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.
HEV Warning light comes on and says HEV malfunction, stop car. Within seconds the car shuts off and has no brakes and then stops in road construction, blocking up an entire lane of traffic, as there was no shoulder because of barricades. I panic as I can-€™t get out without getting ran over. After sitting for 5 minutes, car restarts and drives away ok. Car has done this off and on for 2 years. After the first incident, I took it to Kia of New Bern who charged me $400 to -€œupdate software-€ according to a TSB, even though it was under warranty. After getting the car back, the next day the warning came back on. I called Kia of New Bern and they said they will charge another diagnostics fee I couldn-€™t afford, so I didn-€™t go back. There are many others who have had the same issue with their KIA Hybrids. These cars are a danger to their drivers and the unknowing public who share the roads with them. KIA Should be ashamed of the amount of cars experiencing this issue and their lack of solutions to fix it.
The hybrid system on my vehicle continues to show an error when operating the vehicle. The manual says to not operate the vehicle, but the dealership continues to deny the issue with my vehicle. Currently, I'm without my vehicle for approximately a period of two weeks with no resolution to fix my car. I have asked for information under the vehicle care act, but have not been given a current report on the repair needed.
I was making a right hand turn and I noticed my turn signal was flashing very fast. So I pulled over once I had the opportunity to. I turned on my signal and checked to see if they were working and found my rear to be out. Went to the parts store purchased new bulbs and drove home. My husband changed the bulbs on both sides and it still did the same thing I checked the bulbs and they were the correct ones so we swapped it and still not working. Has a electrical issue in the tail light assembly.
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated while his son was driving 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact-€™s son was able to pull over safely. The contact attempted to jump start the vehicle however, the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 97,484.
I was driving down the interstate for my work commute apx 70 mph when HEV warning light engaged and vehicle went into limp mode. Had vehicle towed to dealership after running several tests determined the engine was knocking and needed replaced. After 2 months reman engine placed in vehicle. Vehicle function apx 6 months when the exact same problem occured on the highway traveling apx 60 mph. Vehicle is still in dealership. Thankfully, both times I was able to coast to the shoulder and avoid a collision. There is something wrong with these vehicles that need to be fixed.
- Lawton, OK, USA
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Traction control light has recently started coming on all the time and stays on. When you turn car off and it cools off then the light is off again. Another issue is when I place foot on brake the passenger side parking light comes on and the passenger brake light has had to be replaced 7 times since i bought car in February 2021
Fourth time this problem has occurred: While at speed, the engine turns off and I get a hybrid system warning. This time I was turning into a parking lot, speed about 10 mph. Car barely drifted out of the driving lane. I shut down the vehicle for 5 minutes. Upon restart, engine light is on. Very dangerous situation with these engines shutting off. It's been about 10 months since "repair" at a Kia dealership for this issue. Kia has failed to fix these issues and there are many reports of the exact same issue on various websites.
I currently own 2014 Kia Optima just hit 104600 miles.I have never had an issue except my brake lights repeatly burning out. I recently checked my oil which was a little low I bought 2 quarts and put them in my car. A few weeks later my oil light flashed than went off I checked my oil again and there was nothing on my dipstick. From there I I drove 2 blocks to my the oil change place down the street from my home. The mechanic notified me that my engine was burning to hot, and I had less than a quart of oil left in my car. I told him that was strange since ive never had any leaks.he notified me that this was a known issue with this car and to take it straight to the Kia dealership because the engine is failing. From there I did an oil change and drove to Kia. I dropped it there to be check and was notified that the couldnt see an issue to drive it 1000 mile and bring it back. I picked it up and continued to drive about 10-14 days later I was driving and accelerated to get on the freeway and my car blew a bunch of white smoke from the tail pipe and lost power for a moment and engine light came on. I checked my oil and it was very low again. I called Kia back and had my car towed back to Kia dealership. After they looked over they notified me that my oil valves inside the engine were bad and that it was burning the oil ho. They said would contact kma to see if it would fall under the recall. I was later notified that I would have to repair it myself as there is no knock code - or complete engine seizing, im currenly unable to drive my car / and owe thousands on the car still. This is just unfair for consumers who buy there products.
