The first time the problem occurred was about 6 months after I purchased the vehicle. Driving home one late evening the car started to lose power. I was in a rural area so I continue to drive to get to a light area. All dashboard lights started to flash but car still was able to move slowly. I was able to finally reach a lighted area that I could pull over. once pulled over vehicle shut down completely. Unable to use flasher or anything, it was completely dead. I was afraid because cars weren't able to see me and I was barely off the road. called tow truck and towed to Kia Dealer. Dealer said that it was the 9 Volt battery. I had to pay for the battery and it was replaced. Unfortunately this did not fix the problem.

I was driving my 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid, when I heard a slight knocking sound that was so subtle that I had to turn the radio down very low to here it. The sound was only there when I was accelerating uphill. I was on the way to drop a friend off at the airport and as we got closer to our destination, the noise got worse.

I decided that public transportation would have to get my friend to the airport and a few miles after hearing the worse noise. I pulled into a Hyundai dealership before any worse damage occurred or we got stranded on the roadside. The call this morning was that the engine needs to be replaced. They found the oil well was full of clean oil and the engine and the rest of the car looked very good. We always kept up on the maintenance. The check engine light DID NOT come on at all.

The 2.4 engines for the "regular" Optima's were included in a Kia recall in March of 2017, but the Hybrid engine was not. They say it is a different engine and was manufactured differently. Well, it has the same exact story as the other Optima's. Kia suggested I have it towed to a Kia dealer for them to try to determine if it is the same exact issue. Our Kia was the first Hybrid to be sold in the Central Valley CA, and is likely the first to have this issue.....Very frustrating!

Not sure what we will do, but I am not paying the cost to have a new engine put in only to then need to replace the hybrid battery for around $3K-$4k too.

Update from Sep 1, 2018: The cost to replace the engine with a used engine that had 65K miles on it was $6K that included a 12 month 12K mile warranty, I opted to sell it to one of the Service Techs for $500.00.*- The Kia service dept told me that the best I might be able to do if Kia picked up any of the cost as a "Good Will" gesture, it would likely be half of the cost if that.....they extended the warranty on the other Non-Hybrid 2.4 L engines to 120K miles. I was over that. This has been the worst car I have ever owned and the only one that needed an engine replacement. So disappointing.I bet Kia will ultimately recall these engines too.

Bought this car used and felt confident as I saw the CARFAX and noticed it had been serviced regularly and had low miles. Had the car a whopping 3 months when the engine seized without so much as a check engine light. The dealership I purchased from (non-Kia) has had my car for 3 months trying to get Kia to assist in replacing the engine. We recently learned that Kia will not assist and, on top of that, they no longer make the engine so I am forced to purchase a rebuilt. Worst experience of my life and now I'm stuck with a very expensive paper weight! Shame on you Kia!