Driving on freeway the car shut off will not start, indicating light aren't reporting any problems
2015 Kia Optima owner complaints
995 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 2 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. Showing the 300 most recent — grouped by category for scanning.
engine 11 complaints shown
Granddaughter driving car, when car starting running erratic. Made it home and I check it and car was knocking and would not run over 30 mph. Engine light was flashing, changed oil myself and found medal particular in oil and filter. Motor is no longer safe to drive. Only has 122,000 miles. Engine was running fine up till this point.
I am writing because my vehicle was a waiting list for months since September 2020 in Mobile, AL at Dean McCrary Kia. I called daily to check the status of my vehicle. I took extended lunch breaks to check on my status of the waiting list. The customer service representatives told me my name remained in the same place for weeks on the waiting list, each time I inquired, due to them having only one technician. The staff was extremely rude. Kia of Mobile would not allow me to leave/park my car on their lot of the Mobile, Alabama location. They stated that I should keep my car at home and when they were ready to repair my vehicle, they would call me. Months went by. No call. In the year 2021, I had my car towed to Kia of Daphne in Daphne, AL. Trevor was the service manager. He was very pleasa
As I was driving in the fwy I hear noise and exit to check what was wrong. No lights or warning of what the issue might be. Turned off the car open the hood of the car and saw nothing wrong with it I turned it back on and the noise went away. About 2 week after I was exiting the fwy and the engine light turned on. Engine start making noises
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated while her son was driving approximately 60 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was informed by her son that the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact stated that while her son was pulling the vehicle over to the side of the highway the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that her son attempted to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to restart. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The contact then had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and had not been repaired by the dealer. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was a
Car was being driven and out of nowhere engine seized up without my prior warning lights, sounds, or issues. I took it to an independent reputable shop who confirmed the seizure which they admitted was a known problem with these theta Kia engines. Thankfully I was not On a heavily trafficked road so no accidents were caused.
On November 24th, 2021 I was merging onto a busy expressway when everything on my dashboard started flashing and the car shut down. There was absolutely no warning that the engine had no oil. No smell , no engine knocking sounds, no oil low light, no check engine light prior too it happening. It was towed to the nearest mechanic and they confirmed the engine was locked up. There was absolutely no oil in the reservoir per the mechanic. The oil was changed by Big O Tires on September 4th, 2021 and wasn't due for an oil change until December 4th, 2021. I searched my VIN and realized there was an engine recall on my 2015 KIA OPTIMA. I contacted three different dealerships near me to see who could look at it. I had it towed to the dealership and it was confirmed that the engine was locked up. I
Vehicle suddenly stopped while traveling on highway from mississippi to pennsylvania, when vehicle stopped there was not any oil in the car. My son had it towed to nearest walmart, purchased 3 quarts, and continued. Four hours down the road vehicle stopped while I was driving.hei was close to birmingham around 11 at night. He stayed on the side of the highway until morning called a tow truck and took to riverside Kia where an engine analysis was done. He told my son the is owner negligience. He told him according the miles on the vehicle he should have had at least 9 oil changes, but there where only 3 receipts in the car. Prior to this incidence his vehicle had been broken into. He was able to locate other receipts. He had the oil changed 3 weeks before this (oct 29, 2016)
I bought a 2015 Kia optima in February of 2023. In October the engine completely seized with zero warning. The vehicle was always properly serviced while in my possession. The engine seized and the car went into limp mode during the first snow storm of the year on one of the deadliest mountain passes of North Idaho. I, a young woman, was stranded almost an hour outside of town on the side of a freeway on a mountain during a snow storm. The power in my car shut off so I was unable to use the heat system. I waited approximately 3 hours in these conditions for a family member to arrive. I then had the vehicle towed 40 miles back to town and have been without a vehicle since. Kia USA has only offered $40 a day in rental reimbursement to assist with the situation. However, due to my age I am un
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated for several weeks. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and approaching a traffic light, after depressing the brake pedal the vehicle began to stall. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to her residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 91,115.
Sudden engine knock and sudden engine failure while vehicle was in motion in front of a high school. This incident requires engine replacement.
other 5 complaints shown
The car is experiencing the same problem reported on technical service bulletin SA187 (Blind spot detection (BSD) system logic improvement (SA 187)) BUT KIA states my VIN number is not listed under the service bulletin and therefore I have to pay $189 to get a software upgrade done. The "Check BSD system" illuminated in the instrument cluster has been cleared twice by my mechanic and still comes back after a few days. To me this issue should have been made a recall because of its criticality... the BSD system is a core safety feature of cars and reduces accidents substantially. There was no way for me to know my car has this problem unless it is made a recall. I have NOT had any accident related to this issue but i had to pick an incident date to complete this complaint. I have calle
The contact owned a 2015 Kia Optima SX Turbo. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic light, smoke was emitting from under the hood and entered the vehicle through the A/C vents. The contact pulled over to the side and immediately exited the vehicle. The contact opened the hood and flames were visible. No warning lights were illuminated, and the temperature gauge was normal. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The contact pulled over in front of Robertson's Tire, the employees used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the fire and called the Fire department. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The manufacturer was notified of the fire and advised the contact to tow the vehicle to a KIA dealer. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer who i
Passenger door handle fell off in my hand. Worried the orhers will do the same. When I called the dealership in Cocoa FL they said that was the 5th call for door handles falling off this week. There was a recall for kia door handles in Canada. 5 calls to one dealership in a week! Multiply that by all the dealerships in the USA and add the ones that don't go through the dealerships. I believe it is worth an investigation into a recall.
My car caught on fire under the hood about 15 minutes after I drove and parked it. It was not running at the time the fire started. We tried to put it out with 2 fire extinguishers but were not able to. By the time the fire department arrived my car was completely engulfed in flames. It burnt to the ground and was a total loss!
I wanted to add more information to my complaint. When in motion in front of high school car went into limp mode with knocking noise coming from engine. My husband is a mechanic and discovered metal flakes inside engine. I was never notified of any recalls involving the engine. Now I have to purchase a new or remanufactured engine costing estimated $3000 to $4500 not including core charges and shipping fees.
steering 2 complaints shown
Vehicle veers both left and right. You have to constantly keep correcting the wheel. Made appointment with dealer and they made some adjustments but was no better. I took it back and they said that's all they can do.
Driving down the road the steering has a catch in it and you need to use force to turn the steering wheel
cruise control 1 complaint shown
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed while at a fuel station, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration while the brake pedal was being pressed. During the failure, the RPM's suddenly increased although the accelerator pedal was not being depressed. The vehicle was turned off and restarted four times before the vehicle operated as normal. On a second occasion, the failure had reoccurred while driving approximately 35 MPH while slowing to approach a stoplight. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but no information was available. The manufacturer was not yet notified. The failure mileage was 46,900