2012 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID Complaints

INHERENTLY BAD ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING COUPLER. BROKEN WILE STILL RELATIVELY LOW MILAGE. MAKES A VERY BAD CLUNKING NOISE WHEN STEERING AND GOING OVER BUMPS AND CAUSES STEERING WHEEL TO WOBBLE.

APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STARTED DOWNSHIFTING. AS IT WENT THROUGH EACH GEAR THERE WAS A SHORT PAUSE FOLLOWED BY A JERKING CAR MOTION. ACCELERATING THROUGH THE INTERSECTION, THE ENGINE STARTED TO REV LIKE THE CLUTCH WAS OUT ON THE TRANSMISSION. AS I WAS ON A BUSY STATE HIGHWAY, THIS PUT ME IN DANGER OF BEING HIT. I MANAGED TO PULL MY CAR ONTO A SIDE STREET, AND THE TRANSMISSION CONTINUED TO BEHAVE IN THIS MANNER. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASH, OR ANY SORT OF INDICATION THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE CAR. I PUT THE SHIFTER INTO MANUAL MODE, AND FOUND THAT I COULD CONTROL THE GEAR SHIFTS WELL ENOUGH TO GET THE CAR TO THE DEALER. AFTER 3 DAYS AT THE DEALER, THEY TRIED A RESET TO THE RELEARN SYSTEM AND UPDATES TO THE ECM/ECU AS SUGGESTED BY KIA. THE PROBLEM REMAINED. NOW THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION, BUT KIA CANNOT TELL THEM WHEN THE TRANSMISSIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE. THE DEALER HAS ANOTHER CAR THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN WAITING FOR MORE THAN 3 WEEKS TO HAVE THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED. FAILING TRANSMISSIONS ARE A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE, AND WHEN DRIVERS HAVE NO WARNING THAT THE SYSTEM IS FAILING IT MAKES IT EVEN WORSE. THE LACK OF AVAILABLE TRANSMISSIONS WOULD INDICATE TO ME THAT THEY HAVE A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED.

BOUGHT THE CAR NEW IN 2012 FROM FUCCILLO KIA IN CAPE CORAL, FLORIDA FOR MY WIFE. SHE NOTICED THE VERY SLIGHT "CLUNKING" NOISE IN 2014 WITH ABOUT 50K MILES ON IT AND DIDN'T THINK IT WAS MUCH OF A PROBLEM. IT GRADUALLY BECAME VERY, VERY LOUD AND SHE COULD NOW FEEL THE CONSTANT "CLUNKING" WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL OR HITTING SMALL IMPERFECTIONS IN THE ROAD. SHE BROUGHT IT TO MY ATTENTION AT ABOUT 65K MILES AND AFTER RESEARCHING THE NOISE ON THE INTERNET I FOUND THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN OCCURRING IN THOUSANDS OF KIA AND HYUNDAI VEHICLES FROM 2010 TO 2014 MODEL YEARS. IT IS A QUARTER SIZED RUBBER STAR SHAPED BUSHING BETWEEN TWO METAL COUPLERS THAT DISINTEGRATES OVER TIME AND VERY QUICKLY IN WARM CLIMATES LIKE SOUTH FLORIDA. THIS REPAIR IS NOT A RECALL AND IS NOT COVERED AFTER 60K WARRANTY. I PURCHASED THE "NEW & UPGRADED" PART FROM A LOCAL KIA DEALER FOR LESS THAN $2 BUT, THE LABOR TO INSTALL IS CLOSE TO $350!!! THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR THE VEHICLES INVOLVED DUE TO THE UNSAFE STEERING CHARACTERISTICS AND THE VOLUME OF VEHICLES AFFECTED AS IT DOES NOT INVOLVE AN OWNER SERVICEABLE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE COMPONENT!!!

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WHILE IN PARK AND CRASHED INTO A GARAGE DOOR, WITHOUT ANY WARNING. THE CONTACT REVERSED THE VEHICLE AND PLACED THE VEHICLE IN PARK. THE CONTACT MENTIONED WHEN EXITING THE VEHICLE, IT BEGAN TO SHAKE, JERK AND ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON THREE OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 42,000.

