2009 Kia Optima Power Train

WHEN CAR IS SLOWING DOWN AND /OR APPROACHING A STOP SIGN IT GIVES A HARD JERK. EVEN IF TRAFFIC SLOWS DOWN ON THE EXPRESS WAY IT GIVES A HARD JERK. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE NOVEMBER 2020.

WHILE DRIVING THE CAR WHEN COLD THE CAR DOWNSHIFTS HARD INTO FIRST AT ABOUT 20 MPH. ALMOST AT SOMETIMES FEELING LIKE I HAVE BEEN HIT FROM THE BACK. MY NECK HAS STARTED HURTING FROM WHIPLASH. THIS IS A VERY HORRIBLE PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED. IN STATES WHERE ROADS BECOME WET, ICY, AND COVERED WITH SNOW, THIS CAN CAUSE A LOT OF DAMAGE/ POSSIBLY DEATH.

TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFT VERY HARD FROM 2ND TO 1ST. DEALER RESET MODULE 10 MONTHS AGO. SOLVED PROBLEM. PROBLEM RECURRED. DEALER RESET MODULE BUT PROBLEM CONTINUES. CHECKED INTERNET, PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE WIDESPREAD.

CAR LURCHES AT 20 MPH WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO A STOP. THIS HAPPENS AFTER JUST STARTING THE CAR, ONCE DRIVEN ON THE HIGHWAY IT DOWNSHIFTS WITHOUT LURCHING FORWARD. THIS HAPPENED YEARS AGO AROUND 70,000 DEALER FLUSHED TRANSMISSION AND IT WAS OK UNTIL NOW AT 120,000. SEEMS LIKE THIS IS A COMMON REOCCURRING PROBLEM THAT SHOULD BE RECALLED.

MY 2009 KIA OPTIMA WITH 90,000 MILES IS EXPERIENCING A HARD DOWNSHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR WHEN IT DECELERATES TO ABOUT 20 MPH. IT IS SO ABRUPT, IT FEELS AS IF THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN APPLIED VERY RAPIDLY. THE CAR JERKS FORWARD AND IS ACCOMPANIED BY A CLUNKING SOUND FROM THE TRANSMISSION. IT MOSTLY HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS COLD AND GOES AWAY AFTER IT HAS WARMED UP. IT JUST STARTED AND I HAVE NOT TAKEN IT TO BE SERVICED.

TRANSMISSION SHIFTING HARD - STARTED AROUND 60,000 MILES. SHIFTS HARD FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR - AROUND 20 MPH. TOOK IT IN TO HAVE THE SYSTEM (COMPUTER) UPGRADE IN JANUARY OF 2014 ($500) -- THIS FIXED THE ISSUE FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS. TOOK IT BACK IN JANUARY OF 2015 ($500) FOR ANOTHER SYSTEM (COMPUTER) UPGRADE. IT FIXED THE ISSUE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. TOOK IT BACK TO KIA AND THE DEALERSHIP RECOMMENDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I ASKED THE TECH IF HE COULD GUARANTEE ME THAT THIS WOULD STOP THE ISSUE. HE TOLD ME HE COULD NOT GUARANTEE ME THAT INSTALLING A NEW TRANSMISSION WOULD STOP THE HARD DOWNSHIFTING ISSUE. IT DOWNSHIFTS SO HARD THAT YOU FEEL LIKE SOMEONE HAS SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH AND DECELERATING, THE VEHICLE JERKED VIOLENTLY. THE FAILURE RECURRED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS COLD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN DRIVE REGARDLESS OF THE GEAR SHIFTER'S POSITION. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE BY ENGAGING THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED, BUT THE DETAILS OF THE FAILURE WERE NOT PROVIDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.

WHEN VEHICLE IS STARTED AT FIRST AND AFTER SLOWING DOWN BETWEEN 20-30 MPH APPLYING BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN THE VEHICLE MAKES A HARD DOWNSHIFT JERK CAUSING A HARSH JOLT. THIS HAPPENS CONTINUALLY UP FIVE TIMES THEN DECREASES. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD AND COULD CAUSE DEATH.

WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE IT JERKS FORWARD AND DOWNSHIFTS AGGRESSIVELY AROUND 30 MPH. KIA IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WILL NOT FIX IT BECAUSE THERE IS NO RECALL.

WHILE SLOWING DOWN AND BREAKING THE TRANSMISSION MAKES A ROUGH DOWNSHIFT AROUND 20 MPH. IT WILL LITERALLY JOLT THE DIVER AND PASSENGERS. THE TRANSMISSION WILL DO THIS UNTIL IT HAS WARMED UP. IT IS ESPECIALLY BAD DURING THE COLD WINTER MONTHS. THE DEALER HAS LOOKED AT IT THREE DIFFERENT TIMES AND MADE ONE ADJUSTMENT TO THE TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE BUT TO NO AVAIL. I STOPPED BY THE DEALER AGAIN YESTERDAY AND THEY SAID I WOULD BE CHARGED A $105 FEE JUST TO LOOK AT IT. I AM AFRAID THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING TO LOCK-UP AND CAUSE A WRECK. *TR

WHEN I GET AROUND 20 MILES PER HOUR THE CAR DOWNSHIFTS HARD FORM 2ND GEAR TO 1 ST GEAR HWNE IT IS COLD ...BUT ONCE IT WARMS UP IT IS FINE ...THIS VEHICLE ONLY HAS 53,000 MILES ON IT ... IT SHOULD NOT BE HAVING TRANSMISSION ISSUES ...IT HAS HARDLY BEEN DRIVEN ...I CALLED THE DEALER THEY SAID THE WARRANTY RAN OUT ... I CALLED KIA THEY SAID THE SAME THING ...THIS IS A ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE ... THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ... I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS ...IT IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT ...IT IS SAID THEY DON'T STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS ... I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS HAD THIS ISSUE WITH KIA OPTIMAS ...PLEASE DO A RECALL ON THIS MATTER ...IT IS GETTING OUT OF HAND ..THANKS [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

WHEN THE VEHICLE SLOWS TO 20 MILES PER HOUR, THE CAR DOWNSHIFTS HARD BY ITSELF. CAR LURCHES FORWARD. IN RESEARCHING ONLINE, I FOUND NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THE SAME THING. FIRST THOUGHT IT WAS THE BRAKES, BUT MECHANIC SAID BRAKES WERE FINE. IT CAN ONLY BE THE TRANSMISSION / POWER TRAIN. *TR

I PURCHASED A USED KIA OPTIMA IN MARCH 2012, BUT HAD, WHAT I THOUGHT WERE "GRABBING" BRAKES. I TOOK IT IN WHEN I FOUND A SERVICE BULLETIN TSB-067. I HAD THE CAR ANALYZED, AND FOUND IT HAD THIS SHIFTING ISSUE. I HAD THE REPROGRAMMING DONE AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR, THEN NOT ONLY DID THE DOWNSHIFTING ISSUE START BACK UP AGAIN, BUT NOW HAVE ACCELERATION ISSUES AS WELL. NOW THE VEHICLE "LOPES" ON ACCELERATION - SOMETIMES A LOT . I CONTACTED KIA ABOUT IT, AND THEY SAID I HAD TO TAKE IT BACK FOR DIAGNOSIS YET AGAIN, AND THEN THEY WOULD THINK ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE SECOND SERVICE APPOINTMENT. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THERE IS NOT A RECALL ON IT YET. IT IS DESTROYING MY TRANSMISSION BECAUSE OF THE "BANGING" OF THE TRANSMISSION DUE TO THE EXTREME DOWNSHIFTING OF THE VEHICLE. *TR

