10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 12
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
27,269 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2016 Kia Optima engine problems

engine problem

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2016 Kia Optima Owner Comments (Page 9 of 17)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #162

Jan 062023

Optima

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Code P1326 (Knock Sensor Detection System) appeared on scanner after knocking and jerking randomly occurred one night. When researched was performed on if there have been recalls in the past, saw there was a recall for Knock Sensor Detection System back in 2021. Recall issues don-??t appear to be fixed with the KSDS despite prior recalls on this part.

- Springfield, VA, USA

problem #161

Dec 112022

Optima

  • miles
We purchased the car used (private party) in July. Afterward, we noticed it was using oil rapidly. We checked & refilled the oil several times. We also noticed a slight ticking sound when the car was running, but we did not think it was a problem. The day of the incident, the oil had been checked & topped off. Our college-age daughter was driving the car 70mph on I-75 north when she noticed a sound of high revving rpms while on cruise control. It continued to get louder over the next 2 minutes & became very concerning. She exited the freeway. The oil & engine lights came on at the beginning of the ramp. She was able to continue coasting through the light & into a parking lot, though the engine had limited power. Smoke filled the cabin & a strong smell, so she immediately exited the car. Smoke also came from the hood. The car could have caught on fire at this point, but we are glad it did not & our daughter's life was not harmed. We are thankful she exited the freeway when she did or she could have gotten into a wreck. These safety issues have occurred to some owners of this vehicle upon engine seizure. We had the car towed to Kia of Grand Blanc, MI. Upon inspection, they determined the engine had seized. They never opened the engine to look inside, only hooked up it for error code diagnostics. There was no record of the KSDS product improvement update being performed prior to the incident, so Kia Corporate has refused to replace the engine. Not the original owner of the car, we never received notification regarding this update. We had no way of knowing about it since we did not take it to a Kia dealership for maintenance (not required per the Magnussen-Moss Act (1975)). Prior maintenance was regularly completed at a local repair shop, & the previous owner provided us with all the records they had. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by anyone other than Kia. We are requesting an NHTSA inspection asap to pursue a covered engine and/or recall. Please contact us.

- Howell, MI, USA

problem #160

Nov 012020

Optima

  • miles
Oil changes every 3500 miles, however between those oil changes having to add more oil about every 7-8 hundred miles. Car is sluggish to start after sitting at a stop light. Spark plugs have been replaced twice during the life of the car. I know Kia is aware of all the engine issues and this is very frustrating. You buy a car thinking it will be dependable only to discover that it is a road hazard every time you leave your home.

- Fletcher, NC, USA

problem #159

Aug 222022

Optima

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased this vehicle about a year ago upon purchasing vehicle I noticed I was having to get an oil change every other week and when I would go in I would have no oil. Fast forward to now I am buying 5g oil from Advance Auto parts every week my car is burning through oil excessively and causing my sparks plugs and coils to go bad from the oil. I have had to get my coils and sparks plug replaced three times in 5 months. I took the vehicle to get an oil consumption test at the Conway Kia dealership and they said nothing was wrong which is inaccurate because no car is burning 5 g oil each week. My car is currently at 80,000 miles I know once it reach 100,000 my warranty voids and at that point Im left with no recourse on this vehicle

- North Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #158

Nov 042022

Optima

  • miles
I had my car for about 2 years and it had 1 owner before me. At first it was a great car no issues, but soon it became a nightmare. First thing I noticed was my lights would turn off by themselves whiles driving at night. I usually kept them on auto and they would randomly go off and I would have to turn they nob off and back on to get them to come on again. Soon after that I noticed that I would have to get oil changes more frequently. My oil light would come on and start to flicker only a few weeks after an oil change. My car was burning oil like crazy and it only got worse until it began to leak. Any time I had it serviced I was never told that I had a leak and my car would run fine for a few weeks and then the light would start to flicker again, usually anytime I pressed the brake. Not soon after that my car started to have problems accelerating and shaking really bad. I had the spark plugs changed and it ran fine for a few weeks and started to do it again. I took it into the shop and they told me that I needed a whole new engine and that it wasn't covered under the warranty. I would have to pay $5500 to get it fixed. So now it's just sitting because I can't afford it and Kia doesn't seem to care to do anything. I don't understand when I've read so many complaints with people having the same exact problems that I had. Now I'm stuck with a car that I can't drive and still owe on and have to find a new way of transportation to get to work. This is messed up that Kia knows about this and refuses to recall this car. Its a crap car and they couldn't care less about it. I've read other stories about the car locking up or stalling while people have been driving. This is a very dangerous and serious problem. I drive my kids around and their lives were in danger and I didn't even know it. Kia needs to do something!!!

