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 was getting on the freeway and my car suddenly just stopped accelerating. I even tried pushing the pedal to the floor and all power was gone. I was almost ran down by a 18 wheeler who must not have noticed my hazards had been switched on. A warning came on -??check hybrid system. Turn off engine-?? When the car lost its momentum as I was pulling over and eventually came to a stop I followed the warnings directions and shut the car off since I couldn-??t get any further anyways. I tried turning the car back on and then all lights and power instantly started flickering on and off and going crazy and then the warning came back on and then the whole car shut off by itself. I have been too scared to drive it since and I just got it back in October and I need a car to get to work and school and I don-??t know what to do but the amount of danger this issue put me in is unsettling and cannot be overlooked. Not sure what caused the malfunction because so many different things happened at once that it was hard to tell It is available for inspection upon request A service center confirmed that there is a problem and they believe it is related to the coolant pump and hybrid battery There was one other time that a warning came up and it just said -??check hybrid battery-?? but it went away only like a minute later and then a couple days after that I came outside to go to work and the car was dead but then I jumped it and it was fine up until the issue I first mentioned happened where I was put in danger A warning light that said !HEV and the check engine light both appeared
Vehicles has most recently developed a "whizzing" type sound coming from the transmission just before it shifts into the next gear. It is most discernible when it shifts out of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears. I don't profess to know if modern transmissions have "Bands" that are adjustable or not. Clearly, it is a sound that has never been present. There's been enough wrong with this Kia, so why not transmission issues as well. I was at my dealer today for PA State Inspection & Emissions along with an oil change (a problem arose out of the oil change that I just sent into the NHTSA) and they have me coming in on September 12th for a diagnostic look.
Vehicle had oil change & filter service done on April 27, 2023 for the purpose of hoping the service would rectify an Oil Pressure Sensor Light illuminated on the dashboard. It did not. Sensor was subsequently replaced by the dealer. Vehicle taken into the dealership today (September 2, 2023) for Pennsylvania State Inspection and Emissions, along with another oil change service. Dealer technician in the course of performing the oil change, noticed after he put the new oil plug washer and bolt back in place, a minute crack in the oil pan, itself. He took a picture of it, that I will include with this complaint. Unfortunately, the definition of the photo leaves a bit to be desired. The dealer service writer suggested that too much force (pneumatic socket driver) was employed when tightening the oil pan bolt. I stopped at the location where the April 27, 2023 was done. The General Manager assured me they use a power torgue ratchet and not a pneumatic socket driver. He went under the car and detected a minute leak and said he would forward his report to their Quality Control Department. He asked me if I could bring the car back on Tuesday or Wednesday, September 5th or 6th for a re-inspection. I said I would do that. He did mention there is a possible Class Action Suit that might be filed over Kia/Hyundai Oil Pans and Bolts. It cites the use of poor materials used in the pan construction. Reports range from leaks to the oil bolt plug falling out due to expansion/contraction under duress. Don't know where or when any Class Action will manifest itself, but this oil change facility needs to step up and replace the oil pan, since they were the last ones to do a change before today.
On Friday 6/23/2023 on my way home from work, one of the clutches went out on my DCT Transmission without any warning. I was at a stop light in front of all of the cars in a busy section and wasn-??t able to go. I was able to get it to a safer location, but new something was wrong with my transmission. My mechanic was able to tell me that I-??ve lost the 1st & 3rd gear. We drove around a few blocks with his diagnostics computer hooked into my car. My car isn-??t safe to drive due to the faulty DCT Transmission Kia had installed into this model.
Engine oil consumption, I have owned this car since new and almost every other week I need to add oil. My car has 85k miles on it, and has been service by dealer since new, just 2 months ago Pomona kia said my oil pan gasket had a small leak and replaced the gasket, today 3500 miles after the gasket replacement my car needed 3 quarts of oil. I'm not a mechanic but I know my car should not go trough so much oil. Someone please help.
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
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I was driving on the highway when my check engine light came on flashing the car jersey almost to a stop and I had to pull over. I cut the car off and sat then turned it back on. The check engine light was still flashing and I put my flashers on and was unable to go over 60 mph. I drove slowly to an autozone and a code was pulled p1326. I looked it up and it undeliverable due to the knock sensor issue.
