Kia Optima Reviews

I bought a used Kia Optima a year and a half ago and my engine blew at 102,000. I never received any recalls on the car and because the previous own did not fix the recalls, Kia tells me that they will not stand by their own engines and fix it. The service manager at Kia said that though the engines are still seizing up after the recalls are fixed, it doesn’t matter. Kia still will not fix my vehicle because I did not fix the recalls that I didn’t even know about. Kia will not stand by what they sell!!!!

Got my wife a 2017 optima with 27 test drive miles on it brand new at 75,000 and some change miles. The motor all of a sudden started leaking oil and acting bad. Taking it to my normal mechanic they've told me that it was a recall issue on the motor. This recall issue caused by a bad part at manufacturing cause damage to the oil pan which is what caused the leak and the motor acting the way it was. Took it to the Kia dealership of their suggestion. Said dealership said that the oil pan needed replaced before they could test for engine replacement and it was my responsibility to pay for the oil pan and labor as well as a rental car because Kia doesn't give loaners.

RUN!! Seriously!! Beautiful cars BUT CHECK THE RECALL$$$$!! You'll thank me later!!! I bought a KIA just over a year ago. I explained to the rep that I needed a great, reliable car to safety transport foster children. They assured me the Kia Optima would do the job. Shortly after my purchase, problem after problem arose…NO KIDDING!!! This car has been towed multiple times and all Kia wants to do is sell me another KIA…After they sold me this MONEY PIT that is financially squeezing me dry!! After the KIA seized up AGAIN on Oct 23, 2023, I had it towed AGAIN only to be hit with a FAT bill of $9,200 to replace the ENTIRE ENGINE…While I still owe $14,500 on the vehicle!!

Purchased my Kia Optima in 2017. Had no problems until I was omw to FLA last year 2022 in June, but decided to stop in NC to stay overnight with my daughter and grandson. Upon leaving I went to crank up my car and immediately the engine was knocking and I barely made it to the dealership. After pulling up the salesmen already knew the car had a blown engine. They tried hard to find neglect on my part but I had all my oil change receipts and repairs over the years so they had nothing to go on. As I'm there talking to another customer they informed me to go to a website and found out there was a class action lawsuit against Kia for the faulty motors. They has so many Kias there with engine problems with not enough staff to repair them, so I had to wait over three weeks to get a rental because they just tag your car and sit them in line with the rest until they diagnose them.

I am writing about my car and the oil consumption issue. I am losing 1 quart of every 500 miles. Kia says that should be 1 quart every 1000 miles. Two other service mechanics have evaluated the car and cannot find a leak. I would like Kia to take care of me as a loyal customer and do a compression test to see what the diagnosis is. KIA is refusing to do anything to assist.

Óptima - no problems whatsoever until the engine started burning oil!! I have taken the car 4 times for a 1000 test. 5 months later they don’t wanna fix it. Instead they want me to pay 1000 to get a diagnosis - never again buying a KIA - this is car #18i had bought first and last KIA.

"I bought a 2018 Kia Optima Hybrid and was happy with its fuel efficiency and handling. However, I noticed the car was consuming an unusual amount of oil between changes. The repair shop suggested a $400 engine cleaning but the car was still under warranty, and the solution seemed unfair. Kia didn't respond to my request for investigation, which was disappointing. Moreover, the car's headlights are inadequate and dangerous at night. The dim lights barely light up the road, and it's challenging to drive when not using brights. It's become unsafe to drive at night. Kia should take this issue more seriously and fix it."

We had our 2018 Kia Optima stolen, police found it a few days later with the entire front smashed in, insurance totaled it. Kia refuses to help, even though they know they were selling a defective vehicle. The window was busted in (no alarm went off), I heard that there are certain parts of these cars that should be connected to the alarm system but they are not, Kia knows. Also, Kia claims that their cars are some of the safest (and we the consumer pay a lot of money for this "safe car"), the entire front of our car was completely smashed in, not a single airbag deployed!!

Kia doesn't care about their customers. I opened a case back in November. I got all the paperwork needed and provided it a month ago, because my car was finally fixed after being stolen.. Had to wait all that time. Due to lack of parts because Kia cars are the number 1 stolen car now and all parts including windows were on backorder. My case was escalated where communication was good before the escalation. I haven't heard a single word in a month and have reached out every week since my escalation with no reply. My mom, sister, and brother all own Kia products (21 Sorento, 22 K5, 20 Sonata, and I own a 2020 Optima) but I can guarantee that's about to change after this experience.

In 2008 my husband convinced me that allowing teens to drive my Subaru was not wise. We purchased a new 2009 Kia Optima, 4 door LX, 2.7 Liter, 6 cylinder for the teens to drive. Here I am in 2023 and this car is still the most reliable auto we have. It is also gets surprisingly low gas mileage. Fair warning though, if teenagers drive it the car may not be pretty in 14 years, lol.