- Canal Winchester, OH, USA

problem #157

Feb 012022

Optima

  • 79,993 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The oil level warning light was illuminated. The contact also noticed that the front driver's side tire was low. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who informed her that the vehicle was 3-quarts low on engine oil due to the excessive oil consumption. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred her to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 79,993.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

problem #156

Nov 202022

Optima

  • 124,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who replaced the spark plugs and coil pack; however, the failure persisted. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 124,000.

- Westwego, LA, USA

problem #155

Apr 052022

Optima

  • 91,083 miles
My dealership has confirmed oil consumption on my vehicle

- Ocala, FL, USA

problem #154

Oct 262022

Optima

  • miles
My 2016 Kia Optima sx engine lost significant power while on the highway at 65mph. Lost of power at highway speed was very dangerous. The engine suddenly ran increasingly rough, shaking the vehicle and drastically changing its performance. My girlfriend, myself, and other drivers on the highway were put at risk as I attempted to maneuver out of traffic and pull off to a safe area. Fortunately I was able to do this without collision or loss of control. I had my car towed to the dealership. There was no warning or engine light on before the incident. The dealership has diagnosed a cracked valve and no firing in cylinder 3. They recommend a new engine. They do not know what caused this issue. The vehicle has about 78,000 miles on it. I am the second owner, warranty is expired, and it is not covered under an active recall. The vehicle is currently at a Kia dealership and available for third party inspection upon request. Please help.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #153

Feb 102021

Optima

  • miles
The engine was burning oil rapidly without any indicators or lights on dashboard warning to get it fixed or anything like that.

- Bethany, OK, USA

problem #152

Oct 262022

Optima

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On Sept. 21, 2021, my Kia Optima Hybrid ex shut down and would not start. I took it to King of Hybrid EV Auto Repair where they ran a diagnostic test and found that there was an issue with the Hybrid System affecting the transmission and the High-voltage system. I paid $3,000 out-of-pocket. On October 26, 2022, while driving 75mph on Hwy 15 to Las Vegas, my car randomly shut down. The dash warning lights read "STOP VEHICLE TO CHARGE BATTERY". I was in an unsafe position with cars speeding past me. I was afraid that I would be rear-ended by another car. I had to have my car towed. I believe that these cars have issues with faulty high voltage systems and transmissions. Please investigate. Thank you.

- Hemet, CA, USA

problem #151

Oct 262022

Optima

  • miles
On Sept. 21, 2021, my Kia Optima Hybrid ex shut down and would not start. I took it to King of Hybrid EV Auto Repair where they ran a diagnostic test and found that there was an issue with the Hybrid System affecting the transmission and the High-voltage system. I paid $3,000 out-of-pocket. On October 26, 2022, while driving 75mph on Hwy 15 to Las Vegas, my car randomly shut down. The dash warning lights read "STOP VEHICLE TO CHARGE BATTERY". I was in an unsafe position with cars speeding past me. I was afraid that I would be rear-ended by another car. I had to have my car towed. I believe that these cars have issues with faulty high voltage systems and transmissions. Please investigate. Thank you.

- Hemet, CA, USA

problem #150

Nov 302022

Optima

  • miles
Too much oil consumption. Consuming 3 quarts of oil in 3000 miles. No leaks. Did oil consumption testing through Kia dealership. Kia dealer says it needs a new engine and the vehicle is only 6 years old with 73k miles. Still under extended warranty and Kia dealer will not cover the cost of the engine.

- Lee's Summit, MO, USA

problem #149

Jan 262021

Optima

  • miles
I have been having issues with my vehicle randomly not wanting to start at first. There wasn-??t any warning lights showing up. I have noticed that my vehicle is going through a LOT of oil. This is at least the 3rd time were I have had a few thousand miles left on my oil change but when I drive and press the break, the oil light comes on. When checked the oil is empty. These engines need to be throughly checked out by the manufacturers. I also had an issue with my Kia completely turn it off when I was driving with my child in the car. It would not start back up. We had the people trying to help direct traffic around until the police showed so that we wouldn-??t get hit. This could-??ve been a VERY dangerous situation.

