This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Last week, on Aug 29th 2020, I tried to make a left U-turn on a residential street and the steering wheel locked up. I got scared and just drove forward to the next street and turned right onto that street. On Aug the 17th, 2020 I had my car inspected. The mechanic said the brake fluid was leaking and had to fix that. Approx 2 weeks later, Sept 2nd, the motor blew on my car while driving on a hwy. There was black smoke coming through the A/C vent right before it happened. The car is a total loss.
Driving at 70 mph, engine died and car started smoking. Pulled to shoulder, front end of car caught fire. Fire department extinguished with foam. Car a total loss.
After I bought my used 2009 Kia Optima, I was experiencing a hard downshift when it decelerated, it was so abrupt it felt as if the brakes had been applied very rapidly and the car would jerk forward. It happens when the vehicle first starts and goes away after it has warmed up. The vehicle was taken to a Kia dealer and we believe they reprogrammed the transmission control module. It stopped for a while but it is doing it again after a couple of years.
A bearing in the motor or something gave out as I was driving. I am unable to start it and keep it started. I was told the engine ceased up. It only has like 126000 miles on it.
The contact owned a 2009 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 13V114000 (service brakes, hydraulic, exterior lighting). The manufacturer had not sent notification of the vehicle being included in the recall from March 29, 2013. While driving highway speeds, the contact noticed smoke under the hood of the vehicle. While pulling the vehicle over, an off duty fire fighter flagged the contact to quickly pull over and exit the vehicle. The fire fighter remained at the scene as the fire department arrived and extinguished the flames. The driver was not injured. The insurance company towed the vehicle to a facility, inspected the collision damages, and claimed the vehicle as a total loss. The cause of the fire was not investigated. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was not available.
- Baltimore, MD, USA
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The engine started knocking two months ago and yesterday the check engine light came on while driving on the highway resulting in the car shutting off with no warning.
My 2012 Kia Optima was found to have a leaking oil line which feeds lubrication oil from the engine to the turbocharger. This occurred at 58,000 miles, well within the 100,000 mile warranty for the drive train. However, the dealer informed me that the oil supply line was not covered by the warranty, but the engine and turbo were. The loss of this line would result in the failure of the engine due to no oil, as well as the turbo, and this was most likely to fail when under acceleration in traffic as that is when the load on these components is greatest. Failure of the engine at this time could result in catastrophic consequences in heavy traffic. Even if the line did not fully fail, the leaking oil is located at the turbo housing which is part of the exhaust system and is likely, after some time, to result in an engine fire which would likely destroy the car. Since this component, the oil supply line connects the engine and the turbo I find that it is an essential part of the drive train and should be covered by the manufacturer under the warranty. It also is a severe potential hazard to the driver of the vehicle. I wish to enter my concerns to the NHTSA.
The contact owned a 2009 Kia Optima. While driving 35 mph, another motorist notified the contact that the undercarriage of the vehicle was on fire. The contact coasted to the side of the road and noticed smoke and flames under the hood of the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
The light has been on since the middle of 2013 and the dealership when asked during each oil change is we will check it out. Ever since I have purchased this vehicle there has been problems with this vehicle.
I have the same problem as other describe here. I had this issue in 2011 when slowing down from 10 mile speed (believe). Dealer fixed with programming (as they said). Now recently last three month happening exactly like following post. I have contacted dealer and have appointment this week. (see what happens..) =========================== late last year (2014) in our Kia Optima 2009 got some transmission issue which is difficult to explain for. To me it looks like a manufacturing defect which Kia must resolve. This is what I experienced: In 2014 October, I started feeling a heavy jolt/jerk whenever I used the car and the engine is cold. The jolt is so strong that every passenger noticed it. This happens only when I try to slow down the car and it gets near to 20 mphr. So the factors are: 1. cold 2. downshift 3. speed 20 mphr on slippery roads it may be very dangerous which can lead to major injuries. Kia must accept this dangerous manufacturing defect before it start taking lives. It is very annoying issue too, it is always on my mind while driving which is causing distraction while driving. Kia must take an action instead of sitting quite. They must issue recall this to fix this dangerous issue. NHTSA also should support all the people with same problem so that people can believe their safety standards. I took my car 2-3 times there and explained the issue, but they could not fix it so far. If Kia's own dealers cannot fix this problem then who will? thanks for reading my complaint against Kia!
