10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 3 / 14
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 34,500 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.
2013 Optima SXL Snow White Pearl Pain Has been peeling since approximately 48,000 miles This has been discussed with Kia Service reps on multiple occasions since it was first noticed. Vehicle is now at 148,000 miles and paint continues to chip away on the hood and pillars of car. It is evident the problem is not isolated to my car. Every snow white pearl car i see driving down the road has similar paint chipping.
- St. Louis, MO, USA
My 2013 Kia optima, 80,000 miles has had a manufacturer paint defect problem for years now. Paint from my car is flying off in large chunks. I-??ve seen THOUSANDS of other Kia Hyundai and other like cars with the pearl white color having the EXACT same issue. Google search -??Kia pearl white paint defect-?? and you can see for yourself what everyone else has posted online about the exact same issue I am having. All it takes is the right person to read this message and google search what is happening to thousands of Kia and Hyundai cars to understand the situation for something to be done about it. I-??m not looking for a free paint job, I-??m looking for the manufacturer to be held accountable for their poor quality workmanship. I-??ve called Kia consumer affairs and they are aware of the situation but -??are not considering any sort of recourse at this time-?? If you-??re reading this message, do the google search-?? help out thousands of people who paid EXTRA for this style paint and were given a trainwreck instead.
- Fort Worth, TX, USA
KIA notified me via letter on 23 April 2024 that Central Kia, Plano TX was able to complete repairs for the recall on the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit. I made an appointment in May to have the repair done. After waiting over two hours to have the repair completed, the Dealer said they did not have the part to fix the recall and they would contact me when it was available. Almost three months have elapsed with no word from Central Kia
- Dallas, TX, USA
There is an hybrid warning coming on which causes the brakes to loose it-??s ability to stop for some reason. It also slows the car to a hault while the engine is in full rev. It-??s a huge safety issue as this occurs intermittently with no warning. Last time I was on the freeway, luckily I was able to pull over to the curb without incident. I hit the bumper a little bit but was able to stop safely.
- Kent, WA, USA
The oil feedline is gusting out oil but no where I could find a recall on this but I remember there was a recall. Could you send me the copy of the recall? Thank you.
- Orlando , FL, USA
The paint on my car is peeling. It-??s pearl white.
- Corona, CA, USA
The Engine has seized up on me after leaving work on Wed April 24,2024. I have not owned this car not even 2 months. Purchased it through California Motors Direct. I have spoken with the general manager of the dealership and and he said the car has been serviced mulitple times as at Carson KIA. My car does not run at all at the time my car was seized up on me I was driving a with my baby in the car and all of a sudden my car stopped and has not been working since that day. The dealership where I purchased the car refuses to look at it stating it isn-??t there problem well there was safety recall and from what I have seen online they were not allowed to sell me a car that a big safety recall on it that has not yet been addressed. My problems first started April 24th, 2024. Recall #23V652000
- Garden Grove, CA, USA
The paint has been peeling for a starting last year. The recent rains caused a large chunk of paint to peel suddenly from the trunk. The car has the snow white pearl paint and is delaminating from the car.
- Dublin, CA, USA
Burning smell occasionally no warning light...maybe HECU?
- Martinsburg , MO, USA
The vehicle is for sale at a dealership in Stafford Virginia at Pohanka Honda. How can this vehicle be for sale with a recall regarding a fire hazard. And then it states no remedy available.
- Stafford , VA, USA
Manufacturer hasn't provided a remedy to recall notice issued in September 2023. For something that has a chance of catching on fire driving or Parked this should've been taken care of along time ago instead of risking peoples lives dragging this out.
- Mohawk, TN, USA
This car is pearl white and the paint on this car bubbles up and starts peeling. It is missing paint off the hood, passenger side doors and driver side rear quarter panel.
- Center, TX, USA
Electrical issue then engine leading to car going up in flames
- Menifee, CA, USA
We are afraid to drive this car and have lost use for over 4 months now. Received Safety Recall Notice dated Nov 14, 2023. We have made numerous calls to Doug Smith dealership in American Fork, Ut, and also to KIA Customer Care Center. No information is forthcoming to resolve the issue in getting our car repaired. It is necessary that we park in our garage, so we faithfully unhook the battery cable every single time after driving and parking to be assured that it is safe. This has been going on for 4 months now and is not a comfortable situation for myself and my elderly wife. We would like some answers with respect to a timely repair to make our car safe again.
- Mona, UT, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. There was smoke detected, and the vehicle burst into flames and exploded. There were no reported injuries, crashes, or air bag deployments. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The DOT was on the scene. Another motorist assisted the occupants with exiting the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a police department tow lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
- Shreveport, LA, USA
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
The manufacturer has failed or is unable to remedy the safety recall for my vehicle in a timely manner. There is an urgent safety recall (fire risk when parked). It is currently unsafe and unreliable to drive the car with this recall.
- Tiffin, OH, USA
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
In March 2023 car stopped in the middle of an intersection with no warning. -??Hybrid system warning-?? on dashboard lit up as well as all other lights. Dealer said repair was under warranty because of faulty spark plugs which were a safety recall. Prior to this all safety recalls were taken to dealer yet the problem still occurred. On July 2, 2023, the car stopped on the freeway. All lights lit up and the -??Hybrid system warning-?? came up. The car began to smoke. The car was towed to Kia dealer they said the water pump needed to be replaced. The water pump was replaced with a certified Kia part. The car still would not turn on. Kia replaced the battery and said the engine needed to be replaced for $9000. They said we were out of warranty (10 years by 2 months). This engine failure seems to be related to the safety recalls that Kia -??fixed.-?? I also have documentation that the warranty should be extended to 15 years or 150,000 miles but the delay refuse to make repairs under the warranty.
- La Habra, CA, USA
- Fleming Island, FL, USA