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 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated the engine was previously replaced under an unstated NHTSA recall. The contact stated that five months after the repair, the malfunction indicator warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the replaced engine was defective and affected the high hybrid battery. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The manufacturer was contacted and offered to replace the engine and the high hybrid battery; however, the vehicle remained at the local dealer because parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle independently decelerated and failed to exceed 20 MPH. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had started to overheat. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine). The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.
The contact's wife owns a 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle shuddered, and there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and the vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had failed. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced; however, due to the mileage on the vehicle, the repair was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. The vehicle had previously been serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power, causing the wheels to seize and the vehicle came to a complete stop in a ditch. The passenger's side fender was damaged from the failure. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who advised the contact to tow the vehicle to a dealer. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with bearing damage to the bottom of the engine. The dealer informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced however, the extended warranty only covered the top of the engine and not the bottom of the engine, where the failure had occurred. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima hybrid. The contact stated while driving 75 mph, when she heard an abnormal noise and the vehicle began to decelerate. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle failed to exceed 40 mph. The contact parked on the side of the road and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to bob king Kia (1725 link rd, winston-salem, nc 27103, (336) 724-3866) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 20V750000 (engine) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.
- Charlotte, NC, USA
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The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima hybrid. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the vehicle shut-off with the hybrid system warning message displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to rick case Kia located at 3190 satellite blvd nw, duluth, ga 30096, to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the hydraulic control system was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 154,440.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima hybrid. The contact stated while driving 70 mph, the vehicle started to overheat. A warning light illuminated indicating that the hybrid battery power was low. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact coasted to the side of the road and the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to jts Kia of columbia (230 killian commons parkway, columbia, SC 29203) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
While driving my vehicle car suddenly shuts off in the highway. Big tryck was behind me. Gladly the truck wasnt going fast. Tried to push the button car turned over but didnt crank just made a sound and tge lights in dash board jumped. What is going on with my car. Driving on highway
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima hybrid. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine rod bearing failed. The vehicle was taken to car pros Kia huntington beach located at 18835 beach blvd, huntington beach, ca 92648 who confirmed the engine was damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima hybrid. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the engine seized without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the connecting rod bearings in the engine were worn causing metal shavings to enter the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was towed to sons Kia (100 sons dr, mcdonough, ga 30253, (678)619-1393) to be diagnosed. The cause of the failure was confirmed and the contact was provided a quote for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling) and stated that the failure was similar. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima hybrid. The contact stated while her son was driving at 55 mph, the vehicle stalled with several warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to southside Kia located at (9401 atlantic blvd, jacksonville, fl 32225), to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima hybrid. While driving approximately 55-60 mph, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and there was a knocking noise coming from the engine. In addition, the oil level warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle started to lose power. The contact was able to safely move the vehicle off the roadway. The vehicle was towed to southwest Kia austin (13175 us-183 N, austin, tx 78750, (512) 583-1900) where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 87,200.
My name is [xxx], I had problem with my engine on April 7th my engine suddenly knocked and stopped, but I had under the warranty when I took my car to dealership they said you're 2nd owner, warranty works only for 1st original owner but im 100% sure it was recall issue. When followed by google same problem was with another people, I fixed it from my pocket 4400$ where is a justice I require justice, dealership have to pay for me please help me for this trouble information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Thankfully I was driving down a back road and without any warning my 2012 Kia Optima hybrid made a loud knocking noise then slowed down and when I pulled over I had a "hybrid battery low" light come on so I have the car towed and replace the battery, still not working. Now the battery light is off but now there's 2 other lights that come on. 1 said "hybrid system warning do not drive" and the other says "check charging system" so I have it towed again but this time to a Kia dealership. They called me back the next day and told me that it appeared that my motor seized. They couldn't tell me how or why.. my car only had 75,045 miles on it. So I contact Consumer Affairs because I heard about the recalls. They even told me that my car was mimicking exactly what the optima recalls were doing. However, because mine was a hybrid it didn't fall under the recall. Which I thought was very unfair. Still nothing they can do, they want $6,200 for a used motor. Mind you I've had the car for 3 1/2 years and have kept up with oils changes etc. Next I found out that I had an extended warranty... but of course it expired 45 miles ago. Again, not fair. Nobody seems to care or want to help me. This is very inconvenient. Now I'm without a car that I'm still making payments on. I'm very disappointed in Kia and their customer service. I feel as though if my car was doing exactly what the recalls were doing with the same size motor then how come they won't cover mine to be replaced? I almost want to hire an attorney and have this investigated. I still want to know exactly what is wrong with my car! nobody has answers....
