The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. While driving, the contact heard a clicking noise coming from the engine. The engine failed and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who discovered metal fragments in the motor oil and diagnosed that the engine would need to be replaced. The engine was replaced; however, the vehicle would turn off and on while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine harness and transmission solenoid were faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 82,000.

- Glen Allen, VA, USA

Heading up steep incline hwy 680 as I began to accelerate engine began to make clanking sound. Attempted to pull to the far right lane as I was in the far left lane. As I crossed five lanes of traffic car died. Many semis coming up on me. Had to have car towed 50 miles back home at 1am. Upon inspection. Engine seized. My car has had all regular maintenance and there were no warning lights that ever came on and car was running fine until that moment. Kia said out of warranty, too bad. New motor is needed on a 2013 car. Car is now sitting in my garage torn apart because I can't afford to replace the motor.

- Brentwood, CA, USA

My vehicle started using a lot of oil and was losing power upon acceleration. I had read online that there were problems with the engine and I kept hoping for a recall. However, the recall hasn't happened and I am almost at 100,000 miles. My car started making a ticking noise when I would accelerate and I had just had the oil changed 3 weeks before. I checked the oil and it was already very low. I took it to the dealer and the dealer says that the engine needs to be replaced and if I can give them at least 13 receipts they'll replace it under the warranty that I purchased. I drive all over town for work and I have my oil changed wherever I may be. I went to the two places that I have gone most frequently but, one of them switched their computer systems 3 months ago and only has records for the last three months and the other place changed ownership a year ago and only has 2 receipts for this year. They're saying that I have to pay for it out of pocket.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

In March of 2016 my 2013 Kia Optima died at an intersection in town. There was no prior warning of any malfunction, (no lights, no abnormal behaviors), but the oil light did come on very briefly right before the engine died. I put gas and 1 quart of oil in then jumped the battery and drove the car to the nearest Kia dealership. Kia informed me that I needed a new battery and that my oil was too thick, dirty, and viscous and that I needed to have an oil change and have a special treatment put in the car, (seafoam), to help clean the engine out. We were instructed to bring the car back in 500 to 1000 miles (against manufacturers recommendations), to flush the treatment out of the engine and change the oil again. We returned with the car a little over 500 miles later and Kia informed us that it needed another special treatment because the oil reremained dirty so they put another treatment in the car and then instructed us to bring it back again in 500 to 1000 miles but after 4 days the car started making a very loud tapping noise coming from the engine and soon after the engine was ruined all together due to a faulty connecting rod bearing in the crankshaft. When we drained the oil 4 days after Kia changed it, it was black, thin like water and full of dirt and sediment. After the loud engine noises began I brought the car back to Kia who then informs me it would cost another $350 to diagnose what was wrong with the engine. Feeling like they had treated the engine improperly already I had the car towed to a private mechanic and declined any more of their services. I had completed my oil changes on time despite not having my record at the time of my service however Kia refused to honor my expensive extended warranty stating that I could not have possibly done the oil changes at regular intervals due to the high amount of sludge in the engine.

- Prescott Valley, AZ, USA

I purchased this vehicle used in May 2016. I have only had one oil change and the car has 40,000 miles. I was driving the car at 55 mph. The vehicle cut off and I coasted to the edge of the road. Vehicle was towed to Kia dealership. They dealership advised that the engine is blown and no oil was inside. No warning lights, no oil leaks but they won't pay

- Clinton, MS, USA

Gdi engine burns oil, connecting rod failed. White smoke, and makes weird noise under hood when gets to 60mph

- Yukon, OK, USA

After purchasing the vehicle brand new we noticed a problem with the steering. When you turned the steering wheel while stopped you would get a loud knocking noise. The power steering rack was replaced twice already and the vehicle just now has 43,000 miles. Our biggest concern has been an engine knocking noise that started to occur at just over 35,000 miles when you start vehicle. We had brought our vehicle to libertyville Kia in libertyville, il for our problem and they said they could not duplicate what we are hearing. The service manager verbally told me to wait for it to get worse that it is hard to get Kia to cover this known engine problem. After reaching out to Kia with this engine problem and getting no help except them blaming us for lack of oil changes and maintenance. Which was absurd when we only took the vehicle to Kia for service since purchasing new. Filed a formal complaint with Illinois attorney generals office lisa madigan to get help with this and Kia has botched their records and still sdays we have not maintained the vehicle properly. Buyers of Kia and Hyundai I strongly urge to think again. I hope everyone that has had problems like this get the honest help they deserve.

- Vernon Hills, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. While driving 55 mph, the vehicle vibrated abnormally and stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but was concerned about driving the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a connector rod in the engine that was fractured. The contact was also informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.

- Prince Frederick, MD, USA

Same issue as everyone else. Showed receipts of consistent oil changes and they refused to honor the warranty due to sludge. The dealer said they called Consumer Affairs but the regional manager refused to honor the work.

- Laurel, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. While driving approximately 20 mph, on an incline with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle rolled back. In addition, the vehicle lost power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,314. The VIN was not available.

