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 am a new owner of a 2012 LX Kia Optima with 27K miles. My concern is when driving at highway speeds greater than 65 mph you have to use two hands on steering wheel just to keep the vehicle straight and from pulling left or right. It feel as if the steering wheel slips and is quite alarming. I have to work harder to keep it in the lanes making me more tired.
2012 Kia Optima hybrid. Has been demonstrating a very nervous steering (left and right pulling), more markedly at highway speeds, even since brand new, but incident date reported was the first time the problem was extremely noticeable. Incident event reported was not an accident, but close one. Even after installation of new tires, balancing and alignment, steering keeps responding nervously, causing driver fatigue and not imparting too much confidence to the driver at high speeds.
The owner of a 2012 LX Kia Optima with 14K mi but very concern after discovering that at highway speeds greater than 65-75 mph you have to use two hands on steering wheel just to keep the vehicle straight and from pulling left or right. I'm not a tech but, if I had to guess, my money is on the electronic/power steering device. I love everything about this car and if Kia/Hyundai motors wants to keep their sells, then they better "own it!" this is definitely a recall/ NHTSA safety matter that should be taken seriously. Electronic/power steering is an area that should be looked at and resolved immediately for the safety of the public.
The vehicle drifts left and right constantly and substantially, we have taken it to the dealer more times than I can count. Same conclusion every time. Adjusted, and vehicle is within specifications. They have not and refuse to acknowledge there is a serious issue. As of January 8th 2013, over one year since purchasing the problem, it still exists. We recently was in a minor accident because of this problem. On a tight road with little or no room for waiver, we struck another vehicles mirror with ours at 70mph. Luckily there was only superficial damage besides both of us deciding we are not driving this car again due to the safety of our children and ourselves. We are currently pursuing a lemon claim on the vehicle. Bale Kia and crain Kia both have told us the same thing, could not duplicate and vehicle is within specifications, tsb #032. According to them they are assuming we are making this up. Along with the 30+ other complaints found on here.
I bought this Kia Optima sx in May 2012 because it's a beautiful car, basically with no hesitation. My first day driving it, I thought the steering felt a little different, tight, and pulled to the left and right and very hard to keep it going straight. I thought to myself, well it's a brand new car and has to be broken in a little maybe. About 500 miles in, problem didn't go away, took it to the dealer, they inspected the alignment, said alignment was ok, but the psi in tires was a little off and that it should fix the issue. Nothing has changed. Week later I took it in again. Was told everything is up to spec, and was told I am the first person to report this kind of issue with the car. I go home that night and google Optima steering problem...the search engine goes nuts!!! this is a issue with the Optima since 2011!!! I'm a truck driver and I can barely steer this car!!! how can this be safe on the roads"?" there is thousands of complaints of this exact problem!! when my wife drives it she tells me she can't even take a drink of her soda because she has to pay so much attention to holding the wheel straight!! I feel the same way!! come on Kia!!! come on D.O.T. it's only just a matter of time before this car causes a serious accident!! obviously the electronic power steering isn't safe!! so recall it!!
- New Berlin, WI, USA
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Vehicle hard to control and steer straight, especially at highway speeds. Severe pull to the left, though occasionally it drifts to the right. At city speeds, the steering problem is not as noticeable. I took the car to the dealer, and they checked the alignment. Minor adjustments, and tire inflation change, resulted in no significant change in the problem...it remains severe. If you let go of the steering wheel, then the car swiftly move across to the left lanes.
Brand new vehicle pulled to right and also drifted left to right at 8 miles on highway with a speed of 55. I though all that it needed was a simple alignment I took it back to the dealer at just under 3000 miles and the tech drove it and told me it was fine I just need to get used to it. This car did not drive like the 2 that I had driven before I purchased it. The tech did an alignment and said the rear wheel was off from the factory. The car still did the same thing it felt loose and drifted on highway and straitways. I took it to another dealer that day and the tech drove it for 30 seconds and noticed the steering is was not right.he spent a great deal of time performing an alignment and once I drove it was fine. There was a slight pull to the right but most cars do have that. The tech gave me a print out of the alignment and the front camber was not to factory settings he told me that he could not adjust it. After driving 700 miles later the loose feeling and the drifting returned. I have contacted the original dealer again and I am hoping for a resolution soon.
The vehicle steering seems tight which is fine, but when accelerating between 30-45 mph the vehicle veers off to the left. I am reading that this is not normal for this vehicle. This is an issue and I believe needs to be fixed.
Brand new Kia Optima has steering drift (diffuculty driving in a straight line). Dealer indicated typical of electronic steering and did nothing but check alignment. Very unnerving and dangerous. Condition still exists.
Constant correction of the steering wheel is needed to keep the car on the road. I have been on line and have found many complaints on this issue. Will be going back to dealer but based on everything I have read I don't expect this to be resolved. I am sure this an electronic steering issue and I believe a recall is warranted.
