The contact owns a 2007 Kia Optima. The contact stated after purchasing the vehicle the air bag light came on indicating a faulty air bag module. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who replaced the entire wiring harness and air bag module. The contact stated after the vehicle was repaired the air bag light came on again. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer who stated they could not remedy the failure. The contact stated the vehicle was unsafe to drive due to the faulty air bag. The failure mileage was 61,000.

- Muscatine, IA, USA

My 2007 Kia Optima has had both sun visors break making them unable to remain in the upward position. Initially the driver side visor broke and several months later the passenger side broke. It made it difficult to see traffic lights when stopped at an intersection so I held them up with straps. Now I cant use them to block the sun. I would replace them but they are expensive and I feel that this problem should not have occurred because they were used normally, I do not attach anything to the visors and they were usually up. Additionally when I sit in the passenger front seat the airbag light comes on indicating that the passenger airbag is off. This is supposed to only happen when there is no occupant in the seat. Im not sure why but it only seems to happen when I am in the seat. I wear my seatbelt and sit normally in the chair. This has happened since the car was bought used in 2008.

- Hauppauge, NY, USA

How many consumers have to complain about the air bags in 2007 Kia Optima (mostly passenger) before a recall is issued. This is a dangerous situation. I've already brought my vehicle to dealer during warranty period and they could not duplicate problem. What is the point of airbags if they don't deploy when needed" someone, if not already, will be seriously hurt or killed. There are numerous complaints about the airbags, and those are just the ones that consumers took the time to report. What about the visors with the defective internal piece that shatters and leaves the visors in a hanging position. This is dangerous!! these issues have been going on since the vehicle was manufactured and no recall was ever issued. Again, these are severe safety issues. What does it take and how many complaints and injuries does it take to have a manufacturer correct a safety issue"

- Stuart, FL, USA

Passenger air bag does not activate when passenger is in seat. Brought in to dealer, while still under warranty, could not find anything wrong. Passenger visor broke and hangs in line of vision. Researched and found this to be a common problem with this vehicle on both visors. There is a defective piece used in the arm of visor that shatters. This is a very dangerous problem, as the visor will not stay in upright position and drops down into line of vision. Both of these issues are a common complaint of this vehicle. Vehicle is no longer under warranty, therefore, can't afford to repair defective visor that should have been redesigned with stronger parts.

- Stuart, FL, USA

When my wife sits in the passenger side of our Kia Optima approximately 20% of the time the "airbag off" light never turns off. We have followed the instructions from the dealer on how to properly sit in the seat etc. We have had the dealer look at the vehicle twice and so far they have refused to fix it. My wife's weight varies from 130-140lbs. At my first visit to the dealership they told me the weight limit was 110lbs. This past visit we were told the limit was 120lbs. I have been told by NHTSA that they test with a crash dummy weighing 108lbs so regardless my wife is well outside of the weight thresholds. This is a duplicate of original complaint 10299891. I was told by NHTSA that adding the weights of occupants would be beneficial to them.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

When my wife sits in the passenger side of our Kia Optima approximately 20% of the time the "airbag off" light does not turn off. We have followed instructions from the dealer on how to properly sit in the seat etc. We have had the dealer look at the vehicle twice and so far they have refused to fix it.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

Front passenger airbag light remains illuminated approximately 60% of the time when seat is occupied by a passenger. This has been a problem since I purchased the car in April 2007. From all I have read on the internet, this is the most prevailing problem Kia owners have. Kia acknowledges this is true, but says this is simply how the system is designed. Their only solution is that passengers must sit bolt upright and weigh over 130 pounds. They also advise me to turn the car off and restart it to "fix" the problem. Not good!!!

