10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 19
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 1
Average Mileage:
96,392 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.

2011 Kia Optima engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Kia Optima:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2011 Kia Optima Owner Comments (Page 2 of 12)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #216

May 282021

Optima

  • miles

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

On May 28th I was on my way home and out of nowhere my steering wheel locked up and the car died while in motion. A week later we notified Kia about it and they had me tow my car so they could find out what was going on with my vehicle. We waited 12 days to find out was wrong with it and they told us the engine was seized and we had just found out that they had a recall for seized engines. After finding that out we tried to get the vehicle fixed through them and they told us that they could not fix it because it doesn-€™t no longer have an warranty and that they sent out an report about the recall on my car. We never received any information about a recall and we bought the vehicle March 2020. We have been making phone calls to Kia and they denied to fixing my vehicle.

- Jonesboro, AR, USA

problem #215

Jun 172021

Optima

  • miles
Safety: It appears the vehicle in question has had Engine, Electrical, and Driveability issues within less than 8,000 miles of it being on the road the First record of this vehicle show's one owner, purchased not from a Kia Dealership but a third party. The Carfax history showed there has been a driveability issue an ECM Module has been replaced twice" less than 30,000 miles" It's Believed that the warranty or millage has been used as a reason to deny repair and or Because as the Recall on the engine states it is undetermined as to what is causing a malfunction but it has or will result in fire. This becomes a liability for those who offer works on the vehicle. Something within the vehicle is without warning causing the vehicle to randomly fail while descending from 65-85 miles an hour. There are also sudden jerks that randomly accrue. rendering the car hard to maintain direction. Imagin a first-time driver attempting to handle this on a busy Highway in Texas - The day we acquired the car we took it to KIA to do a full inspection - oil change, etc- The report given was that there are no problems identified but a computer module may need to be changed. We also asked that they give us an appraisal it was at that point they said that the car had a salvage title. Which the seller who sold it us ARELLANO AUTO SALES sail the title was clean. Last year a recall on the engine was issued. the insurance company determined the vehicle a total loss since how the car was branded a lost because it appears Kia refused to Fix the car, While everyone else says they can't recreate the issue for fear of liability. So here are with a car that has an undetermined engine issue that causes other electronics to malfunction. The vehicle has been seen at KIA dealerships according to the carfax. It's been seen. By two other service facilities and all have come up with something that may needed to be service while nothing has fixed the car

- Rockwall, TX, USA

problem #214

Jun 252021

Optima

  • miles
Driving down Highway car shut off won-€™t start back

- Kearney , MO, USA

problem #213

Mar 192021

Optima

  • 155,501 miles

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

On January 4th 2021 my car stopped while I was driving. I had it towed to the auto repair in my city and they informed me my engine had a recall on it. The auto shop then informs me they don't work on engines send it to a Kia dealership ship I did that. Now the Kia dealership tells me there was no recall didn't explain much say you just needed an battery and the front O2 sen-or replaced I paid the $450 the car was up and running I didn't think nothing else would go wrong. March 19 2021 my car stops again while driving get it towed to the repair in my city they say I have a bad engine that was all the help they could give me. Now May 3 2021 my car is currently down it's not in the auto shop at the moment because the only thing the auto repair shops was saying is this would cost me $4500.in January I was informed I had a recall on my engine.

- Hamtramck, MI, USA

problem #212

Jan 272021

Optima 4-cyl

  • miles
2011 Kia Optima. Consumer writes regarding engine safety recall. The consumer stated there were discrepancies concerning the recall. The manufacturer advised that the consumer would be responsible for the inspection fee. The consumer stated the oil leak had not been corrected.

