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.
I was driving home a few guys I work with and had no previous issues with the engine before, and on my drive home I was sitting at a red light as the car started to shake uncontrollably. The light then turned green and I casually followed the speed of the traffic no more than 150 ft before the motor started squealing and knocking, come to find out it's a recall the regular Kia Optimas have, it's spun a bearing in the 3rd cylinder and Kia refuses to replace it saying that it isn't covered because it's the hybrid with the same issue. Kia needs to own up to it. I used this vehicle as a work Transport and has always had its maintenance done. Now I'm out a vehicle and Kia is ignoring my messages to them. I'm very unsatisfied with the way Kia has treated me. No one has reached out to me, just ignoring me as a customer. Dissatisfaction, major dissatisfaction.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. While driving 55 mph, the rpms dropped to 0 and the vehicle stalled. The contact heard an abnormal noise and the check engine warning indicator illuminated briefly and then turned off. The contact stated that she was able to drive up to 20 mph before the vehicle began to hesitate and multiple unknown warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was parked on the side of the road and then restarted, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to nalley Kia (located at 7849 mall pkwy, lithonia, ga 30038, (678) 374-3820), but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was towed to pep boys where the contact was informed that the failure was associated with NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was unknown.
I own a 2013 Kia Optima my car wouldn't start. Then after a few tries it started up. Then it did it again. My car wouldn't start. My car would stall out. Then it started making a knocking noise in the engine. The next day the check engine light went on. My odometer just hit over 100,000 a few weeks before. I made an appt at a Kia dealership service dept but it's not until next week. I've only had this car for 3 months. I just purchased it. Now I've learned about the Kia recall SC147 & NHTSA recall 17V224000 on bearings that lead to engine seizure & that can lead to metal in the oil. And it causes a knocking noise. I am positive this is what's wrong with my car. I hope the Kia dealership will fix my car next week that's the earliest appointment they have. I hope I can get a car loaner.
The VIN did not get that this is an Optima hybrid, which isn't in the recall, SC145, but has similar symptoms, only Kia Optimas. Driving at 75mph, I tried to accelerate to get around a car and I felt/started hearing rod knock. At idle the sound is worsened only because I'm not going highway speeds. I'm worried that the engine could have seized and created a serious accident. It was diagnosed as rod failure at the Kia dealership. The car has 116,000 miles and is just outside of the warranty. They don't want to help out in any way because it's not part of the recall program.
- Kansas City, MO, USA
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While I went on the highway the acceleration felt very sluggish and had a hard time speeding up to the speed limit. The car only got worse as I went on a street and it felt as though it did not want to go, like it lost most of its power. Turns out something is wrong with the engine but I feel that my car should be under a newer recall but isn't, as smoke was coming out of the exhaust and the engine light wasn't even on. Somehow the car was out of oil with no light coming on to indicate that and recently about a week ago oil was put in, and weeks prior oil was put in.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact took the vehicle to classic Kia carrollton (2920 N interstate 35E, carrollton, tx 75007, (866) 559-8140) to be repaired per unknown recalls regarding the engine and air bags. The dealer kept the vehicle for 85 days, but the air bag indicator illuminated after the repair. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was determined that the SRS module needed to be replaced at the cost of $854. The contact believed the dealer was dishonest and did not tell her about the SRS module at the time of the initial repair. The dealer claimed that the SRS module had nothing to do with the air bag recall. The contact researched the dealer and found several complaints of people bringing their vehicles in for recall repairs and experienced other issues afterwards. The manufacturer was contacted and agreed with the dealer. The failure mileage was 139,372.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle consumed an excessive amount of oil and the contact heard an abnormal clinking noise. In addition, the check engine and oil warning indicators illuminated and flashed. The vehicle was taken to southwest Kia of rockwall (1790 interstate hwy 30, rockwall, tx 75087, (469) 402-2900) where an engine knocking test was performed, but it failed twice. In addition, oil was added to the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that they would investigate the failure; however, no further assistance was provided. The contact stated that the failure was similar to what was listed in NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling). The failure mileage was 122, ,856.
