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 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH after leaving the dealer, the vehicle started to overheat. The contact stated that the high engine temperature warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to safely pull over and turn the vehicle off. The contact restarted the vehicle and the engine temperature was still elevated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled in the middle of the roadway. The vehicle was left on the side of the roadway. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed; however, the contact was not provided the diagnostic result. The contact was informed by the mechanic of an unspecified engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,200.
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil without warning. The contact stated that after receiving an oil change, the oil reservoir was empty within less than a week. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the oil change was performed and the mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The contact then took the vehicle to the dealer where she was informed that since she was the second owner of the vehicle, they could not offer any assistance. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.
We would like to know what Kia is planning to do to address the fact that Kia built a car without the basic immobilizer circuit making it very easy to steal. Over the last few months, local and national news reports, as well as many social media sites, have reported on this security flaw which likely emboldens others to attempt a theft of a Kia and/or Hyundai. As I do not live in Milwaulkee, I would like to know how the company will fix this problem for the rest of us. It will not be restricted to just one city. There are numerous articles by victims that have detailed how their car theft cost them thousands of dollars in insurance deductibles, rental cars, and repairs. Many of the articles explain how thieves as young as 12 years old are able to still these cars in under a minute in broad daylight and driving recklessly creating a serious safety hazzard. Please advise what Kia will do to negate this serious security flaw.
Engine loses compression and car dies while in motion. This has happened several times and is extremely dangerous on the road! this car is barely out of warranty with only 104,000 miles! this is unacceptable!
Back in September of 2020, my car randomly went to limp mode while driving at highway speeds. Had the car towed to the dealer. Dealer advised of apparent -??software issue-?? to correct the problem. Well this happened two more times after that twice the software was updated which didn-??t work. The third time the replaced the knock sensor and so far I haven-??t went to limp mode, however, the car has not drove the same and seems to get worse each passing day. Rough shifting, engine vibrates more than usual. Car struggles at times to go up hills, when giving gas a though way speed the car has a few second delay. Sometimes it feels as if the transmission is skipping. The car is up to date on all recommended services, I.e transmission flush and fill etc. There are also times when the vehicle is started but struggles. Almost as if it want to loose power but it doesn-??t. Has happened numerous times however recently it actually didn-??t start. Struggle to turn over a couple time but then finally did. A check engine light came on but then went away the next day after driving. I have an appointment with the dealer this week to look at this and other issues, again, hoping for some progress at that point.
- Middletown, NY, USA
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When driving this vehicle rattles and shakes it has a burning smell/gas smell. It cuts off while driving. Looses oil.oil at low level before due. This make and model is no longer being manufactured. It has a known history of engine problems. Why were consumers allowed to buy this car. Problems are active and ongoing. Started about a year or close to a year after purchase. It is a lemon. The dealer wants to diagnose the engine, but they already know the engine is no good.
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 75 mph, the vehicle abruptly stalled. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle unto the road shoulder and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle operated as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to ancira Kia (6139 bandera road, san antonio, tx 78238, (210)684-4000) due to the hesitation and stalling. The dealer replaced the spark plugs and changed the oil however, the repair did not correct the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling). The failure mileage was 72,800.
I originally leased my 2018 Optima with 98 miles on it and bought it out at the end of my lease this was my second Optima, I also had 2 Hyundai sonatas. Since I'm in sales I had the added mileage on it. At 98,000 miles the engine started ticking. I originally had a 2013 Hyundai sonata that when it hit 105,000 started ticking only to find that it was burning oil (1.5 quarts a week) so I was hesitant about another Kia but the dealer assured me that Kia had been aware of the problem and that they had fixed it. Guess what?! it hasn't. I took my vehicle in every 1,000 miles for oil change and have the documents showing how much oil was being burned off. According to Kia corporate there is nothing wrong even though my vehicle requires a quart of oil every 1,000 miles and was under owners warranty. Never again. People watch your vehicles. This is a know problem with Kia and Hyundai and they do not honor their warranties.
I was told by the dealership that my 2018 Kia Optima phev was repaired but after I drove it off the lot and got on the freeway the warning light came on again and lost all power. I almost got into another accident because of this. The dealership said they worked with Kia technical support to fix my car but apparently Kia doesn't know what's wrong with their own car. The vehicle has only 19K miles. I'm afraid for my safety and my families that this will continue to happen.
When I was driving on the highway on 2/14/2011 a "check hybrid system" warning came on, check engine light, triangle hev light, a red battery light came on and car lost engine power. After my vehicle slowed traffic down due to not having power I was barely able to pull over to the side of the road by coasting the car to the shoulder. It would not accelerate what so ever not even with just the engine power. When I pulled over the big check hybrid system warning dissapeared and only the check engine light and triangle hev light stayed on. I had my children in the car and almost caused an accident. It was towed to my home and after I connected it to the wall plug for an hour the lights dissapeared. I'm afraid that if I take the car to the dealership that they wont be able to replicate this issue since the warning lights are no longer on and they tell me they cant find the issue and this happens again in the future. There are several forums where people have this same issue from 2014 hybrid models and up and has happened to them numerous times and the dealership tells them they cant duplicate the problem.