OUR CAR IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER FOR THE 4TH TIME FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. LAST SPRING THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WITH THE MESSAGE "HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING! SAFELY STOP AND DO NOT DRIVE". THE DEALER SAID IT WAS THE BATTERY (REGULAR, NOT HYBRID) SO WE HAD THAT REPLACED (OUT OF WARRANTY - WE PAID FOR THAT). THIS PAST AUGUST, THE WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED AGAIN - THE DEALER SAID THERE HAD BEEN A TECHNICAL BULLETIN, AND THEY PERFORMED AN UPDATE (COVERED BY WARRANTY). WE HAD THE CAR BACK FOR A FEW DAYS AND THE MESSAGE APPEARED AGAIN, AS WELL AS THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE "CHECK CHARGING SYSTEM". THE DEALER REPLACED A WIRE (UNDER WARRANTY). A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING APPEARED AGAIN. THIS TIME (4TH TIME) THE DEALER SAID THAT THE TRACTION MOTOR NEEDED REPLACING AND THAT WE NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION (ALSO UNDER WARRANTY). WE BELIEVE THAT THERE IS AN INHERENT PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR.

I WAS APPROACHING A STOP SIGN TRAVELING 30 MPH. WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN THEY WERE INITIALLY WORKING AND I WAS REDUCING SPEED, HOWEVER SUDDENLY I HEARD A VERY LOUD CRUNCHING/GRINDING NOISE AND I LOST ALL BRAKE FUNCTIONALITY. TO STOP THE VEHICLE I HAD TO PLACE THE VEHICLE IN PARK. IF A CAR WAS IN FRONT OF ME I WOULD HAVE CRASHED INTO IT. ADDITIONALLY, BECAUSE I LOST BRAKE FUNCTIONALITY I WENT INTO THE INTERSECTION. IF CARS WERE CROSSING THE INTERSECTION OR IF A PERSON WAS CROSSING THE STREET I WOULD HAVE CRASHED INTO THEM. I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND GOT OUT AND CHECKED THE VEHICLE AND WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG. SINCE I WAS IN THE INTERSECTION I TURNED THE VEHICLE BACK ON AND THE BRAKES SEEMD TO BE WORKING AGAIN. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE KIA DEALER. THE KIA DEALER HAD THE CAR FOR THREE DAYS. PER THE KIA TECHNICIAN THEY INSPECTED THE BRAKES AND THE HYBRID REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM AND WERE UNABLE TO FIND ANY PROBLEMS OR RECREATE THE ISSUE. PER THE KIA TECHNICIAN THEY EXHAUSTED ALL OF THEIR OPTIONS AND WERE UNABLE TO FIND ANY ISSUES AND RETURNED THE CAR TO ME. ADDITIONALLY, I CONTACTED KIA CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY STATED THAT IF THEY WERE UNABLE TO RECREATE THE PROBLEM THERE IS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. WHILE RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE I FOUND THAT TWO OTHER PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED THE SAME PROBLEM TO THE NHTSA (NHTSA ID 10638311, 10650553). ONE PERSON CRASHED BECAUSE OF THE ISSUE AND THEY REPORTED THAT THE ISSUES HAVE SPORADICALLY HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES. I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE HYBRID BRAKING SYSTEM THAT CAUSES THE DRIVER TO SPORADICALLY LOSE ALL BRAKE FUNCTIONALITY. I NO LONGER FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE AND FEAR THAT AT ANY POINT IN TIME I CAN LOSE ALL BRAKE FUNCTIONALITY AND CRASH, CAUSING AN INJURY OR DEATH TO MYSELF OR ANOTHER PERSON.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE CHILD SEATED IN THE REAR SEAT IN A HIGH BACK BOOSTER SEAT BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE SEAT BELT. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE SEAT BELT FAILED TO UNLOCK. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT HAD TO USE SCISSORS TO CUT AND RELEASE THE CHILD FROM THE SEAT BELT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

