2011 KIA OPTIMA Complaints

I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE IN FEBRUARY 2016, OUT OF THE BLUE ON MAY 22, 2016 I HEARD A SLIGHT KNOCKING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE AREA. I IMMEDIATELY SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE VERY NEXT MORNING. WHILE DRIVING ON THE I-15 SOUTH AT AROUND 7:00AM I WAS TRAVELING AT AROUND 55 MPH DUE TO TRAFFIC WHEN THE ENGINE MADE A LOUD NOISE THEN COMPLETELY SHUT OFF ON ME. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO CRANK THE WHEEL AND PULL THE VEHICLE TO THE OFF RAMP NEARBY WITHOUT HURTING ANYONE. I HAD MY VEHICLE TOWED TO A NEARBY SHOP AND AFTER A 24HR EVALUATION IT WAS FOUND THAT THERE WERE METAL SHAVINGS INSIDE THE OIL COMPARTMENT AND BECAUSE OF THESE SHAVINGS IT CAUSED COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE. NOW MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN UNDRIVEABLE SINCE MAY BECAUSE IT WILL COST ME $4,200 TO REPAIR.

I PURCHASED THIS CAR FOR MY FIANCE IN APRIL 2016.IN JULY 2016 WE NOTICED A CLICKING NOISE IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THIS NOISE IS UNBEARABLE. THEREAD IS A LOT OF LOOSE PLAY IN THE STEARING WHEEL AND THE CAR SWERVES FROM SIDE TO SIDE AS IF YOU NEED AN ALIGNMENT. I TOOK IT TO DIFFERENT MECHANICS BUT THEY REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS.KIA SAID IT WASN'T A PROBLEM.YEA IT GOTS TO BE A PROBLEM IF IT'S MAKING A LOUD NOISE LIKE THAT.THIS IS A PROBLEM AND I HOPE IT DOESN'T CAUSE ANYONE TO GET KILLED.THEY VEHICLE MAKES THE NOISE WHEN TURNING AND IT'S SO BAD NOW IT DOES IT WHEN YOU HIT BUMPS IN THE ROAD.

TAKATA RECALL--I WAS INVOLVED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WITH MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID. AS THE IMPACT WAS PRETTY HARD, THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. MY DAUGHTER WAS JERKED FORWARD AND HIT HER FACE ON THE DASHBOARD.

I WAS TOLD BY THE KIA DEALERSHIP THAT MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA NEEDS A NEW ENGINE. I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY IN MIDDLE LANE. I TRIED TO ACCELERATE MY CAR AND MY ENGINE WAS MAKING A RATTLING NOISE AND THE OIL LIGHT STARTED FLICKERING ALL THE LIGHTS ON THE DASH CAME ON AND THE CAR STALLED. I HAD TO CALL A TOW COMPANY TO TOW MY CAR TO KIA. THE NEXT DAY KIA SAID I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE AND I MUST PROVE THAT I KEPT MAINTENANCE ON MY CAR BY PROVIDING THEM WITH ALL MY OIL CHANGE RECEIPTS. I HAVE NO CAR NOW AND I NEED TO GET TO WORK AND GET MY KIDS TO SCHOOL.

