2013 Kia Optima ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE

My car suddenly caught fire in my driveway tonight 2/6/26 roughly around 9:40 PM. Fire department has been dispatched to come out and investigate if the fire has been properly extinguished and it does warrant any further safety hazards until Kia can be notified and resolve this issue.

During a drive after startup, vehicle flashed the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) error and put the car into limp mode. Car will idle fine, but the issue is intermittent upon acceleration. Error code is p1775 Electric Oil Pump Hall IC Sensor Failure. Took it to a mechanic and they had performed a test on the sensor and pump and found no issues after stress testing and checking cabling. Issue occurred at mechanic when they tried to move the vehicle and suggest replacing the electric oil pump and sensor even though they found no issue the parts themselves without tearing down the mechanism. Car is undrivable because of this issue.

My ABS module is failing with no open recall, even though Kia has issued multiple safety recalls (SC197, SC212, SC284) for this exact issue. My car is showing brake system errors (ABS, EPB, traction control, auto hold) and has stored codes like [insert your codes]. I’m concerned this is a serious safety hazard. If brake fluid has leaked into the module, there’s a known risk of electrical fire, even while parked. Kia has not included my VIN, but I believe it should be. Please investigate expanding the recall to include additional VINs. I’m requesting NHTSA to take this report seriously and hold Kia accountable for known safety defects in affected vehicles that are being ignored due to VIN limitations.

I am leasing the 2013 Kia Optima LX through a 3rd party dealership that apparently stated in their terms and conditions that they are not responsible for doing maintenance on the car before being sold. I was on the road after getting gas when all of the sudden, the car started to slow down and my emergency check oil, engine, battery lights all came on. I was able to safely pull into a parking lot but after that, the car wouldn’t turn on. After trying to jump start the battery with another car, the engine started to smoke. We thought the alternator died. The third party dealership has their own maintenance shop and said it was alternator one day, then said it was engine the next and it manually can’t be turned over. That’s when they said because I didn’t get a software update, I didn’t have a warranty and I need to pay for the engine myself. Kia won’t help and the dealership won’t lend a loaner car for this inconvenience. I was never made aware that there were recalls on the car or a software update that needed to happen.

While driving on the freeway I noticed my car wasnt going as I was pushing the gas and noticed all my dash lights were on like I was in accessory mode. I coasted to the edge of the freeway and decided to pop my hood and see if it was my battery cable that came loose. While waiting for traffic to break I noticed my hood looked alittle hazy like it was hot. When I was able to get out of my car I noticed black smoke coming from under the hood so I backed off and called 911.

My vehicles check engine light came on and I started feeling a lack of power in my car. Sluggish to accelerate. When the car was plugged in and diagnosed, it came up as the knock sensors. We had those replaced and the car ran fine for a few days but then it died out of nowhere. Check engine light came on again and it came up as knock sensors again. We had those replaced again and also had an oil change. Again… it was fine for a few days than started to knock… as I was driving the vehicle is completely seized on me. I almost went off a bridge because it didn’t allow me to press the breaks or anything. Brough it to the shop and they are saying the knock sensor popped up again but the engine is seized/blown. I was told this was not the first vehicle with my year make and model to do this and in this order.

There is a dangerous recall on my vehicle put out by the maker of the vehicle and I called to schedule service for the vehicle . However no one is servicing my vehicle and they have no timeline on when they can remedy the issue . But I find it a serious matter that a symptom of this recall is a fire while driving or a fire while parked randomly . I need this remedied or car replaced asap to avoid damages or injuries !

