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ProblemsByVin Index / 2018-KIA-OPTIMA / COMPLAINTS
Full complaint record · NHTSA

2018 Kia Optima owner complaints

224 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 4 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. Showing the 300 most recent — grouped by category for scanning.

engine 9 complaints shown

99 total in this category · severe · avg repair $3,100 · see engine cluster analysis →
12/26/2023 57,000 mi ODI #11561944.0

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low-pressure engine oil warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked and almost lost motive power however, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal and continued driving. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on two occasions. The contact stated that the vehicle received an engine oil change; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

12/23/2025 ODI #11706817.0

My engine is under the Kia class action lawsuit for the KDS with the rod bearing clearance issues. I have done all my oil changes with paper work available. I got the update to the ECU several years ago as needed to be covered. Now my engine has failed and I took to the dealer to check but they said I didn't have a specific code and that they can't do any testing to verify it would be under the warranty. I called Kia Customer Care and have talked to them several times. They have told me there wasn't a need for the code and that the dealer could do other testing. The dealer stated that they can't do the BCT test due to a cylinder not having compression. I told Kia this is all related to the bearing going out and they said they can't do anything if the dealer said it's not under warranty. S

12/23/2024 ODI #11632125.0

Increased oil consumption with needing oil added and or changed half way before date or milage stated, oil changes performed by Kia dealer. Car staling and engine knocking while driving. Burnt smell while driving.

12/20/2024 106,000 mi ODI #11631816.0

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

12/11/2023 ODI #11559541.0

I took my vehicle to jenkins kia-ocala back in march and may of this year for my check engine light lashing on and off and acceleration issues, car shaking, and excessive oil spilling into my spark plugs. The 1st time I took my vehicle to this location i was told to "drive my vehicle until it no longer had any motor oil to "allow the motor to lock up" to then be approved to have my vehicle engine approved under the GDI recall". I expressed my great concerns to the employees about that statement and also reported the issue to bbb. I recently took my vehicle to kia jenkins Dec 8th for the very same reason only this time I showed them paperwork from a different certified mechanic who indicated that I have an internal engine issue. Kia then created a tech line case after seeing the paperwork s

12/10/2025 ODI #11704303.0

While driving my 2018 Kia Optima S, the car suddenly jerked, lost power, and stalled in traffic. Multiple warning lights came on at the same time including the oil light, battery light, and check engine light. I had no acceleration and the brakes became very hard to press. The vehicle had to be towed for safety reasons. The Kia dealership inspected the vehicle and confirmed internal engine failure due to “cylinder failure” and stated the engine needs complete replacement. This failure occurred without any external leaks and without warning other than the sudden loss of power. The dealer stated the issue is not covered, even though it is clearly an internal engine malfunction. This is a major safety hazard because the stall happened while I was in active traffic. A sudden loss of power an

12/08/2022 102,593 mi ODI #11496523.0

Excessive oil consumption will burn through around 4qts of oil before 1k miles

12/06/2019 22,000 mi Fire ODI #11287474.0

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 Kia optima. While driving 20 MPH, the contact was notified by other motorists that flames were present under the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and smoke appeared under the hood. The contact and a pedestrian extinguished the fire. The fire and police departments were at the scene, but the contact was unsure if reports were filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to northstar Kia (46-05 northern blvd, long island city, ny 11101, (877) 244-0989) where the contact was informed that there was an engine fire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 22,000.

12/02/2024 Fire ODI #11628268.0

I drove the car to the park about 6 miles round trip with family. I came back home and started having lunch for about 25 minutes. I then attempt to start the engine to go to my appointment but then car didn't turn on. On third attempt I had a weird noise coming out of the hood and I went back inside the house to get my gloves. When i came outside of the house, the hood of the car was in flames. I called 911 to turn off the fire. The car is now at a total loss.

steering 4 complaints shown

12 total in this category · moderate · avg repair $700 · see steering cluster analysis →
12/31/2025 ODI #11708064.0

Steering column coupler went bad. Unable to swap out the coupler alone ($12 part) and had to get a whole new column (over $1200). Some of the Kia's around this one's make and model were recalled but not this one. Without this repair driving would have been dangerous.