If you own a KIA--get rid of it now. We owned a 2013 KIA Optima and it all started in 2017 when we had our first engine failure in the middle of a busy highway. Our car was in the shop for almost 8 weeks, and we had to fight to have KIA cover this. We have always kept up on routine maintenance with the vehicle, but Sept 2022, our car had NO warning, and the acceleration stopped working mid-highway. We thankfully were able to pull over, but once we stepped out of the vehicle it went up in flames. Again, NO warning on the engine light. It took KIA almost 2 months to send out a fire marshal for inspection, and it was deemed mechanical/engine failure. Here we are March 2023, and KIA is taking no ownership. They sent us over to Class Action Settlement as we qualified for the Theta-Class Engine Settlement, but again the communication is awful on both ends. There is no empathy on either side and at this point I am ready to give up. Please if you own a KIA, get rid of it. Nothing but issues.

I have a 2018 Kia Optima. Last few months every time it rains or I go to car wash the code for knock sensor comes on so instead of fussing with Kia I changed it myself and found out the wires were nicked and broke. I've had this car at 13k now. It has 72k. Put the new one on. No trouble since. Thanks a lot Kia!!?

I bought my Kia optima brand new in 2015. First brand new car I've ever purchased and not only will I never shop with Kia again I will never ever recommend them to anyone. I've had nothing but problems with the car since day one has been a money pit. Every time it goes into service could be something minor they'll have my car for extended periods of time with no communication. But my most recent experience is the one that topped it all off and made me write this review.

If I could give a zero I would. I purchased a certified vehicle Kia Optima from them and it has been a money pit ever since. They alleged that everything was good with the car. Knowing this make and model had issues with the engine. I went through two oil consumption test. They identified the engine was bad. Refused to replace it unless the engine blows out. In under a 1000 miles oil has to be put in the engine and you can see it blowing out the tailpipe. The oil is not only blowing out the tailpipe it is blowing over the engine causing additional damage to the following: The Cadillac converter, it's miss firing and unable to go above 40 miles per hour.

I smelled gas in the cabin of the car, drove car to nearest shop, had the fuel line replaced, said I could have caught fire!!! Called consumer affairs was told had a recall on fuel line with no resolution! So had to pay 381.27 to fix fuel line so I would NOT blow up when driving the car! Weeks later I get a resolution to fox the fuel line at Kia, made appointment and they had to put on another fuel line to replace the fuel line I paid for two weeks earlier. and I can’t get an answer as to reimbursement of the money I had to pay out!!!!

CAUTION!! CAUTION!! CAUTION!! We leased a new Kia Optima in 2015 and at the end of the lease, purchased the vehicle. This is our daughter's car, it looks brand new, never had a problem mechanically... until we did. In Feb '22 we had to have the car towed to Kia after the car was making an odd noise. We didn't know what it was so didn't want to drive it and towed it to the nearest Kia. They immediately tell us the car needs a new engine. They had pulled a carfax on the car and didn't see all maintenance records so denied our warranty and told us the cost was between $8,000 - $10,000.00 to replace the engine. We told them we have the oil changed and just need to locate them. I was told the car should have 11 oil changes for the mileage on the car.

I went with friend to pay her car note. After having neck surgery, it was suggested I give up the stick shift life so I had to stop driving my sports BMW. I had no intentions of buying a Kia. Just went with friend to pay her car note. Also I'm above Kia's. I drive bmw and Mercedes. While waiting for my friend., a salesman got hold of me to test drive an Optima. Long story short, I decided to buy and keep temporarily until I got better and looked for a new automatic bmw. That was 8 years ago. I love my Kia optima. It has never stopped on me and has never been in shop other than for service and recalls. Wish I could afford the stinger! I would definitely buy!

I have a 2013 Kia Optima and had a recall issue with my car! I've done everything to keep my car in great shape and keep up with routine maintenance! Now that my car had a recall issue taking it to Kia was not the best idea! Kia has had my car for over a month and haven't done anything, not even communicating! Trying to get someone on the phone has been a hassle to even find out what's going on! I have been told recently that there has been a claim put in place for my vehicle to possibly be cover under warranty! But Kia has not made this a pleasant experience and has completely dropped the ball! I hope they are capable of redeeming themselves and and gaining the trust of their customers!

I have owned 3 Kia vehicles and we were in the process of giving my 2015 Kia Optima to my soon to be 16 year old daughter. Unfortunately, the engine that was always well maintained and always received regular maintenance, blew at only 100,159 miles. Kia refused to stand by the 100K powertrain warranty because they said it was 159 miles over the 100K. Furthermore, there was some recall letter I never received that they claim would have covered me over the 100K. Absolutely awful experience that they wouldn't cover a long-time customer due to being over by 159 miles. I will NEVER EVER do business with Kia again. The dealer even pulled my Carfax and agreed it was well maintained that thought it was ridiculous that they refused to cover the repair.

After just recently becoming aware of a recall on my 2016 Kia Optima in December of 2021 (KIA never notified me), I scheduled to have the KSDS Update performed on my Kia at Safford KIA of Fredericksburg on December 17, 2021. I received a follow-up call from Justin ** (mechanic) in the service department on December 18, 2021, stating that my check engine light was illuminated upon successfully completing the KSDS Update and upon a system reset. After running a diagnostic scan, it was shown to throw a cylinder misfire code. Fast forward, Mr. ** called and explained he thought the misfire was due to damaged piston rings but was not wholly sure. He stated I would need to replace the engine and gave me a quote of roughly $6,000.00.