I HAD DROVE THIS CAR FOR A YEAR WITH NO MINOR OR MAJOR PROBLEMS WHAT SO EVER JUST REGULARLY PERFORMED MAINTENCE AND UP KEEP. NEVER ONCE SEEING A ENGINE OR OIL LIGHT. HOWEVER IN MARCH OF 2016 WITH NO WARNING OR ANYTHING MY CAR STARTED MAKING THIS HORRIBLE 'KNOCKING NOISE' WHICH WAS MINIMAL AT FIRST AND GREW LOUDER AS I ACCELERATED. AND THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AFTER THAT AND HAS NEVER GONE OFF. THIS IMMEDIATELY RAISED CONCERNS FOR ME BUT DID NOT NO THE CAUSE, I PULLED OVER TO A MECHANIC SHOP AND AFTER JUST 30 SECONDS OF HEARING MY CAR START THEN DIE WITH THE HORRIBLE KNOCKING NOISE. I WAS TOLD I WOULD MORE THAN LIKELY NEED A WHOLE NEW ENGINE. HIS EXACT WORDS TO ME ARE 'SOUNDS LIKE YOU GOT A ROD KNOCK'. AND HE CHECKED MY OIL TO SEE IF ANY WAS IN THE ENGINE WHICH IT WAS AND ASKED ME ABOUT VEHICLE HISTORY. FROM MY UNDERSTANDING AND THE 3 SEPARATE MECHANICS I HAVE SPOKE WITH SAYS THERE WOULD BE NO REASON FOR A 2011 THAT HAS 90K MILES TO HAVE AN INTERNAL ENGINE PROBLEM. AT THE TIME I IMMEDIATELY CALLED KIA AND THEY SAY IT WON'T BE COVERED WHICH PUTS ME AT A LOST FOR WORDS AND HAVING ME TRY TO PREPARE TO BUY A ENGINE WHICH COST WILL EQUAL INTO THE $5,000 PRICE RANGE. THIS WAS NOT A REALISTIC OPTION FOR ME AND FORCED ME TO SEEK OTHER OPTIONS. AND COME TO FIND OUT HYUNDAI SHARES THE SAME ENGINE IN MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA AND THEY RECALLED THEIRS. BUT KIA IS CALLING THIS A MECHANISM DEFECT NOW, AND STILL FIGHTING CLAIMS. IT JUST BAFFLES ME IF HYUNDAI IS THE PARENT COMAPNY OF KIA AND THEY RE CALLED THE ENGINE, WHY IS KIA FIGHTING EVERYONE SO HARD ON THESE CLAIMS... I JUST DON'T BELIEVE ALL US OPTIMA OWNERS IN AMERICA DON'T T KNOW HOW TO GET OIL CHANGES, AND THATS WHAT KIA WANTS US TO BELIEVE.

FRIDAY SEPT 9TH I HAD MY OIL CHANGED AT WALMART IN JACKSON OHIO, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 12 MILES FROM MY HOME, AFTER THE OIL CHANGE I DROVE HOME AND PARKED THE CAR FOR THE EVENING, I'M RETIRED SO I DON'T DRIVE VERY MUCH EVERYDAY, SO SATURDAY I WENT TO LEAVE TO GO TO THE STORE WHICH IS ABOUT A HALF MILE AWAY AND WHEN I GOT IN MY CAR LEAVING THE STORE THE CAR STARTED AND SOUNDED LIKE METAL BANGING AROUND, I INSTANTLY THOUGHT THAT WALMART LEFT MY OIL CAP OFF OR SOMETHING SO I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND CHECKED, CAP WAS ON AND THE OIL WAS GOOD AND TO THE FULL LINE, I STARTED THE CAR AND DRIVE IT HOME AND THE NOISE GOT TREMENDOUSLY WORSE, THE SPEED LIMIT IS 25 BETWEEN HOME AND THE STORE AND THE CAR WOULDN'T GO PAST 15 MPH, IT'S SITTING NOW AND IF I TRY TO START IT, IT WILL START BUT THE NOISE IS UNBELIEVABLE, NOT DRIVABLE, I'VE LOOKED UP THIS CAR AND MORE THEN 200 OF THE SAME COMPLAINANTS ARE ON THE VEHICLE FOR THE SAME EXACT THING AND EVERYONE SAYS THEY HAVE TO REPLACE THE MOTOR TO A TUNE OF BETWEEN 5,000-7,000 DOLLARS, WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS? WHY ISN'T KIA FIXING THESE ENGINES? I BOUGHT THE CAR USED AND STILL OWE AT LEAST TWO YEARS ON THE CAR! I HEARD THE HYNDAI HAS THE SAME EXACT MOTOR AND THEY HAVE A RECALL FOR THE MOTOR DOING THIS??? CAR HAS 103,900 MILES AND I'VE ALWAYS KEPT MAINTENANCE UP AND REGULAR OIL CHANGES! TOO MANY OF THESE KIA OPTIMA SHAVE HAD BAD MOTORS AND THE PUBLIC IS SUFF RING AND GETTING PUT INTO UNSAFE SITUATIONS BECAUSE OF IT, WILL SOMEONE HAVE TO DIE BECAUSE OF THIS TO GET KIA TO FINALLY FIX IT????