My Kia Optima killed while driving on the road causing me to scrape the side of my car and it started smoking finding leaking oil as well over a year ago and my car has been sitting at the Kia dealership storage because they told me there wasn't a recall on my vehicle and that I would have to come out of pocket for an engine. I have come out of pocket for transportation for months and have had to pay a storage fee not knowing they were charging me until hearing from Kia consumers. Now all of a sudden a recall is popping up when I look up my VIN and even my insurance company alerted me that there are in fact 3 recalls on my car. I am out of a job because of not having transportation after coming out of pocket over 3,000 for a rental I couldn't spend another dime of my savings for my family's holidays and emergency stash. I'm never looking forward to doing business with Kia again. I've been so stressed mentally and physically and I'm still paying a car note for a car I can't drive
At driving speed (about 50 mph), vehicle suddenly has battery management system error. The vehicle has loss of power and says that it must be pulled over and turned off. This error has happened several times and the dealer supposedly fixed it the last time it happened several months ago. I do not feel safe in this vehicle - the error occurs out of the blue and loss of power is very dangerous.
I experience a bms warning light on my hybrid vehicle indicating to stop the vehicle and do not drive. This happen on the fast lane of the 14 freeway in acton ca. I took the car to the local Kia I was told it was the hybrid coolant a computer program and a hybrid drive belt replaced the computer program. The update of the program I would of not know about the issue since only dealers are aware of it. I paid over $700 when I picked up my car for the repairs. Drove it the next day I experience loss of power again when I was trying to cross an intersection in the city of acton. My car almost stop and the hev warning light came on. Called the dealer again and was told to bring it right away. The service advisor called me after a week and half later and told me the problem was the power relay assembly and the hybrid battery that had to be replaced. Per repair adviser, this issue is a common but for him to do the repairs I would need to pay $5800. He did advise to call Kia corporation for possible assistance but they were no help. Since I can not afford the 5800. I picked up my car again from the dealership and paid an additional $318 for diagnose services. This is a known issue with Kia since the service adviser told me he only had a bulletin memo of possible issues with loss of power. I asked if this warrant a recall but the answer was no since it's only a memo and the batteries are built to last only 150,000 miles I was lucky it lasted and additional 18000. Miles. I just bought this vehicle 3 years ago and now I'm sitting on a giant paper weight since I can not drive my car to avoid further damage or possibly cause an accident.
Hev light came on dashboard stating "check hybrid system. Stop vehicle and turn off engine". vehicle was in motion in city on traffic light and suddenly got that and car stopped in 15 sec and could not move anymore. Luckily it did not happen on highway cause 15 sec is not enough for safely stopping! witnesses helped to push the card to the shoulder approximately 100 feet. Electric brake system was locked as well cause of hev system stopped suppling the power. Kia concord replaced the safety plug assy-male 125 amps to 150 amps (part # K 37586 4R002). Car had only 82K. As far I see this is a common issue and if manufacturer in all cases upgrades it to higher fuse, then this is a reason for recall. Now I warry about next electrical issue that can cause that fuse.
I had taken the vehicle to the Kia dealer in orange county, and they charged me extra to resolve the recall, and the vehicle's air conditioning system is no longer working, the gas intake is ridiculous, and the car does not have the same power as it used to.
This happens while I am driving or when I come to a stop. The car appears to stall and then the gear indicator lights in my console area go out and the light indicator in the dashboard goes out and therefore you cannot see which gear you in. I have taken it to the Kia dealer they said nothing was wrong and that it appeared to fix itself. It appeared to clear up but since has started back.
I was driving on the highway going 65 mph and an alert pops up. It said "possible bms condition." I immediately pulled to the side, but also noticed my car speed reducing. I safely got into the right shoulder and then the car steering wheel froze up. Another alert to check brakes went on. I pushed the brakes over and over to get the alert off. It then over a time span of 3-5 min started to slowly run low on electricity because the hazards lights were blinking slower. I got it towed and waiting to see what is the problem. Been looking it up and most likely it's the fuse in the back trunk under the cover underneath.
While driving on the interstate, my Kia Optima stopped accelerating, we were luckily near an exit and were able to pull over to the side of the road. The lights and music stayed on but the car would not start again. There was nothing happening up to the point that would have warned us this was going to happen, the check engine light never came on. I had to get the vehicle towed home.
