KIA Complaints

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. While the contact's sister was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact's sister parked the vehicle and performed an inspection of the vehicle. The contact's sister opened the hood and confirmed the smoke was coming from the engine. The vehicle was restarted; however, the vehicle failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer; however, the dealer provided an unofficial diagnostic result of possible engine failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

After charging vehicle using L2 charger, (max 7kw) vehicle threw two error messages on screen. 1) “check electrical system” & 2) “stop vehicle and check power supply” Using an OBDII reader, the car provided error code P1A9096. I also noticed the car stopped charging the 12V battery as the 12V state of charge was down to 22%. I towed it to the dealer and they are currently working on diagnosing the issue.

On three separate occasions, after starting the vehicle, the car cannot be accelerated above 30 mph. The Idle Stop and Go (ISG or Auto Start Stop feature) light flashes orange, but no other warning symbols are illuminated. After safely moving the vehicle off the road, I have to turn off the engine, wait for 2-4 seconds, and restart the engine. Once the vehicle is restarted, the vehicle accelerates normally. This issue has happened twice in the past month. I plan to take my car to a Kia dealership for an inspection, but since this problem happens randomly, the Kia technicians may not be able to reproduce the problem. I purchased this vehicle used with about 77k miles in December 2023. I first noticed this issue in April 2024. The vehicle now has a little under 98k miles recorded.

The Dashboard with all the instrumentation goes blank while driving causing loss of all instrumentation gauges and headlights shut off. This has happened repeated times since the car was purchased new in June 2024 and has been in the service department since October a total of six times. They have replaced fitments, the dashboard cluster, the phone charging pad and have done multiple software updates and it continues to go blank while operating. The dash then lights back up with System Check and all the instruments lights in dash glow and it stays like that for several seconds. I am repeatedly told they cannot recreate the problem to properly diagnose so they have been cherry picking solutions to fix and it’s dangerous to drive. I have filed a complaint with the NC Attorney General, a BBB Auto Complaint, a Complaint with the Manufacturer directly and they are telling the dealer to return car to me because they can’t recreate the problem and so in their opinion nothing is wrong when I have video of this happening while driving. Please help me

issues with the engine running hot//drains oil constantly, have to get an oil change/oil fill ~every 2k miles

Car was parked in the driveway when a large piece of the roof paint fell off. The car is the white/pearl color. Color is reportedly known to have defect.

Part of the subframe is corroded already and the engine cradle has begun to break, the control arm has begun to move where it meets the engine cradle and I now need to have the vehicle repaired. Previously the lower engine mount fell out of place due to the threads that kept it attached to the subframe were worn out due to corrosion and was causing the vehicle to vibrate violently. This issue has been fixed for $400 but now the rest of the engine cradle has to be inspected and repaired due to the corrosion. I have to make an appointment with the KIA repair center in my area to have the vehicle inspected which will be weeks if not months out to have it looked at as they are often booked. I'm at my wits end with this car as it's been constant issues since buying it 5 months back, with a baby on the way I can't afford repairs and want a resolution that won't break the bank or to warn other drivers of this make and model of the issues that are plagued with it such as the back tail lights having a light assembly seal issue where water is able to enter and damage electrical components. I've uploaded two images regarding the subframe issue, one related to the lower engine mount becoming detached and the other regarding the engine cradle to control arm.

Unknown as to what exactly happened, but my husband put my daughter in her car seat buckled her and was just fine. We arrived to our destination no more than 15 minutes later and her chest clip buckle had busted apart. I do have video of the chest clip and how it was apart, however, as soon as I get the new piece and I will not have it to show due to needing the car seat. I do have video of the incident right after I noticed it and other videos showing the parts and pieces. My daughter ended up having the pieces that you press together to unlock the magnetic chest clip apart in her mouth. The magnet circle was still in the chest clip keeping it closed and locked in place. However, it very easily could have came open and out and her eat the magnet. I have contacted the manufacturer and she let me know that other car seats have had the same problem, but there is no recall. She just said she will send me a replacement piece.

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine made an abnormal clicking sound. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who discovered that there was no engine oil in the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,145.

The USB ports disconnect intermittently cause maps and phone calls to disconnect temporarily. Sometimes not connecting again until I turn off and on the car.