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 owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that after the vehicle was repaired under recall, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly while depressing the accelerator pedal and there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the same local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from under the hood, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated the vehicle was repaired under an unidentified recall; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
We took our 2013 KIA Optima 4D EX to the local Kia dealership for diagnosis of what we perceived to be a knock engine sensor issue. We delivered the vehicle at 0920, 5 July 2024. The vehicle sat at the dealership for 4 weeks waiting for the diagnosis which was ultimately that the engine needed to be replaced...under warranty. On 16 August 2024, after so many calls to the dealership (Spradley Kia, Pueblo) and Kia Customer Support, we were informed that the service ticket was closed. No reason for it to be closed...just closed. Warranty work not complete. No offer to complete any of the other recalls on the vehicle. Not only would we like all recalls to be complete we would really like that to be completed in a timely manner.
On [XXX] @ approx. 9:30pm while driving south on [XXX] between Pullman, WA and Lewiston, ID. my 2013 Kia Optima SXL turn off with warning, the engine turned off and never started again. no lights, smoke, smells or leaks. there were no noises of any kind come from the car, nothing to alert me there was a problem. at the time there was no music playing. My daughter was sleeping so the only noise was the car, if there were any noises from the engine they were not muffled by conversation or music. I called my wife who came up and I tried to jump it, thinking perhaps the alternator failed. Due to the location, we were not able to fully exit the highway, the car was a half tire width over the white line. This is a rural location not an elevated interstate, as such traffic though moving fast was not bumper to bumper. Next day I drove up and pushed the car about 100yards behind where it was, on the opposite side of the road. Then called a roll back to haul the car to a local shop. They were able to best guess the diagnosis as a seized engine. as the engine was not turning over, and manually turning the crank was not possible. I trailered it to my house, removed the serp. belt and was able to very slightly turn the crank with a 2.5ft long breaker bar. it is currently in my garage. Oil was changed recently; it was not low. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact received notification NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V100000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) in 2022; however, the recall repair was not completed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.
On 7/31, we had the HECU Fuse recall fixed at the Federico Kia Dealership. In 8/1, one day later, when driving the vehicle all of the car emergency lights came on, the engine started smoking and eventually caught fire. Fire department and police were called. Vehicle was toed to Kia Dealership. The next morning 8/2 we spoke with the service manager at the dealership, who was no help and gave us a 1-800 number to call Kia directly. Since this fire directly pertains to the part they -??fixed-?? the day before during the recall, we believe the dealership did not fix the issue and believe something they -??fixed-?? caused the issue as we have never had any prior issues with the engine.
KIA, in Clay New York, refuses to fix the recall on the bearing that caused my engine to cease, i did not know that my car had a recall because i was never notified! My car broke down as i was driving it, i had it towed to Kia, found out there were recalls, but the dealership will not honor the recall and fix my car.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle, but the failure recurred while the transmission was shifted into drive(D). After several attempts, the vehicle restarted and went into LIMP Mode. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone, where error code P1326 was retrieved. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The dealer contacted the manufacturer, who determined that the brake booster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
I've had my car since late 2018. A couple years after having I've noticed it's burning oil. I made an appt at Evansville Kia dealership & was called the day before appt to be told the excessive oil consumption test was not part of the warranty. I asked what am I suppose to do keep spending money on oil" The mechanic told me to keep topping it off til it quits, cause he said it's going to quit. How is this safe" Not knowing when & where you will be when something happens. My car is now using a quart or more of oil every 500 or so miles. This is ALOT of money out of pocket.
While driving on the freeway I noticed my car wasnt going as I was pushing the gas and noticed all my dash lights were on like I was in accessory mode. I coasted to the edge of the freeway and decided to pop my hood and see if it was my battery cable that came loose. While waiting for traffic to break I noticed my hood looked alittle hazy like it was hot. When I was able to get out of my car I noticed black smoke coming from under the hood so I backed off and called 911.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the knock sensor and engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the vehicle had a Salvage Title and no coverage under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 159,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the engine seized. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while the contact was driving into the driveway at the residence. In addition, the contact attempted to start the vehicle; however, the vehicle did not start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was determined that the engine had seized. The contact was advised to have the vehicle towed to the dealer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was confirmed that the engine had seized. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced; however, the contact was informed that due to missing maintenance documents, the repair was not eligible to be performed under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that an oil change was recently performed; however, two weeks later, the oil level was extremely low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed turbo charger. The contact was informed that the turbo charger needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the turbo charger and the engine were replaced two years ago by the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
I haven't had any accidents yet but the problem is that there is noise in the engine of my car and my car runs like a diesel vehicle making noise like a diesel engine, that's all just that, I would simply like to have your help on this. All my best regards, thank you
Car stopped accelerating on the highway. Check engine lights and other lights went on. Dealership is refusing to inspect the car without the CEL staying on. My family's life is at risk as long as Kia deems this car safe to drive. The dealer and corporate refuse to inspect it without a check engine light staying on when starting up again.
I have maintained my car well since i first bought it. I was randomly cruising [XXX] 2024 at [XXX] and my car stopped and nothing worked. No ignition, my wheel locked, my brakes locked and all i could see was black smoke coming out of engine. I had recently changed the oil on 11th May 2024 so I know that wasnt the oil that messed my car up and on internet it shows the recalls for fire in engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
We took the car in for the recalls. ASC245 Headliner plates - they state they still don-??t have the part. BSC2484QF HECU fuse. After they replaced the fuse, the car started losing power when driving, as well as the traction control lights were on, and the brake lights were on. I have read on the KIA forum this is happening to multiple people following the fuse replacement. We took the car back to KIA the same day and they told us it was nothing to do with what they did. We have now taken it to another non KIA mechanic. This is extremely dangerous and clearly related.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was not provided. The independent mechanic informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe, and the vehicle was decelerating unintendedly. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred intermittently. The contact stated that the engine oil was topped off several times; however, there was no warning light notifying the contact that the oil level was low. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving or parked, there was an abnormally strong fuel odor coming from the vehicle. The check engine and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The contact replaced the battery, and the warning lights were deactivated. The contact stated the strong fuel odor persisted and the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a fuel leak. The contact was informed that the fuel injectors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 190,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Orlando, FL, USA