I am posting this in hopes other Optima owners dealing with steering issues on their cars. I struggled for 3 years before my steering got fixed (totally by mistake). The dealer will constantly tell you that it's bad tires or front end alignment, bull sh*t. The dealers know exactly what the repair is but due to the cost, they continue to blow smoke up your ass. The repair is in the steering column, from the steering wheel to the floor. Even after finding out what the issue was, the dealership near me refused to repair what I call an extreme safety issue. I wasn't gonna take any more BS from these service managers, so I contacted the owner of the dealership. I was dealing with and Kia corporate. End result; I got a new steering column and now enjoy driving my beautiful Optima without struggling to keep it on the road. Hope this helps someone, what a difference.

There is a failure in which the steering wheel is loosely connected and not aligned. In addition, the steering wheel is making an abnormal noise when I turn left or right or when I hit any bumps in the road whether they are big or small. An independent mechanic stated that an alignment was unable to be completed because there was a recall that needed to be repaired first for the steering. The contact was advised to call a dealer. The dealer was notified of the failure and indicated that there was no recall. I am extremely frustrated as this is not the only issue I have had with this car!!!

I purchased my KIA Optima on 09/15/2015. After driving this vehicle for a month my car started veering off to the right or left. I had the tires checked thinking it was the tires. The tires were fine. Come the next month not only was the car veering to the left and right but the steering wheel began to stick upon driving. I took the vehicle to Car max where I originally purchased the car. I was told by the service department that it was not their problem and I needed to take it to KIA. I took the vehicle to Atlanta KIA South. I was told that they could not duplicate the problem. The problem did not stop. On 12/15/2015 I took the car to Son's KIA McDonough Ga. They also said their were no problem. The issue continued I took the vehicle back on 12/28/15 and also called KIA Consumer where they requested the service manager to drive the car. Upon the service manager driving the car, he determined that the steering was sticking and the car was veering to different sides of the road at a minimum speed or more. Setting was adjusted in the steering and some type of motor replaced. This did not correct the problem. I fought with KIA for months about the issue and they did absolutely nothing. I hired an attorney due to the safety of the vehicle and asked KIA if they would switch us out the car because we didn't feel safe. KIA DID NOT BUDGE< THEY DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...OF COURSE WE ARE STILL IN THE VEHICLE AND I DEVELOPED CARPAL TUNNEL IN BOTH WRIST FROM TRYING TO HOLD THE CAR IN THE ROAD WHILE DRIVING....

First of all I love the looks of the KIA. Its a really beautiful car inside and out, but the steering is a huge problem, you do not dare let go of the steering wheel. It walks all over the road, no matter how fast or slow you go. Very dangerous and very exhausting to an older person to drive. I will NEVER, NEVER buy another KIA and will tell others not too either. I have asked our local KIA dealers about the steering and they just shrug their shoulders and say they have never heard of anyone having trouble! Unbelievable after getting on this site and seeing how many others have trouble. Why don't you find out what you did wrong with the car in the first place and inform your dealers so they can fix it? Also the paint has not held up well at all. My car is in the garage at all times, and not left out in the sun, so there is another issue I am not satisfied with.

I BOUGHT MY 2013 KIA OPTIMA BRAND NEW WITH ONLY 1000 MILES ON IT AS IT WAS A DEMO CAR. I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT ANNOYING ISSUES WITH THIS CAR, FROM THE TIRE LIGHT ALWAYS COMING ON WHEN MY TIRES ARE NOT EVEN LOW TO THE CAR NOT BEING ABLE TO DRIVE A STRAIGHT LINE.

WHILE DRIVING PRETTY MUCH AT ANY SPEED THE CAR PULLS TO THE SIDE. I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY CORRECT THE STEERING WHICH ENDS UP MAKING MY WRIST HURT WHILE TRAVELING ANY LONG DISTANCES.

NOW I AM READING ONLINE THAT THE AIR BAGS HAVE NOT DEPLOYED IN CRASHES WHEN THEY SHOULD HAVE. KINDA MAKES ME NERVOUS TO EVEN PUT MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR, WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN TRUST THE AIR BAGS WILL DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER KIA AGAIN.

One day after sale ,Driving home & back to the dealer very hard to keep it on the road. Must have 2 hands on the wheel. So for a total of 24000 miles & multiple complaints, they (DEALER, MECHANICS) Cannot emulate the problem.

Had a Chevy Mechanic tell me & my dealer the car drives like it was possessed. Ignored once again by Outten in Pa.

How would you feel after that acknowledge. I am afraid to drive it.

Had it to the dealer 4x & one other Kia dealer who all stuck with nothing wrong..

So exhausting on a long trip to have to constantly adjust the steering wheel to go in a straight line. The car wanders all over the road. This is especially noticeable at freeway speeds but happens around town as well. The dealer already took it out of sport mode and set to Kia standard EPS setting, but didn't make any improvement. Something needs to be done about the power steering or electronic steering or whatever the issue is. I'm already pissed off that my car gets nowhere near the reported average mpg. My Kia only gets at most 20 mpg not 24 as stated on window sticker. But since 2013 isn't included in reimbursement program, I can't do a thing about it. The car looks great but with the messed up steering problem and overstated gas mileage, I'd say don't buy a KIa!!

Having purchased the car on 12/11/14 my daughter did not have much experience driving the car.... On December 27 she lost control of car, and ran into the wall on a busy highway in Chicago. The accident occurred on a dry evening, and she emphatically states that she does not know how she lost control of the car, and that it was pulling to the left. The only rationale conclusion was that she might have had a tire blow out. That is, until a friend recommended I check the web, and see if others may have been or are experiencing the same thing.

Although I had done my due diligence when researching the car e.g. recalls, known problems, etc., I did not check specifics such as steering. Long of the short, when I Googled steering problems, this site was one of the first to show up. I was amazed to find 35 complaints in reference to the same issue, which I think may have been the contributor to my daughter’s accident. Of course her insurance company will list this as her being at fault, however, I think this may be a result of the steering problems associated with the 2013 Optimas.

I wonder how many accidents or deaths it is going to take for Kia to admit something is not right and do the responsible thing? It sounds as though there needs to be a manufacturers’ recall before a fatal accident occurs, if it already has not happened...

Vehicle's steering will not stay on center. Pulls primarily to the left, many times pulling me into the opposite lane of traffic. VERY dangerous. It's also physically exhausting on my arms constantly having to redirect the steering to center and attempt (unsuccessfully) to keep it there. As soon as the car is redirected from veering to the left, it then oversteers and veers to the right. There is no centering this vehicles steering. I've already taken the car in for service once and it didn't fix the issue. I called Kia service department and told the manager that I am aware of the many dozen complaints of this same issue with the Kia Optima and that I want it corrected. He then said he was NOT aware of this "issue" and told me he would look into it and get back to me. There was no follow up from him. I waited three weeks and called back again. I was then told that a Kia Representative was going to be visiting and wants to meet with me and discuss the issue. Hmmmm. We'll see how that goes. In any event, i will keep bringing the car in until the issue is resolved. After 4 service calls on this same issue with no reprieve , I will seek a lawyer and the Lemon Law. Simple as that.