2012 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID Complaints

KIA OPTIMA HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING NO BRAKES! UNSAFE CAR! WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS SOMEONE ELSE ON THIS SITE. OCT 16TH 2014 WE WERE PULLING OUT OF OUR DRIVEWAY AND RECEIVED A WARNING ON THE DISPLAY SAYING "HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING SLOW DOWN AND COME TO A STOP. CHECK BRAKES. ALSO THE BRAKE PEDAL HAD DEPRESSED ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND THERE WAS A GRINDING SOUND. UNLIKE A LOW PAD SOUND BUT THE SOUND OF GEARS NOT ENGAGING. ALSO THERE WERE NO BRAKES AT ALL, THE CAR WOULDN'T STOP. WE TURNED THE CAR OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN AND IT WAS THE SAME ERROR MESSAGE AND SAME PEDAL SITUATION. SO WE LEFT THE CAR WHERE IT WAS. AFTER A FEW HOURS WE TRIED TO START THE CAR AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME IT WAS FINE, NO ERROR MESSAGE, BRAKES WORKED AGAIN. SO WE TOOK IT TO OUR KIA DEALER SHIP HERE IN HONOLULU. AFTER A DIAGNOSTIC WE RECEIVED A REPORT A FEW HOURS LATER. THE REPORT SAID THAT THE CAR CHECKED OUT FINE AND THERE WERE NO ERROR CODES STORED. THE SERVICE ADVISOR SAID THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM THAT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE. WE TOOK THE CAR HOME AND DID NT FEEL SAFE DRIVING IT AS WE THOUGHT WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN. WE THEN BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO KIA AND TOLD THEM HOW WE FELT. THEY SAID THEY DID MULTIPLE TEST AND AFTER ONE WEEK OF TESTING COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE SERVICE MANAGER WAS VERY ANGRY WITH US SAYING WE NEED TO PICK UP OUR CAR AND RETURN THE LOANER. AFTER I HUNG UP I DID MY OWN RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND THIS IDENTICAL SYMPTOMS ON ANOTHER COMPLAINT HERE BUT THIS PERSON HAD GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT. I FORWARDED THIS LINK TO KIA, NOW THEY ARE SO NICE TO US BECAUSE I THINK THEY NOW SEE THE DANGER. BUT THEY STILL HAVE OUR CAR AND CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WRONG. WE ARE VERY FEARFUL THAT THIS CAR IS DANGEROUS AND WILL NOT PUT OUR KIDS AT RISK IN THIS KIA WITH NO BRAKES! BE WARNED THIS CAR HAS BRAKE PROBLEMS AND ONE PERSON HAS ALREADY CRASHED! *TR

I WAS DRIVING IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD AND A LADY PULLED IN FRONT OF ME. I SLAMMED ON MY BRAKES AND SWERVED TO THE RIGHT SO I WOULD AVOID HITTING HER. THE NEXT THING I KNEW I SMACKED INTO A POLE. FOR THE PAST YEAR I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW AND WHY I HAD SO MUCH DAMAGE TO MY CAR WHEN I WAS ONLY GOING 25 MPH. I FINALLY REALIZED THAT THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE I COULDN'T STOP MY CAR EVEN WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES. THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED JULY 10, 2013 AND ONE YEAR LATER ON THE SAME DAY JULY 10, 2014 MY BRAKES FAILED ON MY CAR WHILE I WAS WAITING FOR A GATE TO OPEN. I HEARD A TERRIBLE CRUNCHING NOISE, A WARNING SIGN CAME ON SAYING HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING SAFELY STOP AND DO NOT DRIVE AND THE ONLY WAY I COULD STOP THE CAR WAS TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE SAME WARNING SIGN CAME ON DURING THE ACCIDENT. I REMEMBER MY CAR WOULDN'T STOP AND ACTUALLY SEEMED LIKE IT GAINED A LITTLE SPEED. I HIT THE POLE AND THE CAR STILL WOULDN'T STOP SO I HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP IT. I SAT THERE IN SHOCK OVER WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED. I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY I HIT THAT POLE AND WHY THERE WAS SO MUCH DAMAGE TO MY CAR. NOW I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAPPENED. IT WAS DUE TO MY BRAKES NOT WORKING THAT DAY. ON JULY 10, 2014 WHEN THE BRAKES FAILED FOR THE SECOND TIME, I HAD MY CAR TOWED TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP DOWN THE STREET AND THEY KEPT IT FOR 7 WEEKS AND SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR SO I PICKED IT UP. I COULD TELL SOMETHING WAS STILL WRONG WITH IT BUT THEY WOULDN'T LISTEN TO ME. NOT EVEN 1K MILES LATER THE BRAKES WENT OUT FOR THE 3RD TIME. THIS TIME KIA PICKED UP SEVERAL ERROR MESSAGES. THEY STILL HAVE MY CAR AND ITS BEEN 4 WEEKS. THEY SAID THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE HYDRAULIC POWER UNIT. THIS IS WHAT THEY TOLD ME 2 WEEKS AGO AND ITS STILL NOT DONE. THIS IS NOT A SAFE CAR TO DRIVE AND I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING IT ANYMORE! *TR