- Fairfax, VT, USA

problem #211

May 012020

Optima

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact previously received notification NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was taken to bert ogden mission Kia (2307 E expressway 83, mission, tx 78572) where they inspected the vehicle and found no fault with the engine. The recall classification was then removed from the vehicle and the vehicle was returned to the contact. Months later, the contact stated that an abnormal knocking sound was coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the knocking grew louder, and the vehicle would stall upon acceleration, without warning. The contact called the same dealer and was informed that they were unable to assist him since the recall was already serviced on the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

- Alamo, TX, USA

problem #210

Mar 182021

Optima

  • 201,000 miles

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

Driving down the road my car kind of sputtered and shut off...no previous problems until this...replaced the battery and starter to no avail

- East Liverpool, OH, USA

problem #209

Sep 012017

Optima

  • 130,000 miles
The engine seized. Ive been waiting for this recall. Kia has had tis vehicle for a month and I can't seem to get the approval for the current recall. It was in motion driving at 30 miles per hour smoke came from the engine and never turned on again.it was 300 downtown salt lake city. A city street. We had the vehicle towed home. The dealership seized the engine and quoted us $6500 to fix the entire car. Replace the engine.

- Holladay, UT, USA

problem #208

Mar 092021

Optima

  • 98,700 miles
Code showing is P1326 - ksds - rod bearing wear. Engine light is flashing and vehicle has went into limp mode/loss of power.

- Alderson, WV, USA

problem #207

Feb 012021

Optima

  • 130,000 miles
I did a oil change on the car after that the oil just kept leaking. I had to put 2 to 3 quarts of oil in every week. Then on my way home from taking my daughter to her appointment the car shut down on me on the highway with a semi behind me which almost hit me. I don't dive it anymore I got another car because of it.

- Sherrodsville, OH, USA

problem #206

Oct 222020

Optima

  • 131,000 miles

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

Car started to knock shut off called tow truck.checked code said knock sensor replaced still knocks changed oil again after two months and found pieces of medal in oil that looks like bass and metal I was driving the car on road rt.322 in

- Williamstown, NJ, USA

problem #205

Jan 142021

Optima

  • 201,006 miles
I had purchased this car on Thursday January 14, 2021the car started jerking and turn it off and one turned back on I took it back to the dealership and they told told me it's not their problem in a very rude way. So I asked them can I have the owners number and they told me that they can't give it to me and if I keep asking they're going to call the police on me. So I took the car to Kia to see what they can do for the car about the recall and they told me they if the part is covered but I looked online and it is on recall.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #204

Sep 162020

Optima

  • 152,138 miles
I was driving down the road and all of a sudden it stalled on me. It won't turn over or anything. It still has almost 1500 miles on until the next oil change and the oil plug is on and tight. When I checked the oil it was not reading anything on the dip stick. The has not been any oil leaking on the ground. I was driving on a major street in my town going straight

- Rock Springs, WY, USA

problem #203

Jan 072021

Optima

  • 88,000 miles
I was driving forward, in motion, my Kia Optima 2011 on a highway when I began to notice a loud ticking noise coming from the engine. I immediately became concerned, slowed down, and stuck to the right lane. Then, 15 minutes after first hearing this loud noise, I could not accelerate anymore as the noise became louder. Then I heard a small crash/explosion, smoke came out from the hood, it began to smell terrible and I was truly scared for my life in trying to stop the car on the curb, unable to see where I was driving because of the smoke and unable to control the car. Thank god I was able to stop on the side of the road, and had to have the car towed by geico. My car has only 88K miles and I have had it since 2014'this is utterly acceptable to have an engine blow out so suddenly, at so little mileage, and put my life in danger. Thank you very much for your consideration in investigating this.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #202

Dec 172020

Optima

  • 138,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact stated while her son was driving 60 mph, several unknown warning lights illuminated and the vehicle began to accelerate independently. The driver pulled over and parked on the side of the roadway. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the engine needed to be repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not informed of failure. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

- Morristown, MN, USA

problem #201

Dec 032020

Optima

  • miles
Lo qu pasa esq el carro tira gasolina Y lo emos arreglado 4 veses Y tira toda la gasolina ya isimos un reclamo Y nos nos quieren dar ninguna compensacin lo que ase ES que SE le tira la gasolina Y tengo miedo que SE yegue a quemar porque cada vez que le a pasado solo empieza a tirar gasolina no importa si est parado a conduciendo la ltima vez qu pas lo estbamos conduciendo Y me percat Y me regrese Y lo tengo en mi casa Y ya no lo eh vuelto a mover porque tengo miedo que SE queme estoy enviando una foto de la manguera un video de que ES lo Q le pasa tengo un video de pero no lo pude enviar.