On 7/31, we had the HECU Fuse recall fixed at the Federico Kia Dealership. In 8/1, one day later, when driving the vehicle all of the car emergency lights came on, the engine started smoking and eventually caught fire. Fire department and police were called. Vehicle was toed to Kia Dealership. The next morning 8/2 we spoke with the service manager at the dealership, who was no help and gave us a 1-800 number to call Kia directly. Since this fire directly pertains to the part they “fixed” the day before during the recall, we believe the dealership did not fix the issue and believe something they “fixed” caused the issue as we have never had any prior issues with the engine.

car stopped mid freeway 3 times engine light turned on engine started smoking took too dealer per the recall notice and they took 3 months could not fix and wanted to charge me 600 for changing a battery but car still will not run so they want payment for a car I must tow and has had over 5 recall notices ..at this point the car is unsafe I need remedy

KIA, in Clay New York, refuses to fix the recall on the bearing that caused my engine to cease, i did not know that my car had a recall because i was never notified! My car broke down as i was driving it, i had it towed to Kia, found out there were recalls, but the dealership will not honor the recall and fix my car.

in the middle of october around the 15th 2023 (HECU) hYDRAULIC electrical control unit light, the ABS light, the ENGIN light, and a couple of other unknown lights up and than my car tell me to pull over and shut down. you will have to tow it for inspection upon request due to all the warning light. my car had 117,000 document miles on it when i bought it, it now has 128,000. I paid cash for this car and it was my only means for my daughter and i to get to school work and with her dad in the hospital slowly still not out of the woods recovering throat cancer surgery patient. (ALL DOCUMENTED) on legal true facts statements dated sealed and signed documents for every statement stating true facts of this information that i am representing to you on December 1st 2023 My Neighbors, animals, property and family are at safety risk with the cars capability's to just combust SITTING OR DRIVING. Kia Corp. and Kia of Tucson both via verbal telephonic told me there is not a part to fix the recall just yet.. I do have a open case with NHTS. There were no prior warnings.

1. Vehicle refuse to start had to have it towed to a shop to have a new battery placed in 2. Replacement of battery caused a short in stereo system resulting in the replacement with a new stereo system 3. Engine began to knock 12/19/22 took car to Car-Mart was given a list of mechanics to call made an appointment with Dominion in Farmington Arkansas for the morning of December 21st 4. Car decelerated and check engine light came on just before Exit 70 on I-49 near Johnson Mill Boulevard pulled over to the side of the interstate was able to move the vehicle forward to Exit 70 at 20 miles per hour to get off the interstate and park at Casey's General Store on Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale 5. Car was towed to Dominion Auto in Farmington Arkansas 6. I was not informed of any recall on my vehicle or any dangers impose to me or my family including my two small children upon purchase of the vehicle or registration of the vehicle or within 90 days of registration 7. Came to this website to post a complaint and found out I not only have one recall but two that I was unaware of

I was driving on the highway, and knocking noise came out form the engine. The engine began to lose power, and I had to immediately to pull over the car. This car has a theta II engine, and had gone bad due excessive connecting rod bearing damage. I brought the car to a dealership, and confirmed this is the case. The engine only has 77k on it, and will need replacement. These engines are not safe, and should be replaced by dealerships.

Unknown, car was fine then stopped out of no where yesterday, I was scheduled with Kia dealership to have recalled fixed next month but they called and canceled my recall this is now the 2nd attempt and they still have yet to fix recall and now car isn’t working properly!

I started driving and the car just stopped working in the middle of the street. Many lights on the engine came on. I had to push the car into a street and it could've been so dangerous if I was on the busy road instead of a side street. We had the car towed and taken to a mechanic. We got the call and it turns out certain wires started leaking and it could've started an engine fire. No lights were on before until immediately it stopped working.

The motor failed while I was driving. I was at a stop sign and was turning the corner and my car shut off. I tried to start the car and smoke was coming from the engine. I had to have my car towed home. No warning lamps came up prior to the engine shutting down.