I bought Kia Optima 2012 in month of January 2012. Since I own vehicle I notice that car is steering to it's left side. I called dealer and reported this issue. Dealer suggests issue is because of electronic control system. I noticed this problem since I own and dealer advise that it should go away after few thousand miles. In my opinion this is dangerous and must be adversely effecting to tires and other steering mechanism components.
Immediately after purchase we noticed an obvious issue with steering - not able to keep control of the car, veering to the left or right, taxing and exhausting effort to just drive the car. Called dealership and was told that it was something we'd have to get used to due to the new electronic steering. After a couple of days, we were tempted to take the car back due to being "tired" from driving home each day! after talking with a neighbor who has the same car, he said he had the exact same problem and took it back to the dealership. He said they did some type of special wheel balancing and it fixed the problem. Decided to take the car back for a check. Asked about tire rotation or alignment check. Service cross-rotated the tires and it drives better, but is still a very different drive.
I just purchased a brand new 2012 Optima from a dealer in coral springs, fla. Other than one important problem, I love this car. Here is the important safety issue: When you get over 40mph, the car will not go straight- it continues to move out of the lane you are driving in. No matter how small of a steering correction you make- when you hold the steering "completely still"- the car still moves to the left, then to the right when you inch it back- the car steering mechanism seems to not let the car travel straight ahead. The steering will not keep the car going straight, so this is a safety issue because the car keeps automatically taking you out of your lane!!! when I was on the fla turnpike heading home from the dealer today, this situation must have occurred a hundred times. I have owned more than 50 cars over the years, of all makes and sizes- and this issue has never occurred before. I hope you can help get this "safety issue" resolved asap. I will go back to the dealer tomorrow to discuss the problem. Thank you.
The electric assist power steering has failed while driving multiple times leaving the driver with reduced control of the vehicle due to the extreme effort required to steer the vehicle. Indicator lights include traction control, eps and tco. Power steering can be restored by shutting down the car and restarting. Dealer's first attempt to correct after three instances of failure and reset involved calibration of the steering indicator. This lasted approximately 200 miles. Subsequent failure reported to dealer and the vehicle is currently there being diagnosed for the second time.
Car is very hard to keep control on the road. Kia dealership says it is the way the new electronic control works. On acceleration, car steers to left into oncoming traffic, and it takes much effort to keep it going straight on road. On the highway it feels as if the wind is blowing it around on the road. It also makes a pull to the left or right on its own.
Upon the purchase of my 2012 Kia Optima sx I noticed a pull to the left in the steering wheel. The dealership is approx. 80 miles from my home, driving home I noticed the tug and the car's inclination to veer left. I felt a constant pressure on the wheel to veer. I took the car back within a week or two and had the service dept. Check the veer. Of course, I was told there is no veer. The car continues to stray, now at 3500 miles. The car will be going in for service next week for the same problem and for maintenance. I have spoken to another dealership's salesman who has confirmed for me there is a definite issue with the Optima's steering and to date, they don't know what to do with it. I love this car, I absolutely love it, but the pull is a problem. By the time I drive the car at cruise speed on the highway and get back with it, I literally feel tired in the arm and shoulder from the pressure to keep it straight in the lanes. Also, lately at approx. 3000 miles, I've noticed that in reverse, the backup camera doesn't always come on when shifting gears. It has a hesitation that has lasted as long as 30 - 40 seconds before I can see behind the car. Anyone who has driven the Optima knows, you can't see anything behind you in that car due to the low sitting seats and higher trunk - it has to be tall to see it behind you. I'm taking the car to a different dealership for service next time, from there, I'll decide as to what happens next as far as keeping this car.
Steering pulls to the left. I have to always correct. Many times I end up over correcting when going through a curve. I made several attempts to correct the tire pressure. Tire pressure was 42 psi when I drove it off the lot. I brought it down to 38 psi and seemed to help a little. I finally took all four tires down to 35 psi, and almost drove it off the road while going through a right curve at 50 mph. By the way, the speed limit was 50 mph. The freeway is also an issue. Always having to correct the steering bouncing back and forth between the lane lines. This is very dangerous, and should be looked into by the NHTSA. Having to over correct is not fun situation to be in. I drove many high performance vehicles, and this is the most concerning. Beautiful car with tons of potential. Steering needs fixed!!!!!!!!
I purchased a 2012 Kia Optima on 1-13-12 and immediately discovered it pulled to the left. The dealer has admitted they do not know how to fix it and today (2-5-2012) the dealer bought it back. I lost $5,000 by selling it back but I am just glad to not have to drive the car any more. Kia should have to fix this problem or buy the cars back at the selling price. The customer should not be stuck with an unsafe vehicle or forced to drive it to avoid the loss. This pull left issue is well documented on the Kia forum site. I just wish I had checked that site before buying.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Alabaster, AL, USA