- Des Moines, WA, USA

problem #200

Jul 302020

Optima

  • 97,300 miles
While operating at 65+ miles per hour on the interstate my Kia Optima hybrid had a catastrophic engine failure causing my car to have total loss of power. I had to safely pull over to the side of the road due to this. This engine failure occurred at approximately 97300 miles, which would still be under the original warranty, had I been the original owner. A local mechanic told me the engine was seized. After doing research about these specific types of cars I learned that the regular, non-hybrid, Kia Optima had recalls for engine failures so I called Kia corporate to see if I had coverage. Kia corporate initially told me that my car would possibly be covered if a specific part failed (rod bearings). If this was true then I would have gone through a claims process to get warranty coverage for my car. Because of this I decided to have my car towed to a Kia dealership. After a few days at a dealership I was again informed that my engine had seized (without determining why/ what part failed), but the story changed. Kia then told me that there was zero chance that my car would be covered even if the specific part had failed ( which we didn't know). I called corporate again upon hearing this news and spoke to someone who looked at the transcript/summary for my initial call and told me that what I was initially told didn't happen. They told me that I was lying to them and that what I was told in my first conversation with corporate didn't happen. Kia quoted me a new engine for 10000+ dollars (thousands more than the car is worth) and billed nearly 200 dollars for a diagnostic that likely took mere minutes. Ultimately I decided to have another mechanic put in a refurbished engine for about half the price. I believe that the deception that Kia put me through was wrong and that it is completely unacceptable for a well-cared for car to suddenly die without warning.

- Surfside Beach, SC, USA

problem #199

Feb 112020

Optima

  • 79,000 miles
18V363 17220 it has made a loud clanking/knocking noise. It stalled then completly died once I got off the main highway and wouldnt crank again. It uses an awful lot of oil. Upon first oil change it had shards of metal in it. The place I got the vehicle from says they put new motor in it among other things but I havent seen in change in things other than it doesnt smoke under the hood while idling.

- Berry, AL, USA

problem #198

Aug 212020

Optima 4-cyl

  • 118,000 miles
The contact owned a 2011 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving in the neighborhood, the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer (glassman Kia 28000 telegraph rd, southfield, mi 48034 (888) 451-0949) and they said the vehicle was stuck in limp mode. The dealer said that they reprogrammed engine with a code for a recall repair. The failure recurred again while the contact was driving at 40 mph the vehicle sputtered. The contact tried to pull off the road and the vehicle spun around and crashed into the curve and into a telephone pole. There were no injuries and no police report was filed. The contact left the crash scene and the vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. The manufacturer was called and gave the contact a claim number but said there was nothing they could do. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 118,000.

- Detriot, MI, USA

problem #197

Sep 162020

Optima

  • 95,000 miles
My car loses power when I use the horn. It happens while parked with the engine on and in traffic. Initially, I thought it was faulty electrical problem because there were 3 active recalls needing to be fixed. I recently took my vehicle to a certified Kia service center to get the recalls taken care of and additonally, had the A/C compressor, struts, and a belt replaced. I also described the issue of engine power loss when I use the horn with service tech and attempted to demonstrate. However, my car didn't duplicate the issue. I'm not sure if the techs tested it thoroughly during the days it was being serviced. The final detailed bill states that the car wouldn't duplicate the issue. I'm currently satisfied with the fixed recalls, A/C, belt, and other minor repairs. I'm highly concerned and frustrated that I'm still experiencing engine, acceleration, RPM, and A/C failure whenever I need to use my horn. A couple of days ago while in traffic, I had to blow the horn because a distracted driver nearly side swiped me. As a result, my car loss power. I couldn't accelerate and the transmission wouldn't shift. I ended up doing around 30mph until I made it to a safe destination. I called for help, but after I turned the car off and back on, it was as if it never happened. I'm furious about it because the distracted driver proceeded to tailgate and intimidate me out of anger. Lastly, it was not professional or caring to be laughed at when I voiced this problem at the service center. I need help and answers before something more terrible happens. The number of engine and electrical complaints are startling. I'm hoping that my issue will be taken seriously and looked into. I'm not comfortable driving my car.

- Pine Bluff, AR, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?