10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
12 / 77
Injuries / Deaths:
14 / 1
Average Mileage:
64,466 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #403

Feb 212022

Optima

  • miles
I was in the fast lane doing about 70 MPH an all of a sudden my car turned off no power at all no warning lights nothing thank God there was no cars on side of me I went over 3 lanes of traffic an got to side of road the engine light was blinking. I had to tow to dealership an they told me that it might be minimum 2 weeks till they can look at my car. So now I have no car an have to be at work in morning. But still making car payments with broken car. I bought car from kia thinking I would not have problem with car specially for the dealership to have for 2 weeks or more so I guess I have to rent a car on top of car payment.

- Anaheim , CA, USA

problem #402

Nov 012021

Optima

  • miles
The engine is burning thru 2 quarts of motor oil per week. No leaks just burning oil

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #401

Feb 142022

Optima

  • miles
Smell like gas everyday I don-??t want my car get in fire

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #400

Dec 202021

Optima

  • miles
Our engine has been replaced twice. Engine stalled while driving 65mph. Transmission pulled hard almost causing accident. Twice. First engine was @ 60,000. Second @ 90,000. Now they want us to pay our $250 deductible again, to add transmission fluid because it-??s completely almost empty. We told them that it has been pulling hard from the first replacement of engine. They did nothing. Engine has been heating up all other components like radiator causing it to over heat. We paid to replace it before it cause a fire. Fuel line. We payed to get it fixed before it cause a fire. Now they want us to pay again, to add fluid to transmission before it causes a pull and we crash. Please help us. They have had the car for 2 months at Garden Grove Kia in California.

- Dana Point, CA, USA

problem #399

Sep 212021

Optima

  • miles
I took my vehicle in to get serviced due to a recall. Upon driving home, there was a loud knocking noise that had never been there before. Got home and called the dealership and they sent a tech out. There was no knocking noise because the vehicle wasn't in motion for him to hear. Due to my medical issue I wasn't able to take my car back to them. About a week later my car wouldn't start. Bought a brand new battery and it lasted for a few days. I didn't have any problems until after the dealership serviced the recall.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #398

Dec 122021

Optima

  • miles
Vehicle started to make knocking noises from engine when stopped at an intersection and when I attempted to make a left turn, engines acceleration failed midway and incoming traffic almost collied with my vehicle. After a few second vehicle slowly regained acceleration but knocking noise persisted.

- Oxnard, CA, USA

problem #397

May 102021

Optima 4-cyl

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while inside the vehicle with the engine idling smoke was suddenly present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene who extinguished the flames. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The vehicle was not yet repaired. No further information was available. The contact indicated that the failed engine was a replacement engine previously installed under a recall campaign. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000. Consumer had the car inspected and was told there was oil leakage but inspection states engine presented with oil inside.

- Amarillo, TX, USA

problem #396

Nov 132021

Optima

  • miles
I purchased this vehicle 10/21/2016. The vehicle was driving fine and I regularly took it in for maintenance. Regular oil changes, filters, tires rotated. I am very good at getting maintenance done on the vehicle. There was a recall on the engine, but I never received any notice. It was recalled on Mar 31, 2017. I have no records of any recalls, so I am not sure who they were sending them to. I moved shortly after the recall on February 16, 2018. I still received no notices at my new location. I did have all my mail forwarded. Long story short, my engine blew in September of 2019. I still had not received any notices of a recall. I have been trying to get this resolved with Kia for the last two years basically. I have had an independent shop verify that the engine is blown. Kia of Janesville and Madison refused to give me any help trying to get the car diagnosed or repaired. I have spent $700 getting the car towed, storage, and two years so far trying to get the car repaired or looked at. They keep on telling me that they are not going to cover anything and that I need to pay for repairs. I finally got the car towed to an independent service shop and they are telling me that the engine is indeed blown and that I need to replace it. Costs are expected to be in the $3700 range. I cant wait any longer to get this vehicle repaired as I have already dealt with it for two years with no good faith effort from Kia. I would appreciate some help dealing with the situation.

