2014 KIA OPTIMA Complaints

I owe a lady made a complete stop in front of me and I hit her. I wasn’t traveling close behind her. Her car was not damaged at all, but my Kia was totaled from the front. They had to cut the car off because it was smoking like it was gonna catch a fire. I’ve been had this sign on my car the steering wheel with an! It says that the car is hot before the car accident I had driven to [XXX] back to my house in the car motor was just shaking up under even though the car was off about 1015 minutes a hour late I had to wreck. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The component was the engine. The engine has since been replaced. The safety of myself or others was not in immediate danger before the engine seized. Luckily my mechanics employee was test driving for other issues at the time. My mechanic said it was likely due to the recalls that have been issued from KIA. Unfortunately the engine was seized so the dealership I had the car towed to was unable to inspect the motor for the recall because of the engine seizing. The vehicle was not inspected by any of the listed entities. There were no warning lamps messages or any other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure/seizure of the engine.

XXX engine seized while driving on freeway — lost power, no crank, dash lights work, coasted to shoulder — safety hazard. Towed to Nayo's Auto [XXX] then to Kearny Mesa Kia [XXX]. Dealer confirmed 6 open recalls including recall 17V224 SC147 engine bearing failure / premature wear from machining defect. Kia corporate denied engine replacement under 15 year 150k extended warranty because product improvement PI1803 knock sensor update was not done. I never received PI1803 notification. I moved throughout [XXX] cities [[XXX] area] until moving to [XXX]. Kia mailed to old [XXX] addresses, forwarding expired, I never received at current address. All service since purchase was [XXX] not Kia dealer, so update never caught during service. I did not refuse update, I never knew about it. Vehicle is inside 15 year 150k miles and years, known manufacturing defect, not maintenance neglect. [XXX] maintenance on Carfax, DIY oil changes with receipts. Requested goodwill exception due to missed notification from moves — corporate denied via email, case on file. Request NHTSA review — safety defect, known recall, denied warranty due to missed notification from moves. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

While driving the engine seized In April 2026 on the interstate. The vehicle started to decelerate while cars where flying on the interstate. The problem has not been fixed. The issue has been inspected by the manufacturer. There were no warnings or sighs before the care seized.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly stopped. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact used a scanner and retrieved a code for failure with the knock sensor detection system and glow plug relay. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had seized. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. There was a question about the ownership of the vehicle. The warranty was denied because the vehicle was not being purchased from the dealer. The contact provided the title to show ownership. The failure mileage was approximately 167,000.

On 7/13/26 around 0715 my son was driving our 2014 Kia optima when it caught fire and burned from the engine to the back of the car. Fire dept and law enforcement had to respond and the vehicle along with thousands of dollars of property was destroyed by the fire. This vehicle is a total loss and I’m trusting an investigation as to I believe their fire started due to the engjbe and electrical faults of Kia motors.

Steering coupler issue. When turning the steering wheel. It is making a clunking noise even when in park and making it feel not smooth to turn the wheel either way. Very distracting and awkward when driving. When speeding up you can feel the issue with the steering coupler more. You can feel the noise and clunk feel when driving over bumps and turns. There has been a campaign/recall for other makes and models. But this car hasn’t been included.

The component that failed on my 2014 Kia Optima was the engine. Prior to the malfunction there were no lights indicating a failure. My safety was put at risk several times as my car had completely shut down on the highway going over 55 mph in way of many vehicles causing police to shut down the highway. I took the car to several auto shops to test and there was no indication of engine failure. I’ve got my battery checked, front end alignment and oil changed on schedule. The car still malfunctioned. I had it towed to the Kia dealership in March after learning about the recall on the engine. The dealership confirmed that the engine was faulty and had been recalled. There were several other recalls on that model as well. After keeping my car for a few days and charging me a service fee, they decided not to repair the engine saying that the software was not updated prior to the engine failure and they refused to repair. I was instructed to remove my car from the facility. I called their corporate office and a representative also denied my claim saying that the mileage on my car was too great. I have not been able to get in touch with anyone that can help. The car is located in a shared parking lot amongst hundreds of tenants and close to residential areas. I don’t believe it is a safe area if there is a fire risk but Kia refuses to honor their recall. The car is available for inspection upon request if needed.

Engine seized up on the highway going onto incoming traffic. Almost got into a car accident.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2014 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 71,527. However, upon taking the vehicle to the dealer due to excessive oil consumption, the dealer informed the contact that the actual mileage was over 200,000 as per the Carfax report. The seller was contacted but did not provide assistance.