2011 KIA OPTIMA Complaints

WHILE SITTING WITH THE CAR RUNNING THE STEERING WHEEL HAS PLAY AND MAKES A KNOCKING SOUND WHILE MOVING THE WHEN BACK AND FORTH.

HEARING A KNOCKING NOISE IN THE STEERING WHEEL WHILE SITTING STILL OR MOVING WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS MOVED FROM SIDE TO SIDE, ALOT OF FREEPLAY IN THE STEERING WHEEL. WHEN YOU HIT A BUMP THERE IS A LOUD CLANKING NOISE FROM THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE NOISE IS PROGRESSING. THIS HAS BEEN ON GOING BUT IT IS NOW GETTING WORSE. I'VE ALWAYS TAKEN MY CAR TO KIA FOR MY OIL CHANGES AND HAVE INQUIRED ABOUT THE NOISE AND THEY HAVE ASSURED ME THERE WAS NOTHING WORNG, WHEN I TOOK IT TO GET MY OIL CHANGE ON SATURDAY 4/2 THEY SAID THE WARRANTY EXPIRED AT 100,000 MILES AND I TOLD THEM I MENTIONED IT TO THEM WHEN MY CAR HAD LESS THEN 100,000 AND HE THEN SAID IT DOESN'T COVER THE STEERING WHEEL.

WHEN PUTTING THE CAR IN GEAR, IT WOULD JERK REALLY HARD LIKE I HAD HIT SOMETHING. AT FIRST IT ONLY DID IT ONCE OR TWICE WITHIN A MONTH SO IT WAS HARD TO DUPLICATE. RECENTLY IT STARTED GETTING CONSISTENT. IT WOULD JERK HARD WHEN PUTTING IT IN GEAR OR PARK. ALSO GOING DOWN THE ROAD IT SHIFTED REALLY HAD LIKE SOMETHING WAS SLIPPING. IT DIDN'T MATTER IF IT WAS IN THE MORNING OR AFTERNOON. TWICE THIS WEEK, IT DID IT EACH TIME I WENT SOMEWHERE. THE SHIFTS WERE SOMETIMES SHORTER AND MORE OFTEN. IT FELT LIKE IT WAS MAYBE SLIPPING OR NEEDED FLUID. I TOOK IT IN AND DETERMINED IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE SENSOR. THEY REPLACED TRANY TEMP SENSOR, CODE P0711. THERE WAS NO CODE ON THE DASH, THEY HAD TO CHECK IT IN THE TRANSMISSION. IT WORKED.

WHILE TAKING THE CAR IN TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT FOR A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, THEY DID A 360 CHECK AND NOTICED THE STEERING COLUMN HAD PLAY IN IT AND MADE A CLICKING NOISE ABOUT A QUARTER TURN EACH DIRECTION. IT IS A PLASTIC GEAR PIECE THAT IS SMALLER THAN A QUARTER, PICTURE WILL BE ATTACHED. THEY SAID IF I DIDN'T GET IT FIXED IT WOULD GET EVENTUALLY WORSE BY WEARING OUT THE TIRES OR ALIGNMENT SO I HAD IT REPLACED. THEY HAD TO TAKE APART THE STEERING WHEEL TO REPLACE IT. IT WAS 20 FOR THE PIECE BUT WITH LABOR MY BILL WAS 181.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SLOW DOWN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL HAD TO BE DEPRESSED WITH EXTREME PRESSURE FOR THE VEHICLE TO STOP. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING NORMALLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000.

2011 KIA OPTIMA BATTERY DIED THE MAIN FUSE INDICATOR WASN'T WORKING. ON WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2016 AT ABOUT APPROXIMATELY 5AM ON RT97, I WAS APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES FROM HOME ON MY WAY TO WORK WHEN THE CAR STALLED OUT. I WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD; I WAITED FOR 2 MINUTES I THEN PUSHED THE START BUTTON ON THE DASH BOARD THE CAR THEN STARTED. I THEN PUT IT IN GEAR AND STARTED DOWN THE ROAD AGAIN I WENT A QUARTER OF A MILE THE OPTIMA STALLED OUT AGAIN. AFTER WAITING 2 MINUTES AGAIN I WAS ABLE TO GET MY CAR STARTED AGAIN I DECIDED TO TURN THE OPTIMA AROUND TO HEAD BACK TO MY HOME. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR HOME WITHOUT IT STALLING. I THEN CHANGED THE BATTERY OF THE KIA OPTIMA WITH A NEW FEDERATED BATTERY THE MILEAGE ON THE ODOMETER WAS 144,540.0

