7.3

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
7,258 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2018 Kia Optima lights problems

lights problem

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2018 Kia Optima Owner Comments

problem #9

Apr 112023

Optima

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Headlights randomly turn off while driving. To get them back on you have to switch on and off before they turn back on. Very dangerous for my 17 yr old daughter driving down a highway at night. The lights will also turn on in the middle of the night and if we happen to notice, we have to go to the car and turn the lights on and off to get them fixed. There are numerous reports on this when Google. I am not the only one. Really dangerous!

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #8

Sep 102022

Optima

  • miles
When headlight switch is set to automatically come on, the light will sometimes randomly turn off. No warning or indicator on the dash appears showing that they are off. Technicians are unable to reproduce the issue in the shop. Have recommended replacing the entire headlight switch on the turn signal stick.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #7

Mar 082020

Optima

  • miles
Trying to cut off and jerks when stopping vehicle

- Greensboro , NC, USA

problem #6

Mar 192022

Optima

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The headlights on my 2018 Kia Optima have been turning off and on randomly by themselves while in motion. Each time it's happened has been in different areas at different times of the night. The headlight switch is kept in the auto position most of the time. When the headlights turn off, the screen in the dash for the headlight function switches from auto to off by itself. Sometimes if the turn signal switch is jiggled the lights will come back on. Other times the headlight switch, located on the end of the turn signal switch, has to be turned to the on position to get the lights to turn on. The car has been in for service but each time the technician is unable to reproduce the fault. It is occurring more frequently and becoming a safety issue.

- Beloit, WI, USA

problem #5

Jul 192021

Optima

  • miles
When driving with headlights set to Auto the headlights turn off whenever the blinker is used. I've found many complaints however my vehicle has not been inspected. This poses a hazard of driving at night with no headlights, then having to fiddle with the switch to turn them back on.

- Rosharon, TX, USA

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problem #4

Nov 032021

Optima

  • miles
while driving, all lights (headlights, instrument, etc) would randomly go dark. Lighting usually restored after toggling the instrument control arm from on-to-off-on. Obviously super dangerous as driver can't see roadway and other drivers can't see the car.

- La Canada, CA, USA

problem #3

Jul 312021

Optima

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving at night, was getting onto the freeway. Entrance to the freeway was on a curved street, as I was taking the turn leading into the freeway the lights turned off, Then suddenly turned back on and then off again all while I was merging onto the freeway. I quickly took the light out of -€œAUTO-€ setting. Very scary as I almost got hit by the truckers already on the freeway. I-€™ve had issues with the blind spot warning as well. It fails all the time so of course I never put my trust on that. The lighting situation is very scary, as it was happening you could see the dashboard setting itself to AUTO and randomly going up and down the list of options as if it was being controlled by someone else. I could-€™ve caused an accident. Please check this issue.

- Lancaster, CA, USA

problem #2

Aug 012020

Optima

  • 45,325 miles
While driving at night lights went completely out on highway while in auto mode

- Mccook, NE, USA

problem #1

Jul 012019

Optima 4-cyl

  • 20,000 miles
I have the Kia Optima sx with the technology package that comes equipped with the auto-leveling and auto-bending led headlamps. I believe that the auto-leveling function is working incorrectly. When weight is added to the car (more passengers) the beam pattern auto adjusts itself to point even lower instead of higher. This causes an adverse effect. Think of it this way, the beam has a default setting to where it points to when there is no weight added to the car. When two passengers sit in the car, the beam should not point lower, instead it should auto-level itself to a higher position to accommodate for the fact that the vehicle is now lower when weight is added to the vehicle. I also believe that the headlights by default are pointed a bit low, I went to the dealership (concord Kia in concord, ca) to have them re-adjusted. Alas, no better result was achieved due to the fact that they are auto-leveling. Often when driving in the car with my fiance (a combined weight of about 600 lbs distributed to the front seats), the led low-beams appear to reach a max distance of 40 ft on level land, and around 70 ft. Going up a hill. When one is going downhill, the projected led light reaches a distance of around 25 ft. I understand that the 2017-2020 Kia Optima sx models equipped with the auto-leveling and auto-bending lights have received a fantastic rating. I am sure when the lights are working at optimal conditions (1 person in the car who may weigh under 200 lbs) the lighting can be great. However, I encourage the nhsta to re-conduct a thorough test under the following conditions: Seat two people in the front who weigh at least 200 lbs. First seat one person, notice the beam pattern against a wall about 50 ft. Away, then seat another person in the vehicle and notice how the beam pattern is lowered. I also encourage the testers to drive the around a bit.

- Concord, CA, USA

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