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 contact owned a?2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, smoke started to enter the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated a bystander yelled at her telling her that the vehicle was on fire, and the contact exited the vehicle. The vehicle then exploded. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A police report and a fire department report were filed. No injuries were sustained. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard, and then it was towed to a Kia dealer. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by Kia. The contact was relating the failure to an NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) letter she received. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
While driving will will get -??hybrid system. Warning check brakes-??. Car will loose acceleration. After turning car off for five minutes, error goes away and car drives. Happens for no reason and has occurred 4 times in the last week
While driving down the highway the cars Hybrid warning system came on causing the car to lose all breaks and lose power. The component of the vehicle that failed is the HECU. Kia already did a recall for this but did not include the hybrids for the recall. This is very unsafe losing all breaking power, driving 65 mph down the highway with my children in the car! There was absolutely no warning, no check engine lights nothing. I had it towed to the dealership and upon them driving it, it also cut completely out and did it to the person at the dealership. This is going to cause someone to lose their life and when you call Kia, it-??s the same run around that your year wasn-??t included in the recall yet there was a whole lawsuit about this.
Because the brake stopper or brake switch are messed up and my brake tail light stays on all night causing it to drain the battery If the car is braking while I-??m driving it and the traction control light comes on and the speed is decreasing as I-??m driving because the car is braking on it-??s own it has nothing to do with the lights Nor the battery the root of the issue is the brake line because the tail light will not cut off because the brakes are still engaged even when the car is off causing the tail lights to stay on so the lights is what is draining the battery the lights stay on all night in a car the battery dies but the battery nor the lights is the issue it-??s the brakes
I was driving ~40-45, mph and my car stopped on its own, a warning -??? came up in the dash regarding ABS and to stop and not drive, luckily no one ran into me and I was able to pull over. I called a service center and they told me I could bring it in and they would do a diagnostic. I turned the car off and back on, the message was gone and my husband came and followed me to the shop. They ran the history and it was a code for ABS, they reset it and I was on my way. Not long after, I started hearing what sounded like a woodpecker under the hood and loud, while the car was on, in route and off. I took it in and service center was unable to diagnose/duplicate the noise and was told I would have to leave it, however, due to not having another means of transportation, I was unable to leave it. Twice more it gave me the ABS dash warning with stop and do not drive. I took it in and was told it Brake booster/ABS was making a noise, however, I need to take it to Kia for further assessment, which is not for 11 more days. According to accounts read online, this is a common issue and is dangerous for a car to stop you while driving.
- Valdosta, GA, USA
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I was driving on the highway and all of sudden my car started decelerating. I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed the brake lights were illuminated although I was NOT pressing the brake pedal.
My engine went out on my 2012 Kia optima hybrid in 2022. I was not aware of a recall on the engines. We paid for repair. Can we get reimbursed" Also we are now having issues with the braking system and the abs light is coming on. I see that there is a recall on this. Can this get repaired" I uploaded receipt well bank statement showing purchase from Martin imports in the amount of $1391. And we were charged $700 to put motor in.
My engine failed. Dick Withams here in Waterloo, IA was paid by Kia to replace engine for free due to my warranty. Dick Withams rushed the process and allowed me back on the road with no coolant plug( which was detected immediately) I returned the car and Dick Withams attached a plug so my coolant wouldn't spill over on the ground. Every time I pressed my brakes THERE WAS A HORRIBLE SOUND LIKE MY DRIVE AXIAL WAS NOT PUT TOGETHER WHEN Putting the engine back. Kia is allowing Mechanics to fix these recalls of MAJOR SAFETY ISSUES FOR myself and my family. I then returned vehicle to Cedar Falls, IA Dick Withams to fix issue Friday morning. They have yet to communicate anything with me. Now I'm just without a vehicle even though it's covered under warranty. It should be against the law for the car dealership to return a recalled engine without driving the car to see if they rushed the service and failed to put vehicle back together CORRECTLY.
