2.1

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
73,333 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.

2012 Kia Optima Hybrid fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2012 Kia Optima Hybrid Owner Comments

problem #3

Aug 122018

Optima Hybrid

  • 130,000 miles

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

Vehicle has 130,000 miles. While driving on a highway vehicle started to lose power when in cruise and motion is lost. Stepping on the gas does not get any acceleration. This occurred again on a highway and display gives me the hybrid error do not drive warning. This occurs when cruise is set and also not in cruise. I step on the gas and there is no acceleration. After shutting the vehicle off for a few seconds the car functions normally. I am also having back up camera issues which leads me to believe this may be an electrical issue. My display gives me the warning message about objects behind me but the image sometimes does not show. The image sometimes is there when I put the vehicle in reverse and sometimes not. These problems all started at the same time. Kia was contacted as we thought it may just be a computer upgrade. They told the dealer there are no upgrades. We also had a non dealer check the vehicle for error codes but there weren't any. The vehicle checked out fine.

- Luverne, MN, USA

problem #2

Jan 232018

Optima Hybrid

  • 72,000 miles
Bought a used 2012 Kia optima from a Kia dealership on 1/12/18. I did not drive this vehicle from 1/13/2018 - 1/19/18. Started driving this vehicle and 5 (five) days later, on 1/23/18 the vehicle blew a rod in the engine. After several unsuccessful attempts at having the dealership fix the issue at their expense, I was getting nowhere. I contacted Kia headquarters and they assisted me with communication with the dealership and getting the engine rebuilt (as a goodwill by the dealership). Had the car towed to the dealership on 1/25/18; they had my vehicle for exactly 1 (one) month while the dealership rebuilt the engine. I received the car back from dealership on 2/23/18. On 3/6/18 as I was driving on freeway, the car started to lose power while driving. I was driving at approximately 70 mph on freeway, and car just started losing power. The car slowed down to approximately 40 mph and engine oil light turned on & off sporadically. No matter how much I tried to accelerate, the car would not go over 40 mph. This was very dangerous as I was scared that I would get rear-ended on the freeway. I slowly moved over the shoulder and turned off the car; I waited approximately 30 minutes before turning the car back on and proceeding to my personal mechanic (not Kia dealership). My mechanic said not to turn car off; he inspected car & scanned it. No error codes were detected. He said maybe it was a fluke and to just continue to drive it. On 3/12/18 the same thing happened again. This time I took it to my local Kia dealership and left it. After a scan & test drive, the mechanic could not find anything wrong with the car. Mechanic drove it the next day over 80 miles and this time he did experience the same reduction of power. He scanned vehicle again but no error codes show. It's still at dealership 3/19/18.

- Winchester, CA, USA

problem #1

Jun 302014

Optima Hybrid 4-cyl

  • 18,000 miles
While trying to accelerate, the car randomly has a 2-3 second delay before action. When the problem occurs, the car will coast out into traffic, which may be moving at high speeds. This leaves me exposed to getting hit on a frequent, but irregular basis, and I am afraid to drive the vehicle. The car can also have jerky motions and lunges when accelerating from a stop on an incline, posing a danger to pedestrians and cars nearby.

- Georgetown, TX, USA

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