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would shut off without warning. The contact would be able to restart the vehicle soon after the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where they replaced the spark plugs and cleaned the fuel injectors. Upon driving the vehicle home at 50 MPH, the contact's wife stated that the vehicle shut off again without warning. Despite the failure, his wife was able to restart the vehicle and drive home without incident. The next day, the contact called the dealer to notify them of the failure and they informed him that it may take some time to repair the vehicle due to the cleaning of the fuel injectors. The contact stated that the failure persisted despite the repair. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

I WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY GOING 70MPH WHEN MY ENGINE LOSES POWER AND ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS ON MY DASHBOARD TURN ON. I PULL OVER ON THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AND TURN OFF THE VEHICLE AND TRY TO TURN IT BACK ON UNSUCCESSFULLY. SMOKE BEGAN TO COME OUT OF THE HOOD AND I OPENED IT UP TO SEE THE ISSUE. THE SMOKE BEGINS TO INCREASE AND IN A COUPLE IF MINUTES A FIRE STARTED UNDERNEATH/AROUND THE ENGINE

2013 KIA OPTIMA IN AUGUST 2019 STARTING STALLING OUT AND WOULDN'T START. THEN MY ENGINE STARTING KNOCKING. MY CAR WOULD STILL START BUT WOULD ONLY GO 20-30 MPH WHILE MAKE KNOCKING ENGINE NOISES. TOOK MY KIA OPTIMA TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP. THEY REPLACED THE ENGINE DUE TO RECALL. BUT DIDN'T REPLACE THE STARTER, AFTER I GOT MY CAR BACK MY STARTER WENT OUT COMPLETELY! MY CAR WON'T START. DEC 2020 TOOK MY KIA TO KIA DEALERSHIP. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS MY STARTER. I HAVE TO PAY $800 FOR STARTER REPLACEMENT. I TOLD THEM I HAD THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THE ENGINE RECALL. FOUND OUT KIA REPLACED 5 OUT 7 STARTERS WHEN THEY REPLACED THE ENGINE DUE TO RECALL. BUT THEY WON'T REPLACE MY STARTER BECAUSE IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR FROM THE ENGINE REPLACEMENT. I TOLD THEM MY CARS BEEN PARKED THE ENTIRE YEAR 2020 DUE TO COVID AND I THOUGHT I JUST NEEDED A BATTERY. I BOUGHT A BATTERY BUT MY CAR STILL WOULD START. I KNOW MY STARTER WAS DAMAGED DUE TO MY ENGINE AND OIL LEAK DUE TO RECALL & KIA SHOULD REPLACE THE STARTER UNDER THE ENGINE WARRANTY FOR THE RECALL. MY CARS STILL AT THE DEALERSHIP AND I DON'T HAVE $800 TO FIX THE STARTER. MY STEERING WHEEL WAS SHAKING AND MAKING NOISES, I PAID KIA TO FIX IT 2020 NOW I FOUND THERE'S A CUFF LINK RECALL AND KIA WILL REIMBURSE ME. I KEEP HAVING TROUBLE WITH 2013 KIA OPTIMA! I WILL NEVER BUY A KIA AGAIN! BUYER BEWARE!

IT STARTED WITH THE HEAD LIGHTS GOING OUT THEN SHORTLY AFTER THAT WAS FIXED THE CAR WOULD SHUDDER START. THE CLOCK WOULD SHOW 000 AS IF THE CAR WAS BRAND NEW AND NEEDED THE TIME PLACED ON THE CLOCK THE SAME THING WAS HAPPENING TO THE SPEEDOMETER. THEN THE CAR JUST WOULDN'T NOT START AT ALL. THE LIGHTS WOULD COME ON IT WOULD ALSO CLICK BUT NOT TURN OVER. WE TRIED JUMPING THE CAR THAT WORKED FOR A WHILE BUT NOW THE NO START IS STARING TO BE CONSISTENT.