- Paducah, KY, USA

In 2007 I purchased a new Kia Optima 4cyl automatic from a local dealer. Soon after, I discovered that the passenger airbag light would sometimes remain illuminated when there was a passenger in the seat, meaning that the airbag was off. Kia authorized dealer said that unless passenger is sitting in upright position exactly in the middle of the seat, the sensor will not work properly. We also noted that if passenger not sitting correctly at first couple of minutes of drive, but then reposition himself in upright position, sensor will not react and air bag will be off until car restarted. Dealer said that sensor is checking for passenger only once at the beginning of drive and does not re-check during the drive. It seems not logical - if I am picking up the passenger after hour of drive without turning the motor off, the sensor should sense the passenger and turn on the air bag. The dealers answer about upright position of passenger is nonsense - our Nissan quest 2004 had the same problems and Nissan company did voluntary recall and re-design the seat cushion sensor to the bigger and more sensitive one, so position of the passenger on the seat does not matter anymore. As I see from simple google search (just search for "Kia Optima passenger air bag problem"), there is a lot of customer's reports for the same problem. It looks like Kia company found that design flaw for sorrento model, but I believe they will need to check Optima 2007 as well. I've bought Kia due to advertisement of Kia car's 5-star safety rating, but now I am really concern about safety of my loved ones if they are on the passenger seat in my car. It is a quite dangerous car defect and I hope my complaint will speed up Kia response to the potential life-threatening problem.

- Simi Valley, CA, USA

In 2007 I purchased a new Kia Optima from coleman Kia in trenton, NJ. Soon after, I discovered that the passenger airbag indicator light would sometimes remain illuminated even though there was an adult passenger in the seat, meaning that the airbag was not activated. The dealer performed a system check and determined that the system was performing to specifications. Shortly thereafter, the problem recurred. The dealer then said that they could not diagnose the problem unless the condition occurred in their presence.this time when the problem recurred I returned to the dealerwith my wife in the passenger seat. This time, the seat cushion assembly was replaced. The next time the problem occurred, the dealer provided me with a bulletin from Kia outlining proper seating positions. I was also advised that if the problem recurred (which it did) that I should pull to the side of the road and turn the ignition off, have the passenger get out and then back in and then restart the car. This should allow the onboard computer to reset and (hopefully) recognize the presence of a front seat passenger. At this point, I contacted Kia's regional office to file a complaint. The reference # is K1580673. An appointment was scheduled with Kia's field technical representative. In the meantime, I was told to place a towel on the seat to more evenly distribute passenger weight?? on 07/30/09, Kia's field tech inspected the car and determined the airbag system was operating to design intent. Since then, I have discovered numerous other consumer complaints documenting this problem. It is now clear that Kia is well aware of this condition but has refused to acknowledge the flaw in the design of the system. So far, Kia's only response is to cite improper seating positions. Needless to say, the position of the passengers torso, arms or legs should not prevent the passenger airbag system from operating properly. Please investigate this problem before a tragedy occurs....mark ludwig

- Ewing, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Kia Optima. Whenever an occupant was positioned in the front passenger seat, the passenger side air bag warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The failure occurred 80% of the time when an occupant was detected. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on nine separate occasions for the identical failure, but there were no resolutions. The failure mileage was unavailable and the current mileage was 27,000.

- Stratford , CT, USA

We own a 2007 Kia Optima. The passenger side airbag dashboard indicator light continuously shows that the airbags are in the off position which means that they may not deploy during a collision. We took our new car to the dealer where it was purchased twice and was told both times that the problem was a manufacturing "flaw" and that no repair was possible. They refused to even look at it.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Kia Optima. While driving 40 mph, the passenger side air bag light remained illuminated. The dealer reprogrammed the switches, but the failure recurred. The light dims when the vehicle is shut off and restarted. The vehicle will be taken back to the dealer for inspection. He also stated that the radio antenna was malfunctioning and the radio stations have a lot of static. The manufacturer stated that the antenna was not the cause of failure. The current mileage was 100 and failure mileage was 50. Updated 01/09/08. Updated 12/12/07

- Palm Cost, FL, USA