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.
I was driving forward, in motion, my Kia Optima 2011 on a highway when I began to notice a loud ticking noise coming from the engine. I immediately became concerned, slowed down, and stuck to the right lane. Then, 15 minutes after first hearing this loud noise, I could not accelerate anymore as the noise became louder. Then I heard a small crash/explosion, smoke came out from the hood, it began to smell terrible and I was truly scared for my life in trying to stop the car on the curb, unable to see where I was driving because of the smoke and unable to control the car. Thank god I was able to stop on the side of the road, and had to have the car towed by geico. My car has only 88K miles and I have had it since 2014'this is utterly acceptable to have an engine blow out so suddenly, at so little mileage, and put my life in danger. Thank you very much for your consideration in investigating this.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact stated while her son was driving 60 mph, several unknown warning lights illuminated and the vehicle began to accelerate independently. The driver pulled over and parked on the side of the roadway. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not informed of failure. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.
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While operating at 65+ miles per hour on the interstate my Kia Optima hybrid had a catastrophic engine failure causing my car to have total loss of power. I had to safely pull over to the side of the road due to this. This engine failure occurred at approximately 97300 miles, which would still be under the original warranty, had I been the original owner. A local mechanic told me the engine was seized. After doing research about these specific types of cars I learned that the regular, non-hybrid, Kia Optima had recalls for engine failures so I called Kia corporate to see if I had coverage. Kia corporate initially told me that my car would possibly be covered if a specific part failed (rod bearings). If this was true then I would have gone through a claims process to get warranty coverage for my car. Because of this I decided to have my car towed to a Kia dealership. After a few days at a dealership I was again informed that my engine had seized (without determining why/ what part failed), but the story changed. Kia then told me that there was zero chance that my car would be covered even if the specific part had failed ( which we didn't know). I called corporate again upon hearing this news and spoke to someone who looked at the transcript/summary for my initial call and told me that what I was initially told didn't happen. They told me that I was lying to them and that what I was told in my first conversation with corporate didn't happen. Kia quoted me a new engine for 10000+ dollars (thousands more than the car is worth) and billed nearly 200 dollars for a diagnostic that likely took mere minutes. Ultimately I decided to have another mechanic put in a refurbished engine for about half the price. I believe that the deception that Kia put me through was wrong and that it is completely unacceptable for a well-cared for car to suddenly die without warning.
18V363 17220 it has made a loud clanking/knocking noise. It stalled then completly died once I got off the main highway and wouldnt crank again. It uses an awful lot of oil. Upon first oil change it had shards of metal in it. The place I got the vehicle from says they put new motor in it among other things but I havent seen in change in things other than it doesnt smoke under the hood while idling.
- Berry, AL, USA
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The contact owned a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving in the neighborhood, the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer (glassman Kia 28000 telegraph rd, southfield, mi 48034 (888) 451-0949) and they said the vehicle was stuck in limp mode. The dealer said that they reprogrammed engine with a code for a recall repair. The failure recurred again while the contact was driving at 40 mph the vehicle sputtered. The contact tried to pull off the road and the vehicle spun around and crashed into the curve and into a telephone pole. There were no injuries and no police report was filed. The contact left the crash scene and the vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. The manufacturer was called and gave the contact a claim number but said there was nothing they could do. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 118,000.
My car loses power when I use the horn. It happens while parked with the engine on and in traffic. Initially, I thought it was faulty electrical problem because there were 3 active recalls needing to be fixed. I recently took my vehicle to a certified Kia service center to get the recalls taken care of and additonally, had the A/C compressor, struts, and a belt replaced. I also described the issue of engine power loss when I use the horn with service tech and attempted to demonstrate. However, my car didn't duplicate the issue. I'm not sure if the techs tested it thoroughly during the days it was being serviced. The final detailed bill states that the car wouldn't duplicate the issue. I'm currently satisfied with the fixed recalls, A/C, belt, and other minor repairs. I'm highly concerned and frustrated that I'm still experiencing engine, acceleration, RPM, and A/C failure whenever I need to use my horn. A couple of days ago while in traffic, I had to blow the horn because a distracted driver nearly side swiped me. As a result, my car loss power. I couldn't accelerate and the transmission wouldn't shift. I ended up doing around 30mph until I made it to a safe destination. I called for help, but after I turned the car off and back on, it was as if it never happened. I'm furious about it because the distracted driver proceeded to tailgate and intimidate me out of anger. Lastly, it was not professional or caring to be laughed at when I voiced this problem at the service center. I need help and answers before something more terrible happens. The number of engine and electrical complaints are startling. I'm hoping that my issue will be taken seriously and looked into. I'm not comfortable driving my car.
I was driving on the highway travelling straight in traffic at about 50 mph when my car stalled. I was able to restart it, then it stalled again. Then I restarted it one more time. Then it made a grinding clunking sound like something snapped and was getting whipped around by the moving parts. Then it had no throttle response and I was forced to pull over into the breakdown lane as the car no longer was running.