PURCHASED THE CAR USED AT 25000 MILES FROM A DEALERSHIP. CAR WAS FINE, SMOOTH FOR ABOUT 10 MONTHS. DID OIL CHANGES AS USUAL. NOTICED SOME JERKING RECENTLY WHEN I WOULD COME TO A COMPLETE STOP BUT DIDN'T REALLY BOTHER ME AT FIRST. THEN I NOTICED IT WAS HAVING TROUBLE ACCELERATING FROM A COMPLETE STOP. IT WOULD SOMETIMES TAKE 3+ SECONDS FOR IT TO RESPOND AND START MOVING. THE MORE I WOULD COME TO A COMPLETE STOP (BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC) IT WOULD TAKE LONGER TO RESPOND TO ACCELERATE. COUPLE DAYS AGO, I DID THE MAINTENANCE 30K SERVICE. I THOUGHT IT WOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUT IT STILL DID ITS THING. I HAD THE "HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING! SAFELY STOP AND DO NOT DRIVE" MESSAGE HAPPEN TWICE..ONCE AFTER THE MAINTENANCE. I TOOK IT BACK TO KIA AND FORTUNATELY THE GUY DID A TEST DRIVE AND REPLICATED THE ISSUE WITH THE LAG. HE ALSO REPLICATED THE HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE AS WELL. I NOW HAVE A LOANER. NOT SURE HOW LONG IT'LL TAKE BUT FROM THE SOUNDS OF IT FROM THIS FORUM, THEY DONT KNOW WHATS WRONG. HOPEFULLY I DONT HAVE TO BUY A NEW CAR =/ ANYONE WITH QUESTIONS, EMAIL ME AT [XXX]@SBCGLOBAL.NET VIN UNAVAILABLE INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *JB

WE FIRST TOOK IT TO EDWARDS KIA IN COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA ON 2/11/15. WHEN I ORIGINALLY TOOK IT TO THEM, THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT HAD JUST COME ON AND THE CAR HAD JUST STARTED DOING THE LUNGING AND HESITATING WHEN SHIFTING IN LOWER GEARS. IT WAS AS IF THE ACCELERATOR WAS STICKING. THEY DOWNLOADED A COUPLE UPDATES AND TURNED THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT OFF. THEY ADVISED THE LIGHT CAME ON BECAUSE OF THE UPDATE THAT WAS NEEDED AND SAID THAT THE SHIFTING /IDLING ISSUE WAS BETTER. AS SOON AS I DROVE IT, I NOTICED IT WAS STILL DOING THE SAME THING. ON 2/23/15 I TOOK IT BACK IN AND THEY ADVISED THAT THERE WERE TWO PARTS TO THE DOWNLOAD AND THAT THEY HAD PUT THE SECOND PART ON AND THOUGHT IT WAS BETTER. THEY ALSO GAVE ME A KIA TECH SUPPORT SHEET ON HOW TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. THIS INCLUDED WARMING THE CAR UP FOR 10-15 MINUTES, DRIVING WITH THE ECO ON THE START OF THE TRIP, AND TO DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR 10 % MORE. THEY ADVISED THAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE HYBRID VEHICLE IN THE COLD WEATHER BUT IT DIDN'T DO IT THE YEAR BEFORE. WE THEN TOOK THE CAR TO H&H KIA IN OMAHA, NE ON 3/3/15 AND THE CAR IS STILL THERE 7 WEEKS LATER. THEY HAVE REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION TWICE WITH REMANUFACTURED TRANSMISSIONS. I AM NOT SURE WHY THEY WOULDN'T PUT A NEW ONE IN SINCE THE CAR ONLY HAS $19,663 MILES ON IT. THE HAVE REPLACED THE GENERATOR NOW AND STILL HASN'T FIXED THE PROBLEM. THE CAR STILL ISN'T SHOWING ANY CODES ON THE COMPUTER AND THEY ARE WAITING FOR THE KIA "EXPERTS" TO ARRIVE. I HAVE NOT HAD MY CAR FOR 8 WEEKS AND THEY WANT ME TO TAKE THE CAR HOME UNTIL THE EXPERTS ARRIVE BUT I DO NOT FEEL SAFE WITH IT LUNGING AND SHIFTING ERRATIC LIKE IT IS. *TR

WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE, THE CAR RANDOMLY HAS A 2-3 SECOND DELAY BEFORE ACTION. WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURS, THE CAR WILL COAST OUT INTO TRAFFIC, WHICH MAY BE MOVING AT HIGH SPEEDS. THIS LEAVES ME EXPOSED TO GETTING HIT ON A FREQUENT, BUT IRREGULAR BASIS, AND I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THE CAR CAN ALSO HAVE JERKY MOTIONS AND LUNGES WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP ON AN INCLINE, POSING A DANGER TO PEDESTRIANS AND CARS NEARBY. *TR