2005 Kia Optima owner complaints

Locked car after buying it used drivers door will not unlock. Multiple complaints online about this problem. My daughter was going to drive this thing. Kia dealer did not even mention this to me, but did say it was 200 minimum. I hope this gets investigated. In an accident the door will never open. I drove the car home and after 2 hours it will not unlock.

Needed to replace door latch on driver's side. Door would not open from the inside. Air bag on passenger side will not deploy. *tr

The driver side door will not unlock from the inside or outside. I can hear the assembly trying to work, the key will unlock the other doors. This is a huge safety issue in an emergency. I called the Kia dealership in newport richey fl and they told me this a common problem with this vehicle. How many people are going to possibly lose their life in an accident,because of this defect before there is a recall. *tr

I believe this problem should be a recall. This is a safety issue and needs to be corrected by the manufacturer. We had the same problem where the driver door would not open no matter what you did,. It wouldn't open from the inside or the outside. All the other doors would open, but the driver door. If you opened it with the key it clicked, but when you pulled the handle to open the door it would lock.. In order to get out of the car my husband, who has a bad back had to climb over the center console. You wouldn't be able to get out in an emergency and this issue needs to be addressed. Another issue that we are having is we are always replacing bulbs in the headlights and taillights; about once a month. We are forever getting pulled over by the police to tell us our headlight or taillig

I became entrapped in my 2005 Kia optima when I accidentally hit the lock. Its been an issue before. While its dangerous to keep it unlocked, I chose that over being locked out or being locked in. Last night my elbow hit the lock as I parked. I had my coworker come pull the handle while I pushed the unlock button. While it has worked after several tries in the past, it just wouldn't give in. I then, had my coworker try the passenger side and it popped. I'm now reduced to climbing over from the passenger side door. While its painful and timely, its not as bad as climbing over the back. I've had to do that when I had no one to call for help. It's so dangerous not being able to get out of your car when you're ready. Its also horrible to think about your vehicle not being there when you come o

Driver's side door would not open. You could click it and it would sound like it was going to open, but it didn't. Had to drive to a Kia store and have the whole assembly replaced at the tune of $450. Interestingly enough, they did not seem to think this was a common problem, but I can see there are hundreds of complaints about this problem. I had my two year old grandson in the back seat and was very worried about getting stuck in the car. If this happens again, I will sell the car. There seem to be a lot of electrical problems on this car. I replace the headlights and taillights regularly (about once a month) and I am always having the engine light come on, when there is nothing wrong. How many of these complaints do you need before something is done? Or does someone have to get

Passenger side door no longer opens. This is a safety issue. Driver must enter and exit vehicle from passenger side. This is dangerous. Kia dealership was not able to open the door or fix the problem... *tr

Tl*the contact owns 2005 Kia optima lx/ex. The drivers side door will not open with or without the key. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that there are no recalls or warranties and it would cost $400 to repair the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 73,000.

Driver side door will not unlock or open with a key or with the unlock switch. When I try to unlock the doors from the drivers side with the key. It will not unlock but the rest of the doors will. Normally I have to juggle and play with the key and the door will unlatch . Last night I stood outside for 15 minutes and the door would not open so I had to climb thru the passenger side. This problem is a hazard. In the case of an emergency I would be screwed. This problem occurred in early 2010. Once I unlocked it the first time I decided to just leave the door unlocked for easy entry but that leaves my car vulnerable for theft or items I may leave in it. There have been many instances where a passenger has unknowingly locked the door and I would have to climb thru the other side and jiggle th

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Kia optima. The contact stated that the driver's side door latch was inoperable. The contact had to exit the vehicle through the remaining doors. The failure progressed for over five years. The vehicle was taken the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was unavailable.

I believe because of the option of 'affected parts" does not include locks/linkage, is why the NHTSA is not seeing how 1000s are complaining about having a locked door issue with kias of many models over a span of 10 years! My driver door is permanently locked and until I can come up with $700 to get it fixed I can not drive it due to safety because I can not get it inspected!!! Due to safety! Kia needs to be responsible for this safety issue for thousands of people! *tr

2006 Kia optima driverside door locks not allowing drivers door to unlock, we called dealer and they say that they are willing look at the problem for a service fee and labor, we search on-line this is a problem that there are several people having. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 Kia optima lx. While the vehicle was in the idle position, the contact was unable to open the driver side door. He could not open it from the outside with the key or even using the handle inside the vehicle. The contact had to climb out the front passenger door. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000 and the current mileage was approximately 89,000.

The driver door become jammed and sometimes will not open. You have to continuously/excessively jerk on it. Due to not opening, I have to crawl through the passenger side door in order to gain entrance into the vehicle. Not only that, after finally getting the driver door to open, I have to leave it crack to avoid this struggle.

Brakes turned to sponge on at least three separate occasions in fall 2009, again in feb 2010,summer 2010 and again 12/ 22/ 2010. At first occurrence winter of 2009 I assumed I had hit ice and was unable to brake for that reason. However, every incident after that confirmed that road condition was not a contributing factor. During first event the brakes were not functioning,car continued to move forward at red traffic light. Brake failure recurred twice at 4 way stop and again on residential street as I am preparing to park. Note that these incidents all occurred as I was consciously slowing the vehicle and preparing to come to a full stop. Speed of vehicle at the time of all the above incidents is estimated less than or equal to 15 MPH. What we have here is vehicle that randomly will not c

Hydraulic master cylinder in the clutch malfunctioned causing the clutch to stay engaged. I did not have a collision but was forced to leave the roadway to avoid having a truck strike me from the rear. When I took the vehicle to a dealer they refused to look at the vehicle unless I prepaid them, and they would later determine if I would reimbursed. Note that the car had only four years and 27k miles of a 10 year/100k warranty. This defect is extremely dangerous and someone not having multiple defensive driving courses and training may not have known how to respond. The situation was entering onto an interstate with heavy traffic. If the car had been working properly the entry would have been safe with time to spare. With the car not accelerating and giving the feeling of being in neutra

My fiance was traveling down a road where the speed limit is 55 MPH and he was blinded by bright lights, he ran off the road and lost control of his car which caused him to strike a tree on the passenger side. He hit the tree at about 50 MPH and was spun around and nose dived down a hill. Now he initially hit the back passenger door which means it was a side impact crash and his side airbags didn't deploy.....was this a default????? *tr

I was traveling at about 35-40 MPH when I noticed the person in front of me stop. I hit the brakes and could not stop in time and collided with the rear of this persons car. It smashed in my front bumper, fender, bent the hood about two feet in the air, and my airbags did not deploy. I drive a Kia optima 2005. I think this crash definitely warranted a airbag deployment. *tr

Dt: steering mechanism problem caused the contact's vehicle to veered to the right. This caused vehicle to collide with a fence. *ak updated 1/11/2006 - *nm

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Kia optima. The contact stated that the fuel tank was defective and could only be filled partially before spilling. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who discovered that the plastic fuel tank gasket seal failed. The fuel tank was replaced several times but the failure continued to recur. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to have the dealer perform a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 106,000.