I was driving my car and was hearing a clicking/thumping sound, until I turned left into a street where the motor just started shaking and making a louder noise. I started to press on the brakes because the sound and feeling of the car was very unusual. I came to a complete stop and put my car in park and waited where finally the engine just cut off even though the lights stayed on. I turned my key back to turn of the car and tried to turn it back on but my motor would just shake and my car would not turn on. i stepped outside and noticed there was oil spilling from under my car. I got it towed to a mechanic where they informed me my rod bearing came lose and punctured a hole in my engine. I called the KIA assistance center and said this was due to the recall SC212, but when i called a KIA dealership they said they could not cover the damage. Turns out this issue was part of a product improvement campaign which KIA would update the ECU in my vehicle.

- Houston, TX, USA

My Kia Optima needs/needed to have a software update to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to installed. The Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) protects the engine from excessive connecting rod bearing damage. There was/is nothing to detect the onset of excessive connecting rod bearing wear and alert the driver at an early stage of bearing wear before the occurrence of severe engine damage, including engine failure. There is no indicative code to alert the driver and minimize the risk of a more severe engine failure. My car has experienced this inadequacy and is need of a full engine replacement because of it. There has been recalls on other years of the Kia Optima but, not the 2015. This is an increasing problem amongst Kia Optima 2015 owners and should not be treated separately from the other years that have experienced the same problem. My car jerked suddenly in traffic and came to a sudden stop almost causing me and my granddaughter to be in a collision with oncoming traffic, with no warning. Kia did a safety recall campaign for other models with this problem SC200* (Rev 1, 03/25/2021) but did not include the Kia Optima 2015.

- Decatur, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated their daughter was driving at 55 mph, the vehicle in front of the driver slammed on their brakes for a complete stop which caused the contact to depressed on the brake pedal however the vehicle did not stop or slow down causing the driver to crash into the rear of the vehicle in front. The driver-side air bag did deploy. The front end and hood were bent. No one was injured. There was no medical treatment at the scene. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximate 180,000.

- Cambridge, MD, USA

On Monday, August 02, 2021, I was driving home from work and suddenly, when I stepped on the gas pedal, the car didn-??t move but the RPMs were reveving very high and all the lights, accessories continued to work. The car had to be pushed out of the street and into a parking lot, until it was towed the following morning to my local mechanic. Upon inspection, it was determined that the engine had seized. I was informed that this is a well-established problem of similar models, years of Kia and Hyundai vehicles that occurred as result of an issue during the manufacturing process and that Kia was aware of the problem but refused to issue a recall. Due to Kia-??s reluctance to reimburse owners for the repairs, there is a class-action lawsuit against Kia. My vehicle was towed on August 5, 2021 to Bob Rohrman-??s Kia dealership on Golf Rd, Schaumburg IL.As a result, I am without a vehicle that I am still making payments on until December 2021.

- Hoffman Estates, IL, USA

I started driving to work drove a mile went to accelerate to get on the highway, all my dash lights came on and and i pulled over, my break was stiff so i figured it died, it started to smoke, at first the door wouldn-??t open for me to get out, i had to manually unlock it which is weird because if my car is put into park the door automatically unlock normally, when i got out i saw the smoke getting thicker, so i backed up within minutes the car was in flames. I called 911 right away. There was really no warning at all!

- Hudson , WI, USA

Front low beams continue to be very dim. Cannot see a few feet in front of the car at night. Have replaced bulbs but nothing seems to work. Is consistent with other complaints of the same, noted with NHTSA.

- Pasadena, CA, USA

My vehicle pearl white paint started peeling on both sides of my front window and now is peeling on my hood. I have filed 2 complaints with my dealership that took pictures and the first one was expired they said cause of covid. It's been several months now and still haven't heard about my 2nd request. It's peeling really bad and it's ridiculous that Kia isn't trying to fix this problem. My hood is starting to get rust spots where the paint has peeled. I'm very upset and frustrated with this problem. I really need to get my car repainted.

- Lancaster , OH, USA

2015 Kia Optima, Snow White Pearl paint is peeling off hood, and rails around windshield.

- Port St Lucie, FL, USA

The shark fin antenna cover comes off during high speed and my impact another vehicle which may cause an accident.