This concerns Kia recall SC147. I have a 2013 Kia Optima ex that I purchased used with 98,000 miles on it in February 2019. The car drove perfect without any problems. I recently had the oil changed in June. A couple of weeks later the motor started knocking slightly for no reason after a recent trip to memphis, Tennessee. The engine stalled in traffic so I put it in neutral and I was able to crank it back up. The next morning it was really knocking loudly so I took it to a mechanic who stated the engine was trying to throw a rod.
The motor in my 2013 Kia Optima spun a rod bearing on the way to a out of town softball tournament for my daughter the weekend of June 28th thru June 30 2019. My family and I were about 40 miles away from home on the highway when the vehicle started to lose power. We stopped to check the car to see what could be the problem and that's when I heard a knocking noise coming from the motor. At that point I had no choice but to have it towed to a mechanic shop in another city and star where the car still is today. The vehicle has not been started spence the day of break down.(June 28th 2019)the mechanic recommended me to see if there was a recall on the vehicle for this problem and with your VIN lookup tool I was able to find out that the motor does have a recall on it for this very reason. (oil passages may be block due to debris from manufacturer cleaning defect. Causing premature rod bearing wear from not cleaning engine properly before engine assembly).. I never received notice in the mail about a recall on my vehicle nor do I have recall number. The mechanic is willing to fix the entire problem for us but I need to know if I should allow him and will receive reimbursement after paid repairs or would you like me to have it towed to a Kia authorized dealer for repairs. Thank you for your help.
The contact owned a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that whiled driving at approximately 65 mph, the odor of fuel was present inside the vehicle. While at a stop light the engine suddenly stalled. The engine was restarted and moments later smoke and flames was present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. After exiting the vehicle, the fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was destroyed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000.
The ignition switch won't turn, car seems to be on even though lets aren't in ignitiinnswitch, radio comes on but car let stick in on position and won't turn..doors won't lock unless key is used
While driving at 65 mph on the freeway my Kia suddenly stalled causing me to have to steer the car off the freeway barely avoiding getting stuck in the middle of the freeway. Luckily traffic wasn't bad but I did have to avoid getting hit by oncoming cars.
When attempting to start my vehicle everything turned on in the car except the car itself. Brake pedal was stiff and nothing would turn the engine on. It took over 10 minutes and was finally able to get the vehicle to fire. Has happened twice today 7/13/19. The vehicle is a push button start with battery charge of 95% and new batteries in the fob.
Engine noise, sound like something lose inside. While running stationary and moving, have not driven the vehicle since noise started 3 months ago. Not sure what the problem is. Read about recall just last week.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. While driving 75 mph, the vehicle stalled and all the instrument panel indicators illuminated. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road as it caught fire under the hood. The fire department arrived and extinguished the flames. The entire front end of the vehicle was burned. A police report was filed. It was unknown if the vehicle was destroyed. The contact was not sure if a fire report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 92,000.
My brakes felt like they locked up and gas pedal went to the floor so I pulled into a parking lot. I wasn't sure of the problem at all. I left it there for approximately 4hours before coming back to it. I wanted to see if the problem still existed before calling a tow truck. After I hit the ignition to start my car it began to smoke in the engine. I called 911 and by the time they got there it began to shoot flames from the engine. All the damage was in the engine and it was completely melted to nothing. My insurance adjuster said she had never seen anything so bad like that in an engine. The man at the collision center told her that it looked like it was fueled by gasoline in the engine. Obviously there was something wrong in the engine for this to happen. I am just glad I wasn't driving down the road when it happened. I don't understand how a vehicle can be sitting stationary and catch on fire. My car is at a total loss according to my insurance adjust today. I am very frustrated with what happened and now I am without a car. I want some answers as to why my engine caught on fire and I feel that Kia needs to take responsibility for what happened. This was the first car I have ever purchased on my own and I have not even had it a year and this happens.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Spring Hill, FL, USA