I WAS SITTING IN MY CAR AND IT CAUGHT ON FIRE UNDER THE HOOD,THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THINKS IT WAS SOMETHING ELECTRICAL. IT WAS IN PARK WHILE I WAS DROPPING SOMEONE OFF WHO WAS GETTING OUT OF MY CAR

I WAS HEADED TO WORK AND FOUND MY SELF FRUSTRATED BECAUSE IT TOOK SO MANY TIMES TO TRY TO TURN ON THE CAR. SO, I HAD TO FIND SOMEONE TO GIVE ME A BOOST TO GET THE CAR STARTED BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE ANY LUCK STARTING THE CAR. I BROUGHT MY BATTERY TO GET CHECK, PERFECTLY FINE. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO KIA AND THEY SAID PERFECTLY FINE. I'M STILL HAVING THIS PROBLEM WHERE MY CAR STARTS WHEN EVER THE CAR WANTS. I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY AND IT SHUTS OFF WHEN IT WANTS, IT'S GOING TO CAUSE AND ACCIDENT. I NEED A SOLUTION

I WAS DRIVING ON A MAIN ROAD ABOUT 50 MILES AN HOUR WHEN CAR LOST ABILITY TO ACCELERATE, LIGHTS AND EVERYTHING WERE STILL ON. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO A SIDE STREET TO PULL OVER AND PARK THE CAR. I SHUT IT OFF AND THEN WHEN I TRIED TO RESTART IT BLACK SMOKE WITH AN ELECTRICAL TYPE SMELL CAME FROM UNDER THE HOOD. KIA DEALERSHIP SAID MOTOR WAS SEIZED AND REPLACED IT UNDER A RECALL. THEN THEY SAID IT NEEDED FUEL PUMP AND BATTERY (WHICH BATTERY WAS ONLY 6 MONTHS OLD), SO I HAD BOTH REPLACED. I DROVE FOR 2 DAYS AND HAD TROUBLE STARTING THE CAR SO I TOOK BACK TO DEALERSHIP. THEY SAID IT NEEDED A STARTER AND AN ELECTRICAL ASSESSMENT FOR A SHORT, AS STARTER BEGAN SMOKING WITH THE VEHICLE NOT EVEN RUNNING. NOW THEY ARE SAYING IT NEEDS A NEW JUNCTION BOX/FUSE BOX OVER $2900 AND MAY HAVE BEEN RELATED TO OTHER PROBLEMS BUT NOT COVERED AND I WILL HAVE TO PAY. I HAVE ALREADY PAID $900+ DOLLARS FOR FUEL PUMP, I EXCHANGED THE BATTERY WHERE I ORIGINALLY BOUGHT IT, AND $493 FOR STARTER. I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE JUNCTION BOX WOULD RANDOMLY FAIL OR SHORT AND NEED REPLACEMENT, UNLESS IT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL BLACK SMOKE ELECTRICAL SMELL THAT HAPPENED WHEN ENGINE SEIZED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING A LONG DISTANCE ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN ON ITS OWN AS ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS FLICKERED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT HE SAW SMOKE AND FIRE THROUGH THE REAR VIEW MIRROR. THE CONTACT MERGED TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AND EXITED THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED IT WAS DIFFICULT TO EXIT THE VEHICLE SINCE ALL ELECTRICAL FUNCTIONS FAILED. THE ENTIRE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE WAS QUICKLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FLAMES. IT WAS UNKNOWN IF A POLICE OR FIRE REPORT FILED. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT INFORMED THE CONTACT THERE WAS A ELECTRICAL FAILURE WITHIN THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SALVAGE YARD. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED YET AND CONTACT WAS UNAWARE IF THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN DECLARED TOTALED BY HIS INSURANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,800.

WHEN ISTART MY VEHICLE, SOMETIMES THE RADIO DOES NOT COME ON, SO I HAVE TO PULL THE FUSE AND PLACE IT BACK IN. ALSO, I CANNOT EXCEL PAST 40MPH, OTHERWISE IT STALLS. THE DEALERSHIP STATED I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE. I WAS STRANDED IN WYOMING, SO I HAD TO LEASE A NEW KIA. I STILL OWE ON MY 2013 OPTIMA, WHICH IS NOT DRIVABLE. I DID NOT WANT A NEW VEHICLE. I'M VERY FRUSTRATED.