- Waldorf, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that her brother was driving the vehicle and he smelled smoke. There was fire in the trunk on the passenger's side of the vehicle. The brother was able to pull over and retrieve a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. The contact contacted her insurance company and they directed her to take the vehicle to recommended independent mechanic and the repairs were completed. The cause of the fire not diagnosed. The contact then received a recall letter NHTSA campaign number: 20V519000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The dealer and the manufacturer had not been contacted yet. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Akron, OH, USA

Driving the 15 Kia Optima when the vehicle start loss the power and engine die, try to start and engine start hard. Towing to a mechanic shop, everything looks fine, no codes, start the engine and the noise came, engine is nocking.

- Bradenton, FL, USA

Hi my 2015 Kia Optima on 08/07/2020 I put the recommended gas in my tank and then got onto the interstate after about 5-15 mins it started loosing power and I could no longer accelerate past 60. Also now when I start driving it jerks really bad and won't go past 2 on the rpms. When it jerks I'm assuming that it is the gears trying to change. Also my check engine has acted weird ever since buying this car it comes and goes and just recently is when it stayed on and when this happened it began flashing when the loss of power and couldn't accelerate properly issue began

- Garner, NC, USA

've had nothing but problems with my car, first with my break light switch, then my A/C control panel went out. Now. As I was waiting for my food in the drive through lane my car engine turned off but my car was still on, I was able to turn my car off and get my engine going again.I also have an issue where my engine won't start but my car will turn on also when stopped at stop lights I often feel my car jitter a little. I had my battery checked but that wasn't the problem. I will be taking my car to the dealership to see what the issue is.

- Yuba City, CA, USA

I was driving and out of nowhere the car started to bog down and the check engine light came on. It continued to do it every few seconds and was getting worse the whole way to the shop, which was the closest one I could find as soon as it started doing it. The shop ran the error code and got a knock sensor error. I had Kia come pick it up and take it to the shop. The shop performed a bearing clearance check and the vehicle did not pass so they replaced the engine and intake manifold due to "catastrophic failure". while replacing the engine they found the turbo had play and so they installed a new turbo assembly. After engine replacement they found the starter seized, they replaced the starter. After engine replacement they performed the ECU update and reset adaptive values, then performed wiring signal interference check which started ok. Immediately after getting the vehicle back from the shop I noticed a loud noise coming from front driver wheel area. Shop ended up replacing caliper and wheel bearings along with needing an alignment. All happened around 58K miles. Luckily still under warranty. Shop said it was just a bad engine. Nothing I could of done could of caused it.

- Newburgh, NY, USA

My car has a foul smell in it I took it to my mechanic and they told me that it has bacteria growing under the dashboard and the engine and that's why it smell like mold when I turn on the A/C I just bought the car about 4 months ago from drivetime in columbus.

- Americus, GA, USA

Their is a continuous sound coming out from the top of the dash board, when you start the engine. This sharp sound sometimes occurs time to time to course discomfort to anyone inside the car. This sharp sound occur some times and not always. But when occur it takes the full day and does not stop for two to three days. Their is also lot of complain about this sound on youtube with Kia Optima customer with the same sound coming from the top of the dash board, when the engine is start. Please investigate and review comments from other customers from google and youtube regarding the problem.

- Sayreville, NJ, USA

I wanted to add more information to my complaint. When in motion in front of high school car went into limp mode with knocking noise coming from engine. My husband is a mechanic and discovered metal flakes inside engine. I was never notified of any recalls involving the engine. Now I have to purchase a new or remanufactured engine costing estimated $3000 to $4500 not including core charges and shipping fees.

- Okeechobee, FL, USA

The speed limit on the freeway at 70 and the car cut but all lights wher still on it to me to sit for 5 minutes and then it started but a few days later my check eingine light came on and they say it a P0014 code but the car is knocking.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

Airbag light keep coming on, check engine light keep coming

- Phenix City, AL, USA

I was driving down I25 around 530pm after work when all of a sudden my sliding sunroof glass exploded. There was no one around me at all thank god because the glass went everywhere and I didn't have my 10yr old son in the car as I usually do. Kia in motor city Colorado springs is where we bought it. This was our first low milage expensive car we have ever bought. Kia told us its not there problem and we must have hit a rock or something but this was false. As I hit nothing.

- Colorado City, CO, USA