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've owned this vehicle for about one week. Within the first two days I noticed a slight drifting of the vehicle while driving above 40 mph, but dismissed it as being caused by the high winds that were occurring during that time. Over the next few days, these drifting experiences lingered. The worst experience occurred 02/14/13, between 5:30pm and 6:15pm, a high traffic period, on a freeway which is currently under construction. After making a left turn from a traffic light onto the freeway, I proceeded into the left lane. Within a few feet, or acceleration to 50 mph or so, the front wheels, began to pull toward the right. Both of my hands were on the steering wheel the entire time, but I had to steer slightly left to correct to avoid going into the right lane. A few seconds later, the same scenario occurred as above. I next changed to the right lane as my exit was nearing. Within 3/4 mile there is a slight curve left, which the car had issues cornering and again led to my having to steer to correct. This is safety concern, a serious one. This is not a random, every so often occurrence. It is daily, frequent, if I travel on a freeway or anytime speed limits are above 35 mph. There are other instances of what appear to be cornering issues. Left turns are awkward if you follow proper procedure for turning into the lane closest to you. Most turns end up wide, as if you're driving a wider chassis vehicle, I.e. a pick-up or SUV. The steering defect even appears noticeable upon parking, as the steering wheel is always a hair off center when you park straight in a stall or space. In the city I reside in the state of Nevada, constant road construction, lanes that change from horizontal to zig-zag every few feet, the last thing needed is a car that has any hint of a fault with steering or suspension.
About a day after I bought my brand new 2013 Kia, I noticed that the vehicle veered to the left. I took it back that weekend to get an alignment and the dealer told me that it wasn't an alignment, but that the steering column was off. So, they adjusted that. When I took delivery of the vehicle again, the issue was still there. I took the car to them again, and this time, they said the steering wheel was twisted. I then moved from va to fl two days later. At this point I only had about 1200 miles on my car. During the trip, I noticed the steering doing the exact same issue. I called the dealer and asked them to just tell me what the issue was with the car. I was told that my vehicle was made with a batch of other vehicles that had this issue and there is a technical bulletin involved with it. She said its protocol to bring the vehicle in multiple times so that they can rule out certain issues. She stated the next step was to redo the suspension. Unfortunately for me, I had to go to a different dealer for this because I was now in fl. Also, unfortunately for me, the first dealer didn't record when I went in the first two times. So when I go to this new dealer at 2500 miles, they have no idea what I'm talking about, give me an alignment that doesn't solve the issue and send me on my way. This is truly ridiculous. I bought a new car to avoid these issues. And Kia needs to own up and fix these steering wheel issues properly. I'm going back to the dealer again tomorrow. Please recall this steering wheel issue.
At highway speeds vehicle is not stable. I have had it checked at the dealer and they say that everything is within specs. Vehicle doesn't pull in one direction, but it has a hard time tracking down the road. Slight imperfections, wind, or tire issues will cause the vehicle to dart left/right. An immediate correction on the steering wheel is required which is slightly more than required to return to center-line and thus requires another correction in the reverse direction. Any deviation from the center-line requires two corrections and extreme vigilance on the steering wheel. It is easy characterized as a wandering, but is more accurately described as an unsettled issue at highway speeds. It is also most obvious at highway speeds around 70mph.
2013 Kia Optima. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle steering to the right the consumer also stated, sometimes the belt made a squeaky noise. He also noticed a slight hesitation when pulling off from a red light or stop sign. The consumer also stated the vehicle did not come with a key to open the trunk. Updated 01/22/13 the consumer stated the vehicle has many serious electrical and computer problems. Updated 06/27/2017
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- North Las Vegas, NV, USA