(MY REPORT IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS ID 10552403) THIS CAR SEVERELY HESITATES/STALLS AFTER COMING TO A STOP (RED LIGHTS, STOP SIGNS, YIELD SIGNS, AND ETC). CAR HESITATES/STALLS FOR ~2-3 SECONDS BEFORE ACCELERATING WHILE AT A DEAD STOP. THIS HAS CAUSED SEVERAL NEAR ACCIDENTS. WHEN IT HAPPENS, I PUSH THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR DOESN'T RESPOND AT ALL FOR ABOUT 2-3 SECONDS. THIS SEEMS TO BE A SERIOUS PROBLEM WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC AS INCOMING CARS CAN CLOSE THE SAFETY GAP QUICKLY IN 2-3 SECONDS. COLD WEATHER CAUSES THE CAR TO HESITATE/STALL MORE OFTEN THAN WARMER WEATHER FROM MY EXPERIENCE, BUT IT'S HAPPENED WHEN CAR HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR OVER 20 MINUTES, AS WELL. I HOPE KIA WILL CHECK INTO THIS PROBLEM AS MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP HAS NO ANSWER. *TR

ON 11/3, MY WIFE WAS IN ACCIDENT IN OUR OPTIMA, WHEREIN SHE WAS T-BONED. SHE WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30MPH, WHEN ANOTHER DRIVER DROVE THROUGH A STOP SIGN AND, PRESUMABLY, ACCELERATED INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE DRIVER SIDE OF OUR CAR. NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED, AND WE'RE CONVINCED THAT ONE SHOULD HAVE. AFTER SPEAKING TO THE BODY SHOP, THEY TELL ME THAT "THE SENSORS ARE DESIGNED TO DEPLOY ONLY WHEN THE CAR IS HIT JUST THE RIGHT WAY." LIKEWISE, KIA RESPONDED THAT, "IT'S OUR OPINION (BASED ON A PHOTOGRAPH I PROVIDED) THAT THE LOCATION OF THE IMPACT AND ITS FORCE WOULDN'T HAVE TRIGGERED THE DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAGS." IN RESPONSE TO THAT, I ASKED, "CLEARLY, YOU KNOW WHAT DOESN'T CONSTITUTE THE DEPLOYMENT, BUT WHAT CRITERIA WOULD BE NECESSARY FOR THE AIRBAGS TO DEPLOY." EVERY TIME I ASK, THEY SAY THERE IS NO HARD-AND-FAST ANSWER. I'VE ALSO ASKED IF IT MAKES SENSE FOR KIA TO SEE THE VEHICLE OR ASK THE BODY SHOP FOR THE RESULTS OF THEIR SENSOR-TESTING BEFORE MAKING AN OPINION. TO THAT, THE KIA REP SAID, "NO, WE WOULDN'T DO THAT. OUR AIRBAG-SPECIALIST'S OPINION IS CONCLUSIVE." *TR

THIS CAR SEVERELY HESITATES/STALLS AFTER COMING TO A STOP AT INTERSECTIONS (RED LIGHTS, STOP SIGNS, YIELD SIGNS, AND ETC). CAR HESITATES/STALLS FOR 2-3 SECONDS BEFORE ACCELERATING WHILE AT A DEAD STOP. THIS HAS CAUSES SEVERAL NEAR ACCIDENTS AND SCARES TO MY FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND MYSELF. THIS MORNING, I PUSHED THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE/RESPOND UNTIL 2-3 SECONDS LATER. THIS IS SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM, WHILE PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC INCOMING CARS CAN CLOSE THE SAFETY GAP QUICKLY IN 2-3 SECONDS. COLD WEATHER CAUSES THE CAR TO HESITATE/STALL MORE OFTEN THAN WARMER WEATHER. I URGE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN AND FORCE KIA TO FIND SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM BEFORE THIS ISSUE CAUSE A FATALITY. FUEL ECONOMY IS ANOTHER ISSUE IN THIS CAR (HYBRID), I TYPICALLY DON'T GET THE ESTIMATED 35 MPG/CITY THAT THE DEALERSHIP SOLD ME ON, IT IS USUALLY 28-30 MPG/CITY. *TR

I HAVE HAD 2 ISSUES: MY UVO SYSTEM HAS MALFUNCTIONED MULTIPLE TIMES AND MY SYSTEM IS GOING TO BE REPLACED AGAIN TODAY. I HAVE HAD BRAKE ISSUES, MY MASTER CYLINDER WAS REPLACED AND ITS GOING BACK IN TODAY FOR BRAKES. NOW MY CAR IS PULLING TO THE LEFT! I HAVE 25,000 MILES ON THIS CAR! *TR

SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR, AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE DRIFTS LEFT AND RIGHT CONSTANTLY AND YOU HAVE TO USE TWO HANDS ON STEERING WHEEL JUST TO KEEP THE VEHICLE STRAIGHT AND FROM PULLING LEFT OR RIGHT. LESS NOTICEABLE IN CITY DRIVING BUT STILL DRIFTS. BROUGHT IT TWICE TO THE DEALER AND TECH DROVE IT AND TOLD ME ALIGNMENT IS WITHIN SPECS AND IT WAS FINE I JUST NEED TO GET USED TO IT. THIS IS VERY UNNERVING AND DANGEROUS. HOPE THE LEMON LAW WILL HELP ME. *TR