Late last year (2014) in our Kia Optima 2009 got some transmission issue which is difficult to explain for. To me it looks like a manufacturing defect which Kia must resolve. This is what I experienced: In 2014 October, I started feeling a heavy jolt/jerk whenever I used the car and the engine is cold. The jolt is so strong that every passenger noticed it. This happens only when I try to slow down the car and it gets near to 20 mphr. So the factors are: 1. cold 2. downshift 3. speed 20 mphr on slippery roads it may be very dangerous which can lead to major injuries. Kia must accept this dangerous manufacturing defect before it start taking lives. It is very annoying issue too, it is always on my mind while driving which is causing distraction while driving. Kia must take an action instead of sitting quite. They must issue recall this to fix this dangerous issue. NHTSA also should support all the people with same problem so that people can believe their safety standards. I took my car 2-3 times there and explained the issue, but they could not fix it so far. If Kia's own dealers cannot fix this problem then who will? thanks for reading my complaint against Kia!
The vehicle had three expensive problems in rapid succession. The first was the transmission which started a severely hard downshift on braking from about 25 mph. The whole car shuddered and felt as if we slammed on the brakes for a second. After troubleshooting, Kia told us we needed a new transmission for $2700 with no help from Kia. After this repair, not even two weeks later, the air bag light came on. Diagnosis from Kia, defective sensor in the passenger seat, not covered by warranty and a $1500 replacement estimate. We decided not to fix this item because we were going to trade the car in on another make and cut our losses. The third problem which occurred one week later was a failure to start after parking the car for an hour at a doctor's office, stranding my wife in 95 degree heat. The car was towed to a non-Kia repair shop as I no longer want anything to do with Kia who will deny any claim against their so-called quality products and will be disposing of the car as soon as it is running again since Kia does not stand behind its defective products. After three major failures in a short period of time we feel this is an unsafe vehicle.
After returning from work and parking my vehicle at home, the car sat in my driveway in 40 degree weather for approximately 12 hrs. I woke up the next morning and found my car on fire and is a total loss. The police and fire department were called and dispatched to my home. The fire department extinguished the fire and determined it was probably an electrical fire. There is no remote starter installed or any other accessories installed in the vehicle after purchase. The fire started in the engine compartment and started spontaneously, perhaps due to a manufacturer defect in the electrical system. I was about an hour away from leaving with this car to return to my office and I am concerned it could of started while I was in it, perhaps causing injuries or death. I am also concerned that if this could happen to me, that there are other vehicles with the same faulty electrical system and it could happen to someone else. I believe Kia has a hidden manufacturing defect as was described in my incident, and its very possible it exists on other Kia vehicles. Please take my concerns seriously and I think Kia needs to look into this matter asap. Although the car is damaged beyond repair, I welcome and encourage Kia to take the vehicle back to assure it doesn't happen again to anyone else. Updated 03/12/13
The first signs of any trouble with the vehicle started in February/March of 2011 when the shifting on the vehicle was erratic on takeoff and especially bad when the vehicle was slowing down, roughly shifting in and out of gear. It took two occasions to "fix" the issue even though a few weeks later the shifting appeared to subside it still had the occasional issue on take-off. The issue progressively got to the point when I lost total engine power while crossing lanes of traffic, almost getting hit. I stepped on the accelerator but no matter what I did I could not get the vehicles RPM??S above 1500 (about 5mph). Took it to the dealership where they stated they "fixed the problem". returned to driving the vehicle until my wife had the same issue happen to her about 9 days later coming within inches of getting hit while turning into a business. Took the vehicle back again and was told it was "fixed" two days later. Started it up the day after it was returned and had the loss of power issue again. Beside the power loss even the shifting continued to be rough and erratic. Returned it yet again to the dealership and was told it was fixed. Customer service did not take my safety concerns seriously. I am still unsure of the status of the vehicle and I am very concerned about the safety of this vehicle. I will find other means of transportation until this vehicle is returned. Beware that the power loss can happen at any time creating very serious driving conditions that could lead to accident or injury.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA