2014 Kia Optima UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
CAR STOPS, LOSING ALL POWER AND FUNCTION WITHOUT WARNING WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING IT.AT THE TIME THIS HAPPENED, THE CAR WAS IN MOTION, BUT MOVING SLOWLY TO A STOP ON A CITY STREET. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO RESTART, IT DID AND I BROUGHT IT TO KIA DEALER. I BOUGHT THE USED CAR 60 DAYS AGO. IT HAD BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT BUT SEEMED FINE. FROM A DEALER. I AM TERRIFIED TO DRIVE IT ANY MORE, BECAUSE THIS COULD CAUSE A FATAL COLLISION. TOOK IT TO DEALER AND THEY CANNOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. OTHER ISSUES THAT HAPPENED JUST BEFORE THIS HAPPENED: JUST 5-10 MINUTES BEFORE THIS HAPPENED, I'D INSERTED A PHONE CHARGER INTO THE USB PORT AND THE RADIO WENT OUT, BUT A MINUTE OR SO LATER, STARTED WORKING AGAIN. IN THE PRIOR TWO WEEK PERIOD, THE CAR DID NOT RESPOND TO STA RTING, NO SOUND, NO ANYTHING. THEN ON THE REPEAT ATTEMPT TO START IT, IT DID. I CANNOT DRIVE THIS CAR NOW, PARTICULARLY SINCE I TYPICALLY HAVE PASSENGERS WHOSE LIVES ARE ALSO RISK.
CHECK ENGINE LITE KEEPS COMING ON WHEN DRIVING. TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC AND HE TOLD MY IT WAS A RECALL ISSUE, WHY SHOULD I PAY HIM IF KIA HAS A RECALL. I CALLED MY LOCAL KIA DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WOULD COST 70.00 JUST TO BRING IT IN. *TR
DRIVING 65MPH WARNING COMES ON 'HYBRID SYSTEM FAILURE PULL OVER AND TURN OFF' SO I PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE CAR OFF THEN IT WOULDN'T START.
TOOK CAR TO DEALERSHIP TO FIX AIR CONDITIONING ISSUE. WHEN THEY WENT TO RUN IT THROUGH THEIR CAR WASH, THE TECHNICIAN SAID HE WOULD NOT DO IT DUE TO THE SHARK FIN ANTENNA BEING LOOSE. WHEN I GOT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD, I SHOOK THE SHARK FIN LIGHTLY AND IT CAME OFF IN MY HAND. ALL OF THE SCREWS HAD BROKEN THE PLASTIC OFF THE SHARK FIN. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM. THE COST TO FIX IS OVER $500. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW WITH SUCH A WEAK DESIGN. LUCKILY THIS WAS CAUGHT AT THE DEALERSHIP AND DID NOT COME OFF WHILE DRIVING.
THE CAR WHEN PARKED AND OFF TURNED ON WHEN LOCKING DOOR. LATER CAR SHUT OFF ON FREEWAY DRIVING 70 MPH AND AFTER A SHORT MOMENT TURNED BACK ON LOST ALL CONTROL OF VEHICLE.
P0705 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. CAR WAS OCCASIONALLY GETTING STUCK IN PARK AND HAD TO BE STOPPED / STARTED TO GET OUT OF PARK. VERY DANGEROUS. TOOK CAR TO REPAIR SHOP AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE NEUTRAL SWITCH. THERE IS A RECALL NOTICE FOR THIS EXACT ISSUE FOR OTHER KIA OPTIMAS BUT NOT THIS CAR'S YEAR. I STRONGLY BELIEVE MY CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN UNDER A RECALL NOTICE. I STILL HAVE THE DEFECTIVE PART IF NEEDED.
WHEN GOING OVER 40 MPH AND MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN THE WHEELS LOCK UP AND THE CAR FEELS LIKE IT IS GOING TO FLIP OVER. YOU CANNOT TOUCH THE BRAKES OR THE GAS WHILE THIS IS HAPPENING AS IT CAUSES THE HAZARD TO HAPPEN MORE.
I PARKED MY KIA OPTIMA AT 7 PM. AT MIDNIGHT I WAS WOKEN UP TO FIRE TRUCKS OUTSIDE OF MY APARTMENT. MY CAR WAS FULLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE INSPECTOR REPORTED NO FOWL PLAY BUT COULD NOT DETERMINE HOW IT HAPPENED. SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE LEFT. HAD 62K MILES AND WAS FREQUENT WITH OIL CHANGES. NO LIGHTS ON DASH.
ANTENNA COVER CAME OFF. RUSTED AND BROKEN SCREWS. APPEARS TO BE A DEFECT IN MANUFACTORING. THIS APPEARS TO BE A VERY COMMON COMPLAINT VIA THE WEB.
IGNITION SWITCH NOT WORKING AT TIMES
24,000 MILES. CLICKING/ TICKING NOISE COMING FROM BEHIND THE DASH ON THE DRIVER SIDE/CENTER OF DASH. NOISE STARTS WHEN CAR IS STARTED AND CEASES WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED OFF. NOISE IS CONTINUOUS DURING DRIVING. NOISE DOES NOT CHANGE IN VOLUME OR PACE DURING DRIVING.
SUNROOF EXPLODED OUT JUST DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. NOTHING HIT IT OR WAS THROWN THROUGH IT.
I PURCHASED A KIA OPTIMA IN DECEMBER OF 2014. AT 8,000 MILES I NOTICED UNUSUAL WEAR ON MY TIRES, I HAD THEM ROTATED AND BALANCED AT 7,500. I RECENTLY WENT TO AMERICA TIRES WITH THE MILEAGE AT 14,50 THEY CONFIRMED THAT THE TIRES WERE WORN DOWN TO LESS THAN 50% OF THE TREAD. THEY ROTATED AND BALANCED THEM BUT THE LIFE OF MY TIRES IS SHORT. IT APPEARS THAT THE TIRES ARE INFERIOR. I FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING MY CAR. I HAVE DRIVEN SEVERAL CARS HOWEVER I HAVE NEVER HAD TO REPLACED TIRES THIS SOON ON A VEHICLE. I HAVE ABOUT 5 TO 7 THOUSANDS MILES LEFT BEFORE REPLACEMENT IS NEEDED. THE TIRES IN QUESTION ARE NPRIZAH8. MY FEAR IS THAT SEVERAL UNSUSPECTING PEOPLE ARE DRIVING AROUND ON THESE UNSAFE TIRES WHICH COULD CAUSE SERIOUS PROBLEMS. ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE REGULAR SERVICE ON THEIR TIRES. CAN YOU TELL ME IF THERE HAS THERE BEEN ANY ISSUES WITH THESE TIRES?
TOOK MY CAR IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND THEY STATED THAT THE OIL PAN DRAIN PLUG IS CRACKED.
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Quick Summary
The 2014 Kia Optima has 39 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.