WHEN THE VEHICLE SLOWS TO 20 MILES PER HOUR, THE CAR DOWNSHIFTS HARD BY ITSELF. IN RESEARCHING ONLINE, I FOUND NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THE SAME THING. IN SPEAKING WITH MY PERSONAL MECHANIC, HE SAID THIS SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE TRANSMISSION PORTION OF THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY - NEW TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE NEEDS TO BE RE-DOWNLOADED TO THE CAR'S COMPUTER AND THEN THE COMPUTER RESET - THIS SHOULD RETRAIN THE TRANSMISSION ON WHEN TO DOWNSHIFT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PARK, THE GEAR SHIFTER FAILED TO SECURE INTO PARK OR REVERSE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS WHERE IT WAS STATED THAT THE BRAKE SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA OPTIMA .THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE WAS COASTED AND ONCE THE SPEED FELL BELOW 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE JERKED VIOLENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND THEY STATED THAT THE COMPUTER AND TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE RESET. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT, THE VEHICLE DOWN SHIFT WITH EXTREME FORCE. THE DEALER REPROGRAMMED THE TRANSMISSION COMPUTER AND THE GEAR SHIFT FAILURE WAS CORRECTED; HOWEVER, THE COMPUTER REPROGRAMMING AFFECTED THE VEHICLES ACCELERATION. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE AFTER THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS RELEASED AND THE ENGINE BECAME IDLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER FOR A TEST DRIVE WHERE THE FAILURE WAS DUPLICATED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE CORRECTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 32,553 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 43,240. UPDATED 3/25/13 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED IT TOOK MONTHS TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. KIA DENIED THERE WAS EVEN A PROBLEM. IT WAS FINALLY DISCOVERED, WHEN THE DEALER REPROGRAMMED THE TRANSMISSION FOR A HARD SHIFT, THEY INADVERTENTLY CREATED A PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE CONTROLS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH AND APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE JERKED FORWARD WITH EXTREME FORCE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE COMPUTER WOULD NEED TO HAVE A RE-LEARN PROCEDURE PERFORMED. AFTER THE PROCEDURE, THE FAILURE CONTINUED AND WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE CONTINUED AND WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER A THIRD TIME. THE TECHNICIANS STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE TRANSMISSION WAS ALSO REPLACED BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 54,000.

WHEN DRIVING CAR IS OK, BUT WHEN YOU SLOW DOWN TO AROUND 20 MPH THE CAR JERKS , BUT AFTER CAR I DRIVEN FOR AROUND 10-15 MILES IT DOESN'T DO IT. *KB

I HAVE A 2009 KIA OPTIMA LX WHEN I GO TO BRAKE AROUND 20 MPH IT FEELS LIKE THE CAR IS DOWNSHIFTING HARD CAUSING ME TO JERK IN THE SEAT. IT DOES THIS ALL THE TIME I DO FEEL THIS IS THE TRANSMISSION AND I AM TAKING IT TO THE DEALER TO BE SERVICED. *TR

2009 KIA OPTIMA LX/EX SEDAN 4 DOOR TRANSMISSION 15,000 MILES EXTREME HARD DOWN SHIFT WHEN SLOWING TO A STOP FROM SECOND TO FIRST., ALMOST LIKE IT THROWS THE CAR INTO PARK, ENOUGH THAT IT COULD THROW YOU INTO WINDSHIELD IF NOT WEARING A SEATBELT. THE DEALER CAN NOT FIND THE PROBLEM, IT ONLY HAPPENS 20% OF THE TIME ON ICE AND SLICK ROADS IT CAN CAUSE YOU TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME SEVERAL TIMES. *TR

BOUGHT A KIA OPTIMA A FEW MONTHS AGO AND RECENTLY IT HAS DEVELOPED A DANGEROUS SHIFTING PATTERN WHEN DOWN SHIFTING FROM 2ND TO 1ST ABOUT 20MPH IT JERKS THE !@#$%'.OUT OF YOU AND IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE BRAKING AT THE TIME YOU MEET A SNAP FROM SEAT BELT AS YOU FLY TOWARDS WINDSHIELD CAUSING SEVER NECK AND BACK PAIN THIS IS GETTING WORSE , DEALER WILLING TO FIX BUT KIA IS IGNORING THE ISSUE AS I HAVE HEARD OF OTHERS HAVING SAME PROBLEM , I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY DEALER ITS PROBABLY JUST COMPUTER ORIENTED BUT KIA HAS TO AUTHORIZE THE REPAIR , CONTACTED KIA AND AS EXPECTED THERE COMPUTER WAS DOWN AND THEY COULD NOT HELP ME! *TR