12/12/2021 ODI #11443512.0

We would like to know what Kia is planning to do to address the fact that Kia built a car without the basic immobilizer circuit making it very easy to steal. Over the last few months, local and national news reports, as well as many social media sites, have reported on this security flaw which likely emboldens others to attempt a theft of a Kia and/or Hyundai. As I do not live in Milwaulkee, I would like to know how the company will fix this problem for the rest of us. It will not be restricted to just one city. There are numerous articles by victims that have detailed how their car theft cost them thousands of dollars in insurance deductibles, rental cars, and repairs. Many of the articles explain how thieves as young as 12 years old are able to still these cars in under a minute in bro

12/12/2020 36,826 mi ODI #11383186.0

I have 63,826 miles on my 2018 Kia optima s and I drove it to the store and all my light on the dash came on when I would come to a stop and my power steering would go out and about cause me to wreck. I was told that it was my alternator but after getting a new alternator I then drove it to get dinner a few days later when the same thing started happening again and my power steering kept going out again. I have two newborn babies, a 5 year old and a 10 year old in the vehicle with me and had I wrecked when the power steering went out it could have been a bad situation.

12/07/2019 42,100 mi ODI #11287697.0

I have never had any issues with my car, I get maintenance as scheduled so it's odd that this is even happening. On december 6th I went to move my car. I crank the car with no problem. I noticed it kind of hesistated slightly, but continued on with no problem. When I went to put my car in reverse in order to park it stalled and about 5 or 6 of the lights on the dash came on, the steering wheel went hard to manage/steer and as 6 other lights started blinking, I could no longer manipulate my wheel so I allowed the car to roll into the spot because I was on a slight incline and put it in park. The moment I did that the car cut off. It would not turn over, it would not do anything besides click when I tried to crank the car again. I eventually asked someone for a jump and managed to make it ho

brakes 2 complaints shown

7 total in this category · severe · avg repair $450 · see brakes cluster analysis →
12/24/2018 8,800 mi ODI #11163260.0

When reversing the brakes take 5 to 10 seconds to release, also the brake light stays on the entire time of this issue happening.

12/23/2022 ODI #11498673.0

Front brake calipers seize and burning smell and smoke coming for front wheels. Have replaced the rotors, calipers and brake pads(twice) and it does not seem to fix the problem.

other 2 complaints shown

12/03/2025 ODI #11702775.0

Paint on all four door handles are bubbling and chipping. I rarely use the backseat handles and passenger door, which makes it more likely to be a malfunction in whatever paint was used for the handles. There is no fading, chipping, or bubbling on other parts of my car.

11/28/2018 25,000 mi ODI #11154609.0

The vehicle is stationary. There is no emergency trunk release from the inside of the vehicle except from inside of the trunk. My keys were stuck inside the trunk there is no way to open it. The trunk release button from the driver side did not respond. The trunk release button from the trunk itself does not respond. The rear seats cannot fold from the inside either, because it can only be accessed from the trunk

powertrain 1 complaint shown

18 total in this category · severe · avg repair $2,500 · see powertrain cluster analysis →
12/24/2019 63,000 mi Crash ODI #11291095.0

The cv axle assemblies snap like the 2016 models do Kia's recall number sc139.

airbags 1 complaint shown

8 total in this category · severe · avg repair $1,100 · see airbags cluster analysis →
12/05/2019 66,000 mi Crash ODI #11287036.0

On november 18, 2019 @ 6:38 pm in phoenix, arizona on 59th ave heading west I was in a very terrible car collision where I was at a stand still at a red light and was rear ended by a Toyota tacoma going 45-60 MPH, upon impact I was forced forward and hit the back of a flat bed tow truck and completely destroyed the front of the vehicle. The airbags did not deploy upon impact.

Showing 300 of 224 total complaints. The full federal record is available at nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/Kia/Optima#complaints.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) owner complaint database. Last synced 2026-06-14. Complaints are owner-submitted and unverified — the existence of a complaint is not proof of a defect, but a pattern of complaints around the same component is a signal worth weighing. Verify any specific filing at nhtsa.gov.
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