Without warning the engine overheated while driving in the highway. The engine made a loud noise and began smoking... the vehicle became immobilized I pulled off to the side of the road and opened the hood. There was so much smoke. The car turned on afterwards but the engine did not start. Within seconds the battery shutdown.
For the past year my car has had a problem losing power in the middle of the freeway, very dangerous, dropping from 70 mph to 40 with no acceleration forcing me to put on my hazards and pull over. Ive taken it to dealerships and payed over $700 for them to tell me they couldnt find anything wrong.the engine oil light comes on thousands of miles before its time to be changed. Today on the street after exiting the freeway, the car started shaking profusely while at a stop sign and the enigine light came on with a warning that stated 'hybrid emergency do not drive' I turned my car off at the stop sign, again, dangerous as it was middle of traffic, to stop the shaking. Turned ot back on and proceeded home which was about 800 ft away, the entire time the engine light was on. The car began making a chirping noise as I drove home. This is ridiculous and dangerous and even though online it states there was an engine recall for 2012 Kia optima, my VIN # states no recall. What should I do?
Engine locked up @ 100,104 miles. Car was maintained meticulously. Never missed a oil change. Kia replaced the hybrid engine @ 80K. A year later. My family is driving down I-85 @ 65mph when the engine starts smoking and making some loud sound. The engine dies. We by the grace of god, get to the side of the highway and coolant is pouring out while the engine is just pouring smoke. The hybrid warning system is flashing. Have it towed to Kia. Kia stated internal engine failure. Refuses any goodwill or assistance. Wants $4500 to $8000 for a new engine. These are the same engines that got recalled but built at a different plant. The hybrids were not included in the recall. Just a matter of time before someone gets killed by Kia's corporate greed. I'll never buy another Kia product. Ever.
Hello. I have already posted a complaint to this website and I am simply trying to find out why a very noticeable pattern of defects is going unnoticed on these Optima hybrid engines. 3/4 of all the posted complaints for the 2012 Optima hybrid are due to engine failure from connection issues caused by worn bearings. These are the exact same part failures that lead to the engine recall for standard optima gas engines. Why is NHTSA not contacting Kia and forcing their hand on recalling the hybrid engines" there are obvisouly less hybrid optimas than non-hybrid, but the failure rate is just as high or worse than the non-hybrid model. I do not believe hybrid owners should be subjected the risk of an engine failure just because there are less of us. The second issue is that many of us have already replaced our engine because they failed. Either paying in full or with some help from Kia, what happens when the new engine fails for the same reason because they were not recalled an forced to recognize the failure and design a fix that will keep it from happening to the replaced engines" I am such a huge fan of Kia I own 2 optima's. the other is a gas model that has a replaced recalled engine. I had to pay out of pocket to replace the engine on my hybrid. We are begging for someone to look into the extremely high number of engine failures on these Optima hybrid with virtually the same engine as the gas models. Kia claims the engines are different, and they are to some extent, but they share a lot of parts, most of which are the parts that are failing and design flaws. Thank you for your time, I hope someone is actually looking out for the public and reading these post.
While driving on a highway around 45mph, the engine suddenly made a rattling noise, then shortly after, made a loud squealing noise and then a sudden jolt. The car shut down and showed an error about the hybrid system malfunction and I experienced a quick drop in speed and was unable to accelerate. After pulling over, the car would not start. Car was towed to dealer and they were able to start vehicle, but it makes a loud 'clanking' noise and car vibrates. Dealer informed that appears a part inside engine had failed and will need complete engine replacement.
The hybrid system broke down at 85K. Was replaced by Kia after threatening legal action. At 103K. We never missed maintenance or a oil change. The engine through a rod on a 5 lane interstate doing 65mph, blowing and destroying the engine. Putting my family of 5 at serious risk. Kia wants 4500K or 8000K to replace the faulty engine. Optima engines were recalled for this exact reason. The Optima hybrid engines were not recalled despite suffering the same failures as normal optima engines. Joining the class action.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Denver, CO, USA