- Silsbee, TX, USA

problem #148

Nov 252022

Optima

  • miles
EXCESSIVE oil consumption. Just got oil changed last week oil is already gone and check oil light is on again.

- Jonesboro, GA, USA

problem #147

Sep 202022

Optima

  • miles
Every 2000 miles I need to put in a quart of oil. When car down shifts to 35mph the oil light flickers. At downshift of 10mph there is a slight shutter and the oil light flickers.

- Peoria, IL, USA

problem #146

Nov 222022

Optima

  • 102,809 miles
I have a 2016 Kia Optima FE and I keep up with regular oil changes and maintenance. My oil light has been flashing when I accelerate and when I turn, but turns off when idling. I-??ve had this car 9 months and 2 weeks after getting it, that-??s the first time I-??ve brought it to get serviced. I-??ve always complained about the flashing red oil light when I-??d get an oil change, but no one ever told me that my car was consuming oil until NOW. After they did the oil change, the car would be fine for about 900-1,000 and then it would come back on. I would always have about 3,000-4,000 miles left before I was due to get it serviced again. So, I would just get oil changes in between oil changes because that seemed to fix the problem. I went to the Kia dealership near me and they told me that my engine is consuming oil. He showed me the dipstick and it was bone-dry. I should not have to drive around with my daughter in this car that can blow up at any second. I-??ve looked on forums where other people have had the same issues and all of them say that it-??s because of -??faulty pistons.-??

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #145

Nov 082022

Optima

  • miles
Failed connecting rod bearing. Happened on the freeway my car shut off and steering wheel locked up. It almost caused multiple crashes as other people got out of their cars to try and help me move my car out of the freeway. I take very good care of my car and maintenance was up to date. I still owe over 9k on the car and it only had 130k miles. Kia has a class action lawsuit I was unaware of and promised a lifetime warrant for my engine but now refuse that warranty. I had to get out of my car on the freeway or risk getting hit from the back. Other cars on the freeway were constantly passing at 80mph. Multiple people had to help me push my car that would not turn and kept shutting off. This was very sudden and random I had no check engine lights or any lights on my dash board at the time. This all happened within the matter of 2 minutes and I-??m very happy the person who was behind me had distance enough to go around me or else the would have been an accident.

- Muskogee , OK, USA

problem #144

Jan 012019

Optima

  • miles
We bought this car brand new and for the past two or so year it has started to consuming oil like crazy at least 3 to 4 quarts every thousand miles and they wont do anything to see what is causing the issue its not leaking anything at all. Secondly with the head light turned to auto we will be driving down the road and all of a sudden the lights shut off and you have to flip the light to on to get them to turn back on huge safety issues there but they will not do Anything for this issue either. I should have to do what im doing to a very well taken care of vehicle and its only 6 years old i get it if it was 10 years old but to burn this much oil this not right.

- Apache Junction, AZ, USA

problem #143

Oct 152022

Optima 4-cyl

  • miles
My vehicle's engine stopped working on October 15th as my son was driving us 80 mph on I90 headed east just outside of Rochester MN. The cruise control was on but then the car started to decelerate on its own and he pulled onto the shoulder. It smelled like burnt oil. I opened the hood and saw nothing substantial; waited 5 minutes and tried to start it again and although it was turning over, it did not start. Check engine lights came on when the problem started and it vibrated violently twice. AAA took 3 hours to get us which was beyond stressful and scary watching in the rearview mirror as semis and cars in the right lane past us at 80 mph. The Luther Kia dealership in Inver Grove Heights MN stated eventually that the 2 cylinders have no compression and there is a broken exhaust valve. There is only 115K miles on it and I had it into the Bloomington Luther Dealership a month prior. Initially for the front collision sensor that wasn't working but when I pulled in, it smelled of burnt oil and the service tech and I discussed that I had notice it sputtering every once in a while when I accelerated from a dead stop. They said they fixed it by changing the gasket covers. Now Kia wants me to pay $9,000 for the engine to be repaired because my warranty doesn't cover it. I've researched and spoke to people and have heard comments have been made that these engines are constantly failing and they know about it. I would have never put my 15 year old son behind the wheel if I thought it was going to possibly die while we were going 80 mph.

- Prior Lake, MN, USA

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