While in cruise control hitting the breaks resulted in the car not wanting to slow down or stop. Had to go off road inorder to not hit vehicles in front of me. I turned off ABS and this issue isn't there. I have no warnings for my ABS system and this doesn't happen often. However it's getting worse now this is the worse it has ever been.
Brakes do not work properly, changed pads but still same problem. A noise on engine and the vehicle does not speed more than 65-70 mph. Drivers seat don't work properly.
Brakes squick even after repair and replacement and has a slower response time then usual and caused a rear end accident, cooling and heated seats stopped working on the driver side which I met owners of my exact car said the same thing has happened to them, and the passenger seat controllers doesn't work to operate adjustable seats! the suspensions has been bad every since the recall on the engine; for some reason it was giving back to me with that problem from Kia dealership. Back-up camera is malfunctioning for years now and car doesn't even beep when getting too close to objects/other vehicles anymore either for years! I'm just finding out about the process, recall laws and right to an investigation.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the rear brake lamps illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was turned off however, the brake lamps remained illuminated with the ESC warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the only way to turn the brake lamps off, was to disconnect the battery. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The dealer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
Vehicle's ABS brake activate randomly illuminating the ABS brake signal on dashboard, while in motion and without touching the brakes. This causes the vehicle to decelerate and has made the vehicle come to a near complete stop. Even if the gas pedal is pressed to accelerate the vehicle will not increase speed, only decrease. The issue happens 8/10 times while making turns and approx 5/10 while driving straight on freeway. This happened on 11/08/2019 in the evening, I immediately took my vehicle back to Kia and they claimed to have driven my car for 20 miles and didn't see or experience any issues. My car is a 2012 and only has 58, 388 miles. I demanded they keep looking but they caught an attitude like I made the scenario up and any stated that I should drive the car with their mechanic as they "cannot replicate my driving", like I'm driving in the [xxx] indy 500. Since it is now Sunday, and the dealer is closed it will be sitting in their service center Monday morning! parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
I was driving 60-70 mph when my hybrid system alerted me that my breaks were an issue. I then tried to slow and could not. The car slowed itself as a safty procaution but I was in 70 mph traffic. Not safe. It would not completely stop so I was forced with the option of hitting a tree to make it stop. Kia says that it my breaks electrical system but that doesn't make since. I have my car worked on repeatedly to avoid this and now look? something malfunctioned that shouldn't have.
Vehicle's ABS brake activate randomly illuminating the ABS brake signal on dashboard, while in motion and without touching the brakes. This causes the vehicle to decelerate and has made the vehicle come to a near complete stop. Even if the gas pedal is pressed to accelerate the vehicle will not increase speed, only decrease. The issue happens 8/10 times while making turns and approx 5/10 while driving straight on freeway. This issue has been occurring for the last 4 months. For example on Friday 10/11/19 the ABS brake system activated, causing the car to come to a sudden deceleration 12 times within a 30 mile distance. The local dealer states there is nothing they can do. Vehicle just hit 127,000 miles. Second owner since 32,000 miles. Regularly serviced and professional maintenance.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. While driving approximately 40 mph, the brakes lost power and caused the vehicle to crash into the preceding vehicle. The ABS indicator illuminated prior to the failure and remained lit. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The contact's vehicle was damaged and towed to the contact's residence by aaa. The other vehicle was not damaged. The contact called Texas motorcars houston Texas at 832-794-0499 (located at 11031 bissonnet St, houston, tx 77099), but no assistance was provided. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000. The VIN was unknown.
Brake light switch malfunctioning. Brake light on all the time rendering cruise control and electronic stability control inoperable. Loss of power in engine as it thinks brakes are applied making it dangerous to drive. Root cause is brake pedal stopper (Kia part 32876-36000) developing a puncture hole over time making the brake switch believe brakes are applied. Known issue on other Kia models. Believe the sorento already have a recall for something very similar.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Indian Head, MD, USA