ON FEBRUARY 26, 2016 I WAS DRIVING TO WORK IN MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA AT APPROXIMATELY 5:45AM ON MD RT. 695 SOUTH I WAS IN THE LEFT LANE GOING 55 MPH DRIVING WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC. THE OPTIMA WAS DRIVING NORMALLY THERE WERE NO SOUNDS COMING FROM THE ENGINE, WHEN SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING THE CAR SHOOK VIOLENTLY I LOST ALL POWER AT THE SAME TIME ALL THE LIGHTS ON THE DASH CAME ON. I PRESSED ON GAS PEDAL THERE WAS NO RESPONSE FROM THE OPTIMA I HAD NO POWER. I QUICKLY PUT ON MY RIGHT TURN SIGNAL TO GET OVER THE FOUR LANES; I WAS TRYING TO GET TO THE SAFETY OF THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. IT WAS AMAZING THAT WITH ALL THE TRAFFIC I WAS NOT HIT BY ANOTHER CAR BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE ANY POWER TO THE WHEELS I WAS JUST COASTING THE OPTIMA WAS STARTING TO SLOW DOWN WITHOUT THE ENGINE TO POWER IT. I ENDED UP ON EXIT 17 WHICH IS SECURITY BLVD. RAMP. I OPENED THE HOOD OF THE OPTIMA I SAW OIL ALL OVER THE ENGINE AND OIL DOWN AROUND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. I CALLED AAA TO GET MY OPTIMA TOWED TO THE AUTO SHOP I GO TO IN NEW OXFORD PA. THAT WAS ABOUT 45 MILES WAY FROM WHERE THE OPTIMA'S ENGINE DIED. THE MECHANIC LOOKED AT THE ENGINE; HE STATED THAT A ROD FROM THE ENGINE HAD GONE THROUGH THE ENGINE BLOCK. THE MECHANIC ALSO STATED THAT THERE METAL PIECES AND OIL ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE ENGINE AND AROUND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. AFTER THE MECHANIC STATED HE COULDN'T FIND AN ENGINE FOR MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA I HAD IT TOWED TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP IN GETTYSBURG, PA. THE KIA DEALERSHIP STATED THAT THEY WOULD INSPECT THE ENGINE. THEY CHARGED ME $89.00 FOR AN HOUR LABOR TO LOOK AT MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA. I WAS TOLD THAT EITHER THE MAIN BARRING TO THE CONNECTING ROD MALFUNCTIONED OR THE PIN THAT CONNECTS TO THE PISTON COULD HAVE JUST BROKEN. AT THIS PRESENT TIME I STILL DON'T KNOW WHY THIS ENGINE'S MAJOR PARTS CAME APART AND CAUSED ME TO LOSE ALL POWER AND PUT MY LIFE AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS AT RISK.

HEARING A KNOCKING NOISE IN THE STEERING WHEEL WHILE SITTING STILL OR MOVING WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS MOVED FROM SIDE TO SIDE, ALOT OF FREEPLAY IN THE STEERING WHEEL. WHEN YOU HIT A BUMP THERE IS A LOUD CLANKING NOISE FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. I WAS TOLD BY MY FRIEND WHO HAS A 2012 OPTIMA THAT HE HAS THE SAME PROBLEM AND HE WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT IT WAS A PLASTIC GEAR IN THE STEERING COLUMN AND WOULD COST ROUGHLY $300 TO FIX. UPON RESEARCH WITH THIS ISSUE I HAVE COME ACROSS SEVERAL OWNERS THAT SEEM TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WHICH KIA KNOWS ABOUT. I FEEL THAT KIA SHOULD CORRECT THIS PROBLEM AT THEIR EXPENSE BEFORE THIS ISSUE KILLS SOMEONE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, AN ABNORMAL SOUND EMITTED FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE AND THE CHECK ENGINE OIL WARNING LIGHT FLICKERED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE CONNECTING ROD FAILED AND THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 92,000.

MY KIA OPTIMA (2011) HAD STARTED A TICKING ENGINE NOISE AT AROUND 90K MARK AND NOW IT'S ESCALATED TO A LOWER END WAS TOLD BY SERVICE DEPARTMENTA T ABOUT 92K IT WAS NORMAL NOISE OF CAMSHAFT AND I ONLY NOTICED IT UNDER LOADS AND HIGHER ELEVATION ON OVERPASSES. I HAVE BEEN USING MOBIL1,FULLY SYNTHETIC MOTOR OILS AND A K&N OIL FILTERS. THIS LAST WEEK I HAVE NOTICED THAT IT WAS GETTING LOUDER.AND FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. I ASKED THE HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP THAT MY WIFE'S 2015 HYUNDAI SANTA FE SPORT WAS GETTINGI TS OIL CHANGED@ AND YES WITH MOBIL1, AND THEY TOLD ME ABOUT A RECALL ON THE MOTOR PLANT IN ALABAMA THAT SUPPLIES THE ENGINES OF BOTH FOR THOSE YEARS MODELS HAD AN METALLIC FRAGMENTS LEFT UN ENGINE AT MANUFACTURER OF ENGINE AND HAS ISSUED A RECALL. SO I CALLED KIA CONSUMER PRODUCTS DEPARTMENT AND THEY APPARENTLY HAVE HIDDEN BEHIND THE RELOCATION TO THE GEORGIA PLANT AND SAID THAT MY CAR IS KOREAN DUH SO THAT MEANS THAT THE ENGINE IS KOREAN. WHEN I CALLED DEALERSHIP AND MACHINE SHOPS BOTH HAVE SAME PARTS JUST A DIFFERENT PART # SO IT WILL AVOID A RECALL BUT THAT IS SPLITTING UP THE DIVISION OF BRANDS NOT THE PLACE WHERE MY KIA ENGINE WAS MADE IN ALABAMA AND SO WAS THE SONATAS. JUST DIFFERENT NUMBERS. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE NEEDS TO STEP IN AND TAKE OUT THE BLATANT DISREGARD FOR THE LAW AND ORDER OF FAITHFUL OWNER'S OF THE KIA AND HYUNDAI VEHICLES. I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM KIA AND IM IN NEED OF THE NHSTA TO GET INVOLVED. AND DO AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE HYUNDAI AND KIA MOTOR PLANTS RECALL FOR YOU AND ME THE CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION NEXT STEP I GUESS.