Large Oil consumption (1qt a week). No warning lights, experiencing loss of power, hesitation on acceleration, oil covering the motor with no signs of leaks underneath the car on the streets. Oil puddling up on the top of the valve cover near the plugs but unable to locate the source. Gaskets and hoses checked and all are in good condition. 125,000 miles.
I was driving down hwy 60 in Lake Wales, Florida, passing a car at 70 mph. While passing, all of the alerts and indicators came on my dash, and I lost the ability to accelerate. To get off the road without getting rear-ended, I drove off into the grass in the median and stopped on the paved crossover. When I stopped the car, it shook and the engine died. The "hybrid warning/turn engine off" light came on in the middle of the display, so I turned off the car. I waited a few minutes and turned the car back on, no alerts were showing, but when I shifted into drive, the hybrid warning came back on, and all the lights/alerts on the dash were lit. The car had to be towed to the dealership. On Tuesday, Feb. 15, the dealership told me they performed a software update and the car was running again, but they wanted to keep it another night. On Wed., Feb. 16, the dealership called again to tell me the same situation that occurred on 2/14 happened again. They told me the codes that were given were related to the transmission. They said the transmission had to be replaced. The car is 5 years old. I asked about the transmission control module, and they said the entire transmission had to be replaced in order to replace the TCM. I took the car in after a recall notice was received in January 2022. I was told the recall only required an inspection, so there was no software update at that time. The tech told me that the original software update was done in April 2021. We received a 2nd recall notice this week saying the prior software update had an error and needed to be updated. The tech told me this is the update they did on 2/15. The dealership is telling me I need a new transmission. I'm having a hard time trusting anyone at the dealership.
While driving the car on the highway, when I try accelerating, the car suddenly acts as if it's in neutral and the engine roars without engaging a higher or lower gear and the car start losing power/speed. It takes like three to five seconds to engage a gear again; I have to lift my foot from the pedal a little bit and wait for it to lock on a higher or a lower gear for me to accelerate again.
Kia Optima 2017 hybrid. 26K mileage and automatic transmission become very clunky, car jerks when shifting on any gear. Not stable driving, strange noises under the hood especially when vehicle goes uphill and even on straight road car twitches. No oil leaks from the bottom.
I believe there is a problem with the transmission in this car. It is an LX with the 2.4L engine gdi. It's the standard engine. The transmission seemed "off" after a firmware update. Prior to this, the car really performed and rolled nicely. By that I mean, there was no detectable dray when taking my foot off the gas. In driving the car now, the car just seems to lug, as it takes more acceleration to get the car moving. The transmission "hangs up" at around 40mph, with no load on the engine. The tach at 40mph or thereabouts, reads around 1900-2200rpms. This is far too high in my opinion, before I go a little faster, and the trans finally shifts to the next gear, lowering the rpms to where they should be at 40 mph. Gas mileage is down approx. 20% to what I enjoyed before this started. I did have the car back to the dealer, fred beans in langhorne pa, for routine maintenance and mentioned it to the service writer. Of course (and I mean this with all due respect), they couldn't duplicate the experience. What the did do was wipe the transmission memory clean and we started fresh. The idea being the transmission would relearn my driving habits. I don't profess to know everything about a trans learning habits, but I do know that the trans should not hang up between gears for any reason. Due to return to the dealership for regular service. Will mention it again. Out of regular warranty but I did purchase an extended warranty.
My vehicle has had multiple issues with its hybrid battery management system since purchase. It has been towed 4 times. While driving my car will start to jerk and a warning system telling me there is a problem with the battery management system (bms) and the power train. It will tell me to pull over or to contact the service department. This car has had its battery replaced and software upgraded numerous times, but I keep having the same issue. I'm concerned the battery system is faulty and it's dangerous to drive at this point, as nothing preceeds the issues - they happen out of nowhere.
Power train; shift lock specifically: Had to use the release control more than once. While driving when it happens, I feel a surge/ decline in acceleration(something I requested be checked a year and a half ago, but Kia said they could not recreate my description).continues to drive but sluggish to accelerate. Once I put into "park" I cannot get it out of park except to use release. It did reset(?) when I turned the car off. Suspension; first few months of owning the car I periodically heard a creak in rear suspension here and there when backing out of driveway/gutter slope. Have noticed an increased creaking and more bounce while driving over time but have not even owned car more than 2 years.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Clemente, CA, USA