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.
Engine oil consumption, I have owned this car since new and almost every other week I need to add oil. My car has 85k miles on it, and has been service by dealer since new, just 2 months ago Pomona kia said my oil pan gasket had a small leak and replaced the gasket, today 3500 miles after the gasket replacement my car needed 3 quarts of oil. I'm not a mechanic but I know my car should not go trough so much oil. Someone please help.
I was driving on the highway when my check engine light came on flashing the car jersey almost to a stop and I had to pull over. I cut the car off and sat then turned it back on. The check engine light was still flashing and I put my flashers on and was unable to go over 60 mph. I drove slowly to an autozone and a code was pulled p1326. I looked it up and it undeliverable due to the knock sensor issue.
Large Oil consumption (1qt a week). No warning lights, experiencing loss of power, hesitation on acceleration, oil covering the motor with no signs of leaks underneath the car on the streets. Oil puddling up on the top of the valve cover near the plugs but unable to locate the source. Gaskets and hoses checked and all are in good condition. 125,000 miles.
I was driving down hwy 60 in Lake Wales, Florida, passing a car at 70 mph. While passing, all of the alerts and indicators came on my dash, and I lost the ability to accelerate. To get off the road without getting rear-ended, I drove off into the grass in the median and stopped on the paved crossover. When I stopped the car, it shook and the engine died. The "hybrid warning/turn engine off" light came on in the middle of the display, so I turned off the car. I waited a few minutes and turned the car back on, no alerts were showing, but when I shifted into drive, the hybrid warning came back on, and all the lights/alerts on the dash were lit. The car had to be towed to the dealership. On Tuesday, Feb. 15, the dealership told me they performed a software update and the car was running again, but they wanted to keep it another night. On Wed., Feb. 16, the dealership called again to tell me the same situation that occurred on 2/14 happened again. They told me the codes that were given were related to the transmission. They said the transmission had to be replaced. The car is 5 years old. I asked about the transmission control module, and they said the entire transmission had to be replaced in order to replace the TCM. I took the car in after a recall notice was received in January 2022. I was told the recall only required an inspection, so there was no software update at that time. The tech told me that the original software update was done in April 2021. We received a 2nd recall notice this week saying the prior software update had an error and needed to be updated. The tech told me this is the update they did on 2/15. The dealership is telling me I need a new transmission. I'm having a hard time trusting anyone at the dealership.
While driving the car on the highway, when I try accelerating, the car suddenly acts as if it's in neutral and the engine roars without engaging a higher or lower gear and the car start losing power/speed. It takes like three to five seconds to engage a gear again; I have to lift my foot from the pedal a little bit and wait for it to lock on a higher or a lower gear for me to accelerate again.
- Cedar Park, TX, USA
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Kia Optima 2017 hybrid. 26K mileage and automatic transmission become very clunky, car jerks when shifting on any gear. Not stable driving, strange noises under the hood especially when vehicle goes uphill and even on straight road car twitches. No oil leaks from the bottom.
I believe there is a problem with the transmission in this car. It is an LX with the 2.4L engine gdi. It's the standard engine. The transmission seemed "off" after a firmware update. Prior to this, the car really performed and rolled nicely. By that I mean, there was no detectable dray when taking my foot off the gas. In driving the car now, the car just seems to lug, as it takes more acceleration to get the car moving. The transmission "hangs up" at around 40mph, with no load on the engine. The tach at 40mph or thereabouts, reads around 1900-2200rpms. This is far too high in my opinion, before I go a little faster, and the trans finally shifts to the next gear, lowering the rpms to where they should be at 40 mph. Gas mileage is down approx. 20% to what I enjoyed before this started. I did have the car back to the dealer, fred beans in langhorne pa, for routine maintenance and mentioned it to the service writer. Of course (and I mean this with all due respect), they couldn't duplicate the experience. What the did do was wipe the transmission memory clean and we started fresh. The idea being the transmission would relearn my driving habits. I don't profess to know everything about a trans learning habits, but I do know that the trans should not hang up between gears for any reason. Due to return to the dealership for regular service. Will mention it again. Out of regular warranty but I did purchase an extended warranty.
My vehicle has had multiple issues with its hybrid battery management system since purchase. It has been towed 4 times. While driving my car will start to jerk and a warning system telling me there is a problem with the battery management system (bms) and the power train. It will tell me to pull over or to contact the service department. This car has had its battery replaced and software upgraded numerous times, but I keep having the same issue. I'm concerned the battery system is faulty and it's dangerous to drive at this point, as nothing preceeds the issues - they happen out of nowhere.
Power train; shift lock specifically: Had to use the release control more than once. While driving when it happens, I feel a surge/ decline in acceleration(something I requested be checked a year and a half ago, but Kia said they could not recreate my description).continues to drive but sluggish to accelerate. Once I put into "park" I cannot get it out of park except to use release. It did reset(?) when I turned the car off. Suspension; first few months of owning the car I periodically heard a creak in rear suspension here and there when backing out of driveway/gutter slope. Have noticed an increased creaking and more bounce while driving over time but have not even owned car more than 2 years.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Los Angeles, CA, USA