Hello, I have A 2015 Kia Optima. My daughter was driving this car 2 weeks ago and it cut off on her in the middle of very busy rush hour traffic. Thankfully she was not hit, to the surprise of the 3 police officers that showed up to push the car out of the highway. She could have been injured or worse, killed. I have learned that Kia has a recall on this vehicle but I will not be covered because I did not have some sort of sensor put in. I have not received a notice. I asked for them to give me dates and addresses of this notice being sent. Consumer Affairs at Kia cannot tell me this information. I have Called twice and each time the customer service has been incredibly horrible. Brenda and Roxanne are completely rude and argumentative. Each giving me a different answer. They both refused to give me a number or transfer me to higher up or supervisor.

I purchased a 2015 Kia Optima. With NO warning, it died while I was driving it. The engine locked up. Kia Motors said this car has known engine problems, and there is a campaign, not a recall, for this engine. I was never notified about said "campaign" so I didn't know I was supposed to have a system upgrade to prevent this! This car only has 57,000 miles and had no other issues prior to it dying, and now I am responsible for replacing the engine!!

Criminals! Whoever passed the engineering for the engines should be sued, fired and/or facing jail time for neglect and knowingly selling these vehicles to families putting us at risk daily. My engine died on highway. I am lucky to have survived and no help with towing expense, 44 day car rental, nothing! And they have never called me back ever from 3 months ago. They give everyone the runaround. Buyer BewAre!!!!

Kia does not stand behind the product if you do your own Is preventative maintenance. At approximately 99000 miles we noticed spot knocking so we took it into the dealership. We were told that there is a software update for the Knox sensor. Which was performed and ever since it's been consuming oil. A lot of oil. 1-2 quarts within about 500 miles. Now 10000 miles after software update vehicle has vehicle has a hole burnt and valve was not offered any goodwill even though the vehicle only has 110000 miles on it and we've bought 3 Kias. We basically was told being that we do our own maintenance and provided documents showing that we did good PM maintenance that Since we don't do it with the dealership no assistance would be provided. Never again. I will never buy a Kia or product again. Don't waste your time. $3000 for the repair.

Don’t buy a KIA ever!!!! I lease a 2019 KIA OPTIMA and was recently in an accident. The car has been sitting in a body shop waiting for a front headlight assembly for 6 weeks now. KIA does not have the part or do they know when the part will become available. This has not stopped KIA from collecting their monthly payment nor taking responsibility for their mistake. Every week they keep moving the estimated delivery date of the part, but when I ask for a tracking number one cannot be provided. How is it possible for a car manufacture not to have parts for a 2 year old car anywhere in the US? How is it possible that KIA won’t give me a loaner since it’s their fault I don’t have my car? I have endure weeks of frustration, and against with no clear answer on when I will have my car back. I don’t know what are my legal options if any at this moment. All I can do at this moment is voice my anger and hopefully help someone avoid the situation I find myself in.

My boyfriend has a recall on his car and it is a fire hazard so we had to arrange for the car to be towed to the nearest KIA dealership. When I called on a Friday to set all of it up they refused to give him a rental car for more than 3 days without him paying the rest out of pocket for something that is a recall on their cars when they could not even get the vehicle in to be located at for at least 2 weeks. Then I arranged the tow for the following Monday and they stated I would have free tow. Just have them call the customer service number and they would be here between 12-12:30.

Engine Failure - Knocking Noise. Bought a used 2015 Optima hybrid Ex, from Honda Dealer in Riverside CA., my 16 year old son really wanted this car and had saved since he was 13yrs old. My husband and I match what he saved to help him buy the car of his dreams. Wish I would have done my due diligence with my research to know that Kia has known about this engine issue and continues to not stand behind their 10yr/100,000 mile powertrain warranty.

Bought a new Optima hybrid, from Kia in Burlington Ma., one of the reasons was a 10yr 100,000 mile warranty. After 7 yrs. and 75,000 miles the engine seized up (with no warning). No check engine light, No oil pressure light, nothing. Then they spent three weeks determining the problem that it needs a new engine and won't be covered under warranty.

My Kia Optima has been in the shop for over 5 months now for warranty repairs. Kia has pushed back the arrival of the necessary part 7 times now, and I have to continue hounding them to get a simple update. My patience has run out with them, which is why I'm posting here. I have zero confidence in the company and dealerships (Berwyn Kia-outside Chicago). Neither corporate or the dealership are capable of providing accurate information, and they blame each other for the delays. 100% BS operation. DO NOT BUY A KIA.

My Kia is a sharp looking vehicle and has some exceptional features which include automatic folding side mirrors, full sunroof, heated seats and steering wheel and a glove box that keeps water cool. It rides and handles very smoothly, has power to accelerate when needed and seats 5 comfortably along with charging plugs in the back seats. Trunk is quite roomy as well. I love it!