- Chicago, IL, USA

When ideling the engine would start sputtering. Mechanics said it need an oil control value and it may fix it, but they couldn't do that because the warranty would not cover it, because I couldn't produce all the service records. I took the car because they said the engine light was off, but as soon as I got in the car the light was on. They said the couldn't do anything. Once I got the car home and drove it for one day the car would be running and just shut off.when turning or ideling. I took it to another Kia mechanic they put in the oil control value (some how it was covered under the warranty). The mechanics said it might fix the problem. It did not fix the problem and now Kia is saying it needs a new engine and Kia will not replace it even though I have an extended warranty. They said since I could not produce all the maintenance service records they would not cover it. I call Kia Corp, and esp warranty and they would not do anything. At this time I filled a compliant with the state of Maryland consumer protection division. I have gotten a hold of a non-Kia mechanic and he said that he has heard the Kia was having problems with their engines.

- Fort Meade, MD, USA

My 2013 Kia Optima has had difficulty remaining in a sraight line on the freeway. Tends to pull left and right. The rate of travel is aprox. 45-65mph. There is also a problem with "oversteering" when I attempt to return to the center of the lane. I had been driving my other car for 29yrs, and I assumed that newer cars may have been differnt, such as being more sensitive with steering. I have almost had a collision on the freeway because there are also blind spots in several areas of the Kia otima. This time I did end up in collision because of blindspots and oversteering in order to avoid hitting the car next to me, and instead hit the car next to me on the other lane when I attempted to move out of their way this occurred from sensetive oversteering. Our airbags did not deploy. Before this accident, I had received a letter from Kia stating they wanted to know if I would like to trade up to the knew Kia Optima. The email stated they had new features; such as cameras for blind spots. This made me aware that Kia knew there was a problem with these serious.blindspots. The car was also beginning to rumble, and I believed it was coming from the engine, in fact quite sure it was from the engine. I also had received a letter in the mail from Kia, stating they were having problems with the engines from certain years of the Kia Optima my car was within the years stated. It stated they would honor this problem if you kept this letter in your car, when bringing it in for repairs. I was going to do this, but the car is now totaled after the accident.

- Garden Grove, CA, USA

Car only has 65,000 miles, has had regular oil changes, had to be towed to dealer. Found sludge in engine and needs to be replaced. Kia will not honor the warranty or extended warranty.

- Westminster, MD, USA

Car was running fine or so I thought and @ 1 week after getting my oil changed there was excessive exhaust/smoke and my son and I thought it might be bad gas or clogged injectors. We drove it to AZ and back to nv. Car seemed to run ok at that point then my daughter took it to ca and the oil light started flickering on and off and finally the engine light came on. She took it to a jiffylube where they said it had no oil. What"!?!"! the oil was just changed at 47,000 miles. Put 4 qts in and took it aaa to run an engine diagnostic. Said everything was fine according to the code they got and reset the engine light. Wrong again.. daughter drove away and same problem. Took it back to aaa where they determined it was an internal engine problem and to take it to the dealership. Sludge everywhere in the engine. My car only has 48,000 miles on it and I have the oil changed as scheduled. Waiting to hear what Kia is going to do, but from the sounds of the prior complaints, they are not going to honor their warranty. I can't afford $5,000+ to replace the engine in my car. This is so ridiculous. They need to honor their warranty for their [xxx] engines. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

Sludge in engine 45,000 miles. Warranty wont cover and apparently service campaign means nothing

- Yukon, OK, USA

I was driving down the highway at 65 mph and I heard a loud noise, my car started slowing down and I could hear a clanging noise, I stopped and parked and it was knocking loudly. Still can't drive it.

- Fort Thompson, SD, USA

The Kia Optima I purchased had low mileage only 46K bought it on March 2016 with carfax service records showing up to 26K miles on 5/4/15. Apperantly my engine had sludge and Kia is voiding there manufacturer warranty due to lack of maintenance. My turbo and engine need to be replaced, I find it hard to believe that with in a year a car csnibeat developed so much sludge, seems the car had already started collecting sludge even with regular oil changes. Kia needs to take action and honor there warranty. Now I can go passed 40 miles per hour on the freeway because lack of power

- Modesto, CA, USA

Blown engine

- Grafton, WI, USA

Purchased a used 2013 Optima with 24,952 miles on 3/13/14. Completed scheduled 7500 mile oil changes with some one other than the dealership. At 56337 miles, the car started to make a clattering noise during acceleration. Soon after the engine light came on. Immediatly brought the car into dealship as it was still under warranty. After 4 hours of waiting, service tech took me to the back and said I had sludge in my oil and needed a new engine and warranty would not cover because it looked like the oil had not been changed on schedule. I argued the point knowing I had all changes done. He gave me other reasons...cheap oil, wrong oil, etc. Did some research...ther are quite a few of the same complaints!

- Thibodaux, LA, USA

I had my oil change and two days later the oil light came on so I took it back to pit stop 500 and he's said it was low so he check the car said he didn't see any oil leaks if the oil light comes on again take it to Kia. When I left there while I was driving I could see white smoke coming out my pipes. I took it to the Kia dealership and they said the oil was low put oil in it again and said drive it 500 miles and if the oil light come on bring it back. While driving it home it stalled it wouldn't go over 30 miles and white smoke was coming out the pipes so I made a appointment and took it back now the dealership says it is sludge in the oil. I had did some research and discover ten Kia with the same exact problem and six of them are Kia Optima

- Chicago, IL, USA