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 2005 Kia Optima. While in park, the automatic door locks failed. The contact attempted to use the remote for entry and heard a clicking noise. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 128,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Kia Optima. While the vehicle was parked, the front driver side door was locked and failed to open from the inside or outside. The contact had to go through the front passenger side door and climb over the seat to the driver's side. The failure recurred continuously. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Driver's side door would not open. You could click it and it would sound like it was going to open, but it didn't. had to drive to a Kia store and have the whole assembly replaced at the tune of $450. Interestingly enough, they did not seem to think this was a common problem, but I can see there are hundreds of complaints about this problem. I had my two year old grandson in the back seat and was very worried about getting stuck in the car. If this happens again, I will sell the car. There seem to be a lot of electrical problems on this car. I replace the headlights and taillights regularly (about once a month) and I am always having the engine light come on, when there is nothing wrong. How many of these complaints do you need before something is done" or does someone have to get killed first"
Driver's door will not open, from either inside or outside. The locking mechanism will not unlock, leaving no easy access or exit to or from the driver's seat. This is quite a hazard as the operator could become trapped in the car in an emergency (and the problem has been reported all over the internet for some years now as being very common to this particular car). Why has NHTSA been ignoring this problem?....updated 12/09/15 updated 08/30/2017
Drivers side door will no longer open. When I try to unlock it from either the inside or outside, the unlock mechanism works, but the door will not open. I now have to crawl in from another door and would not be able to get out in an emergency. This appears to be a common problem with Kia and could cause serious injury. This needs to be addressed with Kia.
- Boise, ID, USA
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Passenger side door automatically locks when you try to open it. Whether in or out, it won't open. Sometimes it will open with a key out of the car, but will not open from inside.
I have had to take my car twice now to get my driver side door open, I have been having to climb in from the passenger side of my car and I have hurt my knees in doing so. Everytime I lock my doors and then unlock the driver side door doesn't open from the inside or outside. This needs a recall.I have already seen other complaints about the same problem...
I have a 2005 Kia Optima. I have not even had the car for three years and am having a major problem. Approximately six months ago my driver side door would not open. I could not afford to have the car repaired until last week. I picked the car up yesterday and did not drive it for half an hour when the door would not open again. I paid almost $400 and the door still will not open. It is back in the shop and my mechanic does not seem to be able to fix the problem. Can anyone tell me how to fix this before something tragic happens to me and my son because of this vehicle? I cannot afford to buy another one!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pennsboro, WV, USA