On 12/27/19 while travelling from pa to fl on the highway for a family vacation, travelling about 75 mph at 5:00am in columbia, SC the dash display read check hybrid system, and suddenly shut down. Engine stopped running, steering wheel began stiffening, I coasted from the passing lane to the right lane and then to the shoulder without incident and was able to safely park the car. Kia failed to provide roadside assistance since the car has over 60,000 miles(actually has 121,398 miles approx). The car was towed to the jts Kia dealership via my insurance coverage in columbia, SC. After the assessment I was told I had a blown main hybrid fuse which caused the battery and the relay assembly to fail. Charged $1756.89 to replace the fuse, battery, and relay assembly. I present this as a safety issue because had I been on a major highway with my family in the middle of traffic, there would be no way possible to reach a lane shoulder without possible harm or death. According to Kia's own "technical operations notice - PS515(rev 2, 02/28/2019" dated August 2017), they are fully aware of this problem. The battery fuse is to be replaced from a 125 amp to a 150 amp. This fuse is part of the safety plug located in the trunk. As a owner I should have been warned of this possibly happening to the car and given the option to have this fuse replaced....at Kia's expense. For those still driving this year and make Optima hybrid, please be aware of this occurrence. The 125 amp hv battery fuse should be replaced with the newer 150 amp hv battery fuse(part #375F2 4R150. See Kia's pitstop: Technical operations notice #PS515. Unfortunately my communication with Kia proved fruitless.
I have a 2014 Kia Optima and I keep up with the maintenance and also the recalls on my car the only thing I havevreall had to replace that was quite expensive to me was the battery so far but I took my car in to the dealership for the recall for the bearing and was told it was fine and everything checked out and they changed my oil for free less than 5 months later I am back at the Kia dealership because I was driving down the highway at 6 am cold raining and sleeting and my car loses power engine light comes on flashing so I pull over turn off the engine then wait a minute turn it back on same thi G so I go to the dealership and was told they will check out my car and within 20 minutes told I need a new engine so now that the engine has been replaced less than a month ago my daytime running lights does not turn on and off like they are supposed to automatically if I dont turn them off or on then they won't be off or on I have had to replace my driverside headlight bulb for the second time now and when I'm driving it looks so dim so now I have to keep spending money every month on a bulb that isn't cheap my back passenger brake light keeps going out like every 3 weeks the Kia Optima has some electrical issues and Kia needs to issue a recall and get them all fixed before someone encounter a serious problem and Kia have a much serious issue on their hands.
I was driving to work, same route same time, when my engine stalled while on the highway going around a curve. "hybrid system failure, pull over and turn off engine" was the error. I was able to coast around the curve and to the side of the highway. Had to tow it off the highway at first, and tried to jump it. (I had a problem in 2017 with the neutral safety switch on my battery, replaced safety switch/battery at the cost of 1K and a month due to the safety switch being an aspect of the recall for the non-hybrid Optimas). Battery was perfect, car was able to turn on, radio, ac, everything but the engine. Towed it to fredy Kia (great shop by the way!), by the time it got there, they stated the battery was completely dead. They replaced, then tried to turn the engine both mechanically and by hand. Engine seized per dealership. (I know im an idiot for saying this but..) this is not the first Kia that this has happened to with the same recall. I had a 2014 Kia sportage in January have the exact same problem. All maintenance records (oil changes every 3500 miles, any belts/changes, etc.) were presented to Kia of which they recalled the 2014 sportage engine. With my Optima hybrid (same theta II engine as the recall for the non-hybrid Optimas per Kia own "investigations" since 2017) after contacting Kia headquarters, they are stating that this is not the same issue but are willing to "work with me". since then Kia headquarters has talked to the dealership, and my car has been sitting there for almost 3 weeks with 0 response, or update on whats next. I currently both have and dont have a car. Moral of the story, please be careful with these cars! obviously they are flawed (my "seized" engine is no longer manufactured at all due to problems with the barrings, only fix is a short block engine replacement for my long block engine then fabricate the headers, etc.)
At a stop light vehicle would not move said hybrid failure turn car off and remove yourself. Car would not turn off put hazards on went to get out of vehicle and was shocked by my car to the point it made me loss control of my bladder!! had wonds to my ring finger where electrical shock went in and was in local er. Local Kia dealer said there is a bulitn to replace the 125 wat fuse to they hybrid system to a 150 fuse and that is what was wrong with my car. I feel the danger of electrocution is so great it must be a recall. I contacted corporate who told me they know about the problem and it is not recall worthly!! not acceptable I spent 5 hrs in the er with ekg, and burn mark's on my left fingers and. Now my skin in my leg is peeling due to this. According to er dr. I was lucky and most likely received 100 volts anymore could have caused internal issues. My left arm is still tingling from the shock days later. It is complete incompetents to allow Kia Optima hybrid owners drive these cars with a wait and see attitude. Please put a safty recall out before a child ends up hurt or deceased.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- New Bern, NC, USA