- Clinton, WI, USA

problem #395

Nov 032021

Optima

  • miles
My engine began smoking while I was driving I pulled over to see where the smoke was coming from and it burst into flames

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #394

May 202021

Optima

  • miles
My 2013 Kia optima caught fire while I sitting idle in the vehicle in a parking lot outside of an establishment in May of 2021. I started my vehicle, and was finishing up a phone call when I noticed smoke coming from my hood. When I opened the hood to investigate flames shot up from my engine. I called 911 and fortunately the fire department was close and we're able to put out the fire quickly and no one was hurt. If it hadn't been for the phone conversation keeping my attention, I would have taken off normally and the outcome could of been seriously different. I'm not sure what happens when you are actively driving a car that engulfs in flames but I imagine it's not pretty. There was a open recall on my car for a low pressure fuel tube malfunction that was thought to cause fires. The Kia dealership denied I had an open recall asked me to remove car from facility or they would tow it. They were low on space.. They said that they wouldn't cover my car for any reason anyway because it doesn't have the original engine it came with. The engine was replaced by Kia because of engine defect and recall but the local dealership could not see this car history. Eventually I was able to get a case opened with the corporate office and an inspection was done. They still denied me and no one was on the same page as far as car history. Was given the run around. The inspection report and estimate I have contradict one another. They spent 6 to tell me my cars problem is not there fault. They are unable and willing to answer my questions about inconsistencies.

- Amarillo, TX, USA

problem #393

Oct 312021

Optima 6-cyl

  • 127,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 75 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. In addition, the front of the vehicle was in flames. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.

- Powell, TN, USA

problem #392

Oct 212021

Optima

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, she heard an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. The oil warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she depressed the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact stated that she was able to drive the vehicle however, the vehicle was shuddering while driving and stalled several times. The contact stated she was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to schedule an appointment for diagnosis. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they could not cover the repair of the vehicle because the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN tool showed that the VIN was included in the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

- Lake Charles, LA, USA

problem #391

Oct 212021

Optima

  • miles
KIA replaced the low fuel line under campaign number 20V100 November of 2020 and the replacement part has now cracked causing gas to spray out onto my engine less than a year later. KIA is refusing to warranty the part. This is a huge life safety issue for myself and my family that travel in this vehicle. I feel these replacement parts need to be checked and replaced before someone gets seriously hurt.

- Fullerton, CA, USA

problem #390

Oct 022021

Optima

  • miles
While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle began to stall and as I tried to keep going, I did get to 60 MPH and the car completely stalled and turned off in the middle of the highway as I tried to get off to the side. All of the warning lights illuminated. The car would not start up and the steering wheel locked. I had to be pushed off the road. I was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The battery seemed to still have power at the time, but still would not start. Someone pulled over to try to jump start the vehicle, but it would not start. I then went and purchased a new battery to see if that would help and it did not. The car had absolutely no power to it, would not click over and would not shift into gear. The week prior, my check engine light had came on and I did stop at autozone to have them run a diagnostic. When it ran it pulled up a manufacturer code P1004 and they were unable to tell me what it meant. I do have the documents from that visit. My vehicle has been well taken care of and I have kept up to date on recalls and maintenance. Approximate mileage when this happened is 122k. I had the vehicle towed to AAMCO who then determined the engine was damaged and I then had it towed to Peak Kia to see what we needed to do.

- Greeley, CO, USA

problem #389

Sep 232021

Optima

  • 152,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-70 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled. The brake warning light and several other unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated she was able to partially veer to the side of the road as the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated she was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The battery was jumped with some assistance and the vehicle restarted. The contact stated she drove the vehicle to the dealer however, the failure reoccurred as she was pulling into the parking lot. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 152,000.