Loud ratteling when cranking, continuous ratteling when accelerating under driverside floor board made a clunk sound when applying brakes and now its like a sliding sound before it catches brake
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima hybrid. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle started to make an unknown noise, the contact costed to the side of the road and check underneath and around the vehicle to see where the noise was coming from but did not find anything. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle stated that she was on a way to taken the vehicle for an oil change. The technician heard the nose and informed the contact that he was would need to check everything before he can complete an oil change. The technician removed the protective shield underneath the vehicle and noticed oil was all over and metal shaving was in the oil around the oil pressure sensor. The technician informed the contact it maybe was coming from the engine. The contact called napleton's mid rivers Kia, 4955 veterans memorial pkwy, St peters, mo 63376, and informed them of the failure and the contact was informed to schedule and appointment. The contact stated that she had the vehicle towed to auffenberg Hyundai, 1300 central park dr, O'fallon, il 62269, and the technician could not find a failure. The contact was informed that the manufacturer would send and engineer to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired yet. The contact mentioned that she was experiencing electric shack from the steering wheel and the accelerator pedal. And that the accelerator was losing pressure and that smoke was coming through the vent of the cabin. The failure mileage was approximately 27,573.
I leased 2018 Kia Optima ex. At 6399miles and 9650miles engine light on and car vibrates a lot. First service replaced spark plug and second time they replaced engine. This car was awarded as best initial quality award which has engine issues. Kia says they will not take any responsibility if anything happens when driving car because of the issue. If it happens again they will replace engine or repair it. Kia is not confident that replaced engine will not have this issue.
I have never had any issues with my car, I get maintenance as scheduled so it's odd that this is even happening. On December 6th I went to move my car. I crank the car with no problem. I noticed it kind of hesistated slightly, but continued on with no problem. When I went to put my car in reverse in order to park it stalled and about 5 or 6 of the lights on the dash came on, the steering wheel went hard to manage/steer and as 6 other lights started blinking, I could no longer manipulate my wheel so I allowed the car to roll into the spot because I was on a slight incline and put it in park. The moment I did that the car cut off. It would not turn over, it would not do anything besides click when I tried to crank the car again. I eventually asked someone for a jump and managed to make it home. The next day I got up and drove as I normally would and thats when the eletric power steering warning light came on. When that light comes on the car becomes hard to maneuver. Thankfully that time it went off and proceeded to drive as it would normally. This issue happens unexpectedly without any warning. So at any moment I could be driving and the car can stop on me. I have 4 kids and live in a really busy area so even the thought of this happening has me second thinking each time I have to move my car!! I've seen more than one of the same complaint and I notice our VIN #'s are similar so something should really be done about this as it seems this is a trend with the year, make, and model of this car.
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. While driving 20 mph, the contact was notified by other motorists that flames were present under the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and smoke appeared under the hood. The contact and a pedestrian extinguished the fire. The fire and police departments were at the scene, but the contact was unsure if reports were filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to northstar Kia (46-05 northern blvd, long island city, NY 11101, (877) 244-0989) where the contact was informed that there was an engine fire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 22,000.
I purchased a brand new 2018 Kia Optima in November 2018. I have put approximately 22,500 miles on it and have been keeping up with updated oil change maintenance per the schedule recommended by the dealer. On Saturday 9/28 I dropped the car off for a routine oil change, and as I drove it off the lot it sputtered as if it was going to die, but it didn't. the car continued to run and it got me home. The next day, Sunday 9/29, it drove without problems for about an hour, but while driving the car completely powered down and stopped working. It was a terrifying experience as I was in the middle of a major city road and almost caused a serious accident. I put the car into park and was able to start it back up, and I was lucky enough not to be struck by another vehicle. The dealership was closed at this time so I called them first thing Monday 10/1 to report the issue and dropped it off. The dealership is claiming to be unable to recreate the issue so ready to give me the car back. This is a huge safety concern and I can't believe we as consumers have to put our lives at risk to wait for the problem to happen again before any recourse can be taken. From my research on the internet, it is very common for the dealership not to be able to recreate the problem so unable to provide a fix. Kia had 5+ years of engine stall problems that were not acknowledged until many years later, and the dealership certainly will not validate this. Furthermore, when the engine stalls, the power steering and brakes both go out, so you have nothing but prayers to rely on to keep you alive.
While I was driving my vehicle on the streets; its an 2018 Kia Optima.on August 2,2019 my car engine caught on fire.people walking on the sidewalk and other drivers stop to alert me that they saw fire from the bottom of the car.then while driving I start to notice extreme smoke coming from the hood so much I couldnt no longer look where I was going.I panicked and mind was racing Q how could this happen I got this car new last year May 1,2018. When I jumped out to look at the hood I saw my engine engulfed with flames.nearby driver threw me a bottole of water, luckily I had just bought 24 case of water, another driver pulled over and was helping me pour water to reduce the damage of the fire.no engine light was on or any other warning lights before or after the fire and I had my recently oil change.
The contact owned a 2018 Kia Optima. While driving approximately 25 mph, the driver was told to pull over because there was smoke emitting from their vehicle. The contact pulled over and was able to put out the fire. The fire was coming from the engine of the vehicle. The contact stated that no warning lights illuminated and there were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to northstar Mitsubishi parts (41-05 34th astoria, NY 11101) and awaiting Kia inspector for a diagnoses. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 22,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Griffith, IN, USA