My car just died while I was driving. I had a aaa technician come out for a tow. He inspected my engine and found out there was a low amount of oil and metal shavings. After being towed to a auto shop they determined my engine frozed and informed me I need to purchase a new engine. They also found metal shavings
While driving on a highway in Oregon, my car stalled and made weird sounds out of nowhere. On a broad curve, my car slowed down quickly and luckily there weren't any cars behind me. There was no warning that the engine was going to fail. I tried to pull over safely to the narrow shoulder and let the car cool down for a little bit. I tried starting it again and the engine sounded like rocks in a blender. I have taken great care of my hybrid and has no history of other issues and it only has 89,000 miles on it. The mechanic said the engine needs to be replaced and that it is a common problem with the 2.4 L theta II engine from my car's year.
The theta 2.4gdi engine was replaced in my 2011 Kia Optima May 2019, after a total engine seizure that left me stranded at an intersection in albuquerque nm. It has started to experience the same pattern of malfunctioning in the last 10 months, sporadically, first while driving and another time while attempting to start my vehicle. However, pronounced malfunctioning. I am dumbfounded that Kia states they cannot duplicate the problem as I have provided videos of the noises for their review!! they themselves write in articles that they prefer to repair before total engine seizure. However, I took my vehicle back to pitre Kia, where the engine was originally replaced and now they say the engine warranty was 12 months, even though their literature states differently. When you attempt to follow that advise, they completely switch to total rudeness and go as far as laughing at you for your concern over the vehicle that you paid for and which ultimately pays their salary!! I just want to have faith in my vehicle that it will not leave me stranded. I am restricted, at this time, from going out of town. I do not trust my vehicle to take me anywhere, much less make the necessary trips to Santa Fe (56 miles away) due to the fear of getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, I am a 64 years old disabled female and thought I had purchased a reliable vehicle only to find out that is the farthest from the truth. Now their customer service representatives and supervisors are in total denial of their faulty equipment and then proceed to be rude! they can lie all they want, but they do know of the lawsuits over their faulty engines!! they are just being told by the greedy corporate heads not to comply with repairs.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine), however, the part needed for the repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact pulled to the shoulder and attempted to restart the vehicle. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
I reported my Kia with an engine failure problem a few weeks ago. Got a call from Kia today and they refuse to cover because even though the recall by NHTSA is for 2 and 2.4 L Optima, Kia is claiming it is for a specific type of engine. I should pay 6200 and submit for possible reimbursement. Mine is an mpi and it is excluded. How can you exclude my engine" why would my engine fail for no viable reason and the dealership claims to have never seen that happen" my car has always been serviced at the dealership. I am asking for a thorough investigation and not a phone investigation.. my car is a 2.4L I4 mpi hybrid electric DOHC. An engine fails for a reason. Kia has had debris issues with engines and if mine is the first then so be it. Please have someone look at the car to ascertain this was not a lemon engine from the get go. This brush off by Kia is unacceptable.
Car check engine light came on while driving, car started making loud noise and smoke starts coming out of the engine. Parked car and had car towed to dealer. Dealer states engine internal failure and engine needs to be replaced. This is a car that's only serviced at dealership. Last 360 point inspection was November 2019. Last dealership visit May 2020. Recall states 2-liter and 2.4 liter four cylinder engines. Kia states its for gdi not mpi. Your report did not specify. Please assist. Thank you.
Car starts smoking and making noise while driving a day before scheduled appointment. Car towed to dealer 6/23/2020- rods in engine went bad, engine needs to be replaced. 360 point inspection November 2019. This car was bought used and has been serviced at the dealership since purchase. It is frustrating the dealership in May 2020 did not detect a problem and I am now at this point. The check engine light comes on continuously and we have been to the dealership at least 4 times in the past year for this check engine light issue. What's the point of using a dealership to service your car?
The motor seized up while driving. No lights came on. Checked oil that had metal shavings in the oil. We have been doing regular oil changes on the vehicle. It will no longer run.
The fuel injector required replacement. The car sputtered and came to a complete stop without warning. It sputtered while driving on the highway; it came to a complete stop at the moment that I moved onto the exit ramp. The dealership performed a full diagnostic and reported that the fuel injector required replacement. While repairing the injector, the mechanic reported that the catalytic converter was damaged due to the injector leaking and clogging the converter. No codes alerted myself, or the mechanic to these issues. The mechanic reported that neither issue was covered under the engine recall.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact stated after making a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle started to jerk. The vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they diagnosed the vehicle with complete engine failure. The contact spoke with stokes Kia (202 S goose creek blvd, goose creek, SC 29445) where she was informed that the vehicle was included in the NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the remedy was a four step process. She was informed that a diagnostic test needed to be performed on vehicle to determine whether she would be eligible for an engine replacement under the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Atlanta, GA, USA