- Warner Robins, GA, USA

problem #388

Sep 202021

Optima

  • miles
"Hybrid System Warning Safely stop and Do not Drive" has appeared multiple times. First time, brake fluid was flushed and car appeared to operate normally afterwards. 3 months later, now, happened twice within two weeks. Apparently, a very common issue. The car shuts down and I am forced to coast/pullover/stop without any power from the engine and was fortunate this did not occur in an intersection. Others have noted the occurrence on the freeway. Like other, when I took the car in, no error codes were seen as the warning light had turned off so the mechanics do not know what the issue is. How does Kia not know what the issue is when the car could shut down, become inoperable suddenly" Once the warning light comes on, the brakes semi-lock and one is luck enough to get to safety, to pull over... Does someone have to be injured or worse for KIA to do something or for the NHTSA TO DO SOMETHING?" 1) https://www.optimaforums.com/threads/2013-optima-hybrid-hybrid-system-warning-check-brake-message.170498/ 2) https://www.kiaownersclub.co.uk/threads/how-to-fix-check-hybrid-system-warning-unable-to-charge.45921/ 3) https://www.reddit.com/r/kia/comments/lk6wvt/2013_kia_optima_hybrid_system_warning_i_dont_know/ 4) 5) https://6) https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/kia-optima.html?page=5 7) https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-c23349_ds1010763

- Monrovia, CA, USA

problem #387

Aug 012021

Optima

  • miles
Kia motors had a recall on my vehicle 2013 KIA optima hybrid so I took my car into the dealership explaining the issues I had and the service advisor Justin told me that they would have to look at it and if it-??s related to the recall they would take care of it at no cost to me it-??s been over a month and the service advisor told me it was a defective motor and all of a sudden refusing to fix it I shouldn-??t be responsible for their defective engine please advise

- Cordova , TN, USA

problem #386

Sep 122021

Optima

  • miles
I was driving my 2013 Kia Optima on the freeway. Perfectly functioning until the vehicle just stalled while driving 60-70 mph. All the lights came on including the check engine light. I had to pull to the side and turn off my vehicle. Then it turned right back on and continued driving perfectly. Until the next day, I was driving on the highway and it was running perfect. Until I turned in a corner and my car stalled once again. This time the check engine light stayed on when I turned the vehicle back on. Then it started making this loud metal grinding noise. So I had to drive slow and the car almost shut down. I got it towed 70 miles back home. My car was running perfectly fine until that happened. It is a engine bearing knocking noise every time I start the car. It could be in the oil pan of the engine that is making that noise. This put my safety at risk on the highway because I couldn't get more speed when my foot was on the petal and my car was slowing down slowly. There was lots of traffic so I had to avoid slowing down to quick before I got stuck in the lanes. So I had to put my blinkers on and pull to the side. The side was a little narrow because the cars were driving right beside mines and it was a busy highway. I thought I'd get hit but thankfully I didn't and pulled safely to the side. I researched about this problem and it is pretty common with people that have the Kia Optima 2013. And its recalled for that problem. So my confirmation is from researching it on the internet. Yes the problem has been confirmed by Kia because they got law suited for it and that's why they had recalls. My vehicle will be inspected by the manufacturer on September 28th. There was no warning signs or symbols of the car before that problem happened. It just happened instantly and it had me worried. The car was running perfectly fine getting to places. There was no problems prior to this. It first appeared on September 12th, 2021.

- Palmdale, CA, USA

problem #385

Jul 222021

Optima

  • miles
My car ran hot and my motor went out

- Atlanta , GA, USA

problem #384

Sep 162021

Optima

  • miles
I was giving my brother a ride to work when the car stalled. There was no engine light on or any warning light what-??s so ever all of sudden my steering wheel turned hard and I could not steer. Brake pedal was hard for me to step on I nearly wrecked in to a gate. I own this car for few years already and never giving me problems. I did notice there was a recall going on about engines on these 2013 2014 going bad. At first I thought it was my battery or alternator but everything has power. Just the engine don-??t want to turn over. I would appreciate if someone can help me in this situation.

- Missouri City , TX, USA

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