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL MOVED INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT HEARD AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING COLUMN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 112,000. UPDATED 10/18/16*LJ

ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2016, I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH IN MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AND ALL OF THE LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD CAME ON. I COULD HEAR THE ENGINE REV SLIGHTLY WHEN I STEPPED ON THE GAS, BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE ENGINE JUST SHUT OFF. IT WAS 7:30AM WHEN THIS OCCURRED SO LUCKILY THERE WERE NOT MANY CARS ON THE ROAD YET. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR OVER, HOWEVER, BECAUSE THE ENGINE WAS OFF, THE BREAKS WOULD NOT WORK WELL. I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO STOP BY CONTINUING TO HIT THE BREAKS AND APPLYING THE EMERGENCY BREAK AS WELL. KIA RECOMMENDS OIL CHANGES EVERY 7,500 MILES, HOWEVER, I USUALLY HAVE MINE DONE EVERY 5,000. I HAD ZERO WARNING SIGNS THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH MY CAR. THE LAST OIL CHANGE WAS PERFORMED ON AUGUST 31, 2016, AND THE MECHANIC THAT PERFORMED THE CHANGE SAID EVERYTHING LOOKED FINE. THERE WAS ZERO SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE OR EXHAUST AND NO "KNOCKING" SOUND IN THE ENGINE. I HAD THE CAR TOWED DIRECTLY TO THE DEALER. ONCE THERE, WE TESTED THE BATTERY AND IT SEEMED A LITTLE LOW. MIND YOU THIS IS A NEW BATTERY PURCHASED FROM COSTCO ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO. WE TRIED JUMPING THE CAR AND AFTER TRYING TO START THE CAR A 3RD TIME, THE ENGINE STARTED SHOOTING OUT BLACK SMOKE AND HAD A FOUL SMELL TO IT. SEVERAL HOURS LATER, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE DEALER AUTHORIZING $280 TO OPEN THE TOP OF THE ENGINE SO THEY COULD TAKE PICTURES AND SEND IT TO KIA. . I SEARCHED ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND SEVERAL OTHER 2011 KIA OWNERS EXPERIENCING A SIMILAR ISSUE AND WAS JUST TOLD BY A FRIEND THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO HER 2011 OPTIMA AS WELL. LOOKS LIKE HYUNDAI HAD THE SAME ISSUE AND IT IS THE SAME ENGINE AS THE KIA AND HAD A RECALL. MY CAR HAD 101,500 MILES (MOSTLY HIGHWAY MILES) AND THE ONLY ISSUE I EVER HAD WAS TO REPLACE A CLOCKSPRING IN THE STEERING COLUMN ABOUT 6-MONTHS AGO.

THIS 2011 KIA HEADLIGHT BULB WAS REPLACED, HOWEVER THE LIGHT QUIT WORKING. WAS INFORMED THAT LIGHTBULB MELTED AND ENTIRE HEADLIGHT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ALSO HAVE TO DRIVE WITH HIGH BEAMS AT NIGHT FOR BETTER LIGHTING

2011 KIA OPTIMA. SERVICED AS REQUIRED. APPROX 120,000 MILES. ENGINE STARTED MAKING KNOCKING NOISES AND SEIZED. TOOK TO MECHANIC AND WAS TOLD METAL SHAVINGS WERE IN THE MOTOR AND NEED NEW MOTOR. AFTER INVESTIGATING ON LINE, IT APPEARS THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE MOTORS. ALSO, KIA MOTORS WERE BUILT IN THE SAME PLANT AS HUNDAI AND THOSE MOTORS AS WELL HAD THE SAME ISSUE AND WERE RECALLED! WHY HAS KIA NOT RECALLED THESE MOTORS KNOWING THERE IS AN ISSUE? OUR MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO GET A MOTOR FOR A DODGE AT HIS SHOP WITH NO ISSUE, BUT WHEN HE CALLED TO GET A MOTOR FOR THE KIA OPTIMA - NONE TO BE FOUND! CALLED KIA DIRECTLY AND THEY SAID THEY HAD NONE EITHER, ALL ON BACK ORDER....WHY??? THIS IS VERY OUT OF THE ORDINARY, AND I WISH THAT SOMETHING WOULD BE DONE TO GET KIA TO RECALL THESE MOTORS AND MAKE IT RIGHT WITH THE BUYERS. WHY HAS THIS NOT BEEN INVESTIGATED MY NHTSA? MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING THIS CAR WHEN IT SEIZED IN TRAFFIC ON A BUSY STREET IN THE CITY, AND AFTER READING OTHERS THEY SEEM TO HAVE THE SAME ISSUE! GIANT SAFETY ISSUE!!!!!!! SEVERAL CLASS ACTION SUITS AGAINST KIA, GUESS IT IS TIME TO JOIN IN ON THAT!