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.
The airbag light come on at around 84000 miles. When the error code was read, it was consistent with faulty OCS mat on the passenger's side (B1448). It seems to be an extremely common problem of many Kia vehicles with potentially serious safety concerns, yet the manufacturer did not issue a recall. The only solution seems to be the replacement of the mat ($1700-2000), with absolutely no guarantee that it will not malfunction after 10 miles (the electric sensor of the mat can interfere with electronic devices nearby).
Shortly after we purchased this car the air bag (SRS) light came on and stayed on. Took it back to dealer. Scan test found code B1447 oc ECU defect, found poor connection at control unit. They cleared the code and stated the unit was working now as designed. Everything good until 10/6/14, 57000mi., 52 days out of basic warranty. Called Kia dealer, wanted to scan it for $95. Said they would apply scan fee to repair bill. (ill bet they would!) took it to a local tech. Who has a high tech scanner. I don't have the code but he told me it has a defective pressure sensor in the passenger seat and it would be an expensive repair. I think its high time Kia does the right thing and owns up to its accountability for this life-safety issue.
Air bag light flickered on and off for a few days then came on permanently. I later heard about the recall: NHTSA campaign number: 12V014000, air bag clock spring assembly. That only covered Kia 2006 thru 2008. It appears that 2009 should be included.
The battery died in my 2009 Kia Optima and upon replacing battery the airbag light came on. It was taken to a Kia dealership and was told that it was because we changed the battery. The airbag light was reset. About a week later it came on again and was taken back to the dealership and reset again. It came back on the next day and was again taken to the dealership at what time we were told that it was the B1382 & B1481 airbag problems and that it was going to cost over $1200 to fix. Why would changing the battery cause these problems? I had only purchased the car 18 months before this incident.
Vehicle air bag trouble light illuminated on dashboard. When brought to the dealer, we were told that a seat sensor was defective and needed replacement at a cost of $1500. This is on top of a recent $2700 transmission replacement on the same vehicle one month prior. Since we are still paying for the transmission repair, we chose to drive the vehicle without the air bag system functioning properly which we realize is a safety issue, but we cannot afford another expensive Kia repair.
- Spotswood, NJ, USA
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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.
Airbag warning light came on in Oct 2012. Dealer stated the battery was bad. Battery was replaced. Airbag warning light returned Nov. 2012 dealer now states air bag faulty but not covered by Kia recall.
The driver owns a 2009 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the driver was traveling approximately 30 mph when another vehicle crashed into her. The driver's vehicle crashed into a building as a result and the air bags did not deploy. The driver was taken to a hospital via ambulance to treat neck injuries. The vehicle was towed home. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure and current mileages were 38,076.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Sacramento, CA, USA