power upon accelerating. Turbo seems to be affected. Problem stops/resets sometimes after I turn off the car and turn it back on again. When trying to accelerate up to 40mph, the engine doesn't respond appropriately. I can have my pedal pushed to the ground and it will still take at least 1-2 minutes to get up to 40 mph. After it gets to around 40-45 mph it seems to respond better to acceleration, but it still lags. Computer threw code P2562.

- Baytown, TX, USA

problem #335

Jan 252021

Optima

  • 209,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the contact noticed fire coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called and arrived to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 209,000.

- Kempner, TX, USA

problem #334

Jan 262021

Optima

  • 155,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 25 mph, the message (pull over safely) was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer mentor Kia (9090 mentor ave, mentor, oh 44060, (440)953-1000) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vehicle was subjected to repair under NHTSA campaign number: 20V750000 (engine). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was had exceeded the warranty mileage limit and there would be no assistance provided in repairing the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.

- Geneva, OH, USA

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