Kia Optima Reviews

Last week the car died on the expressway with the dashboard reading ‘Hybrid System Warning...’ Reluctantly I took it back to Crown Kia and again they said it would be fixed after the required ‘system check’ showed a blown fuse. They called after replacing the fuse and said my engine was seized and I needed a new engine! Very disappointed in Kia, Kia complaints division, and Crown Kia- horrible experience with this car overall.

We were instructed by our dealer to file lemon law and they offered to help as Consumer Affairs was not offering a solution to repair or replace. We signed on with an attorney and they stopped accepting payments again and refused to service the car going forward. They have now taken the car back and after paying $14,000 for the lease we no longer have one to drive through the end of our lease term which is up in 5 months. We even requested a buyback and they denied it due to it being defective and unsafe.

We started to check the oil concerned regarding the black smoke and noticed it was burning oil. Called Kia and took in for oil consumption test. They found the car is burning a quart of oil approx. every 1000 miles and told us the car needed a short block replacement and rebuilding of the cylinder heads the cost would be approx. $4700.00 and was told it would not be covered under warranty as the complaint does not fall under the PI1803 recall. The dealership gave me Kia consumer relations number, told me the dealership spoke with a kia tech. and it was determined it would not be covered under the lifetime warranty....

A car that is well maintained should not being having engine issues and I have done a lot of research. The problem begins with oil consumption. Most people don't check their oil in between their oil changes because good cars don't burn oil. They still don't know and can't explain where the engine oil is going... I WOULD NEVER BUY A KIA again. Can't afford to get another car and don't know what to do with this nice looking but piece of garbage car. THANKS KIA! There needs to be a class action suit against KIA engine. Shouldn't need to be replaced at 124,000 miles when well maintained!

I have contacted two different local KIA dealerships. Grand KIA in Northglenn CO service reps were very unprofessional and literally said "KIA will cover everything just wait for the engine to blow". And Joe from the service department at i25 KIA in Longmont CO told me "to go drive it around town and see if you can get it to smoke." When I made an appointment for a diagnostic on my engine (apparently that's their diagnostic evaluation).

Finally when I get fed up with all the unethical and unprofessional behavior from the Kia staff and contact customer service Jason the rep I was speaking to took my complaint said he was going to call the dealerships to see what he could figure out and NEVER called me back. So when I called again the lady I spoke to said he had the wrong number (he read it back to me correct) and that's why I never received a voicemail. After asking to be connected to his line I was told he was unavailable and that he would get back to me. Never heard back from anyone. I really hope someone from KIA sees this... I will NOT buy a KIA again or recommend anyone else to do so either. KIA has officially lost a customer and will continue to receive bad reviews as well.

My fully serviced 2013 KIA Optima has 91,000 miles on it and the engine is blown due to a recall. And Kia will not help at all. Save yourself the time, money and stress and just get a different company for your vehicle. KIA HAS A TOTAL LACK OF SERVICE ALL AROUND AND THEY UNETHICALLY SELL DANGEROUS VEHICLES AND CALL THEM NEW.

We only put 13,000 miles on the new long block engine assembled by the manufacturer and installed by their certified dealer and the head gasket FAILED! Even the service techs believe the engine was faulty to begin with but Kia has denied our claim. If they do not make this right, I will never deal with Kia again and I will shout from the Mountaintops what a TERRIBLE company this is!

Really, only one month later and now my warranty is void due to poor maintenance. This is a tactic that they use with the Kia GDI engine, blaming the owner for poor maintenance whenever there are engine/oil problems that will eventually blow out the motor. I recommend doing research before buying any Kia. They do not stand behind their products until people’s lives are at risk - the CEO's would not even testify when called upon by Congress. Come on people, even tobacco and gun dealers will show up to testify in front of Congress. DO NOT BUY KIA PRODUCTS!

I have missed work and appointments numerous times throughout the year. Car has lost power while driving almost causing 2 accidents without warning. My daughter was present 1 of those 2 times. Kia has been no help or assistance as well as the dealership. The throttle body sensor just went and they are charging me over 376.00. I've been without a vehicle for 6 days now and was told car won't be done for over a week. I'm upset and they won't do anything for me. Vehicle is unsafe and could catch fire anytime.

My car is under warranty and for the work they did I had to pay over $1,200 during the ECU refresh because some other parts and pulleys near the turbo and engine were melted. Now my engine is blown I need to wait over a month to get it repaired since the issue is during the manufacturing process there was excess metal shavings left in brand new Theta 2 engines that Kia and Hyundai both use that caused metal in the engine and blew it. Kia is paying for all the repairs on the engine but what difference does it make if the car is not a safe vehicle.

I will NEVER buy another Kia ever again. This is my second Kia and will be my last. I also have a 2013 Optima 2.4 GDI (Theta 2 engine also) that I had to bring in for multiple recall repairs. These cars are not safe. The Theta 2 engines are prone to being blown and have a higher rate of fires occurring in both the Kia and Hyundai GDI engines and that goes for the 2.4 liter as well as the 2.0 Turbo. There is also a problem if you get your engine replaced that your fuel lines can be damaged hence the fires I spoke of earlier in my review. These cars are NOT safe for you or your family and I will never do business with this company again.

From now on it will only purchase a car from a car company that is trustworthy. They have recalled over 1.2 million Kias for multiple engine issues and if I could go back in time I would most definitely get a Nissan, Toyota or a Honda. I had a Toyota Corolla that ran for 130,000 and I never to the car in for ANY major repairs or major recalls.

Goodbye Kia. Your cars are blowing up like Samsung Galaxy Notes. I will make sure to tell every person I know to stay away from your defective vehicles and if my car has any issues after the engine replacement I am going to seek legal action against the company for safety issues such as these that can put myself or my family in danger. There are already multiple Class action lawsuits against Kia and Hyundai for a variety of major issues with the Theta 2 engines (GDI) as well as many other issues. They should not be allowed to sell cars in the United States. Google the Theta 2 engines and your jaw will drop.

One time they told me to call my insurance agent as if that was to solve their problem. I did not care about the mileage, I was going to purchase the car...but never. I just want out of the car. I cannot even trade it in this situation until I have it back. I do not want it back. I went over the Napleton Kia in Carmel, Indiana and picked up my license plant and all items in the vehicle. All I want is out of the car. KIA is forcing the lease down my throat. I have read many various complaints about the engine, KIA and the Optima. I just retired, and I still work three other jobs to make ends meet. I do not want this car back. KIA is without a doubt a miserable company. The good news is I do not own the car.

Then a few days later the engine light turned on again and I took it back to the dealership and they said this time it was the fuel injector so I didn’t have the car for two days since they had to wait for the part to install it. Then they said I should do a severe gdi service which I paid for it because they said it would help a lot and hopefully that would fix everything. Then a week later the car completely died on me at college and got it towed to the dealership and they told me that the engine was completely dead so they told me the would pay for it for them to put a new engine in the car. So at this point I waited for 3 months without my car which I’m making payments on. Once I finally get my car back it was running fine for 2 weeks then the light engine came on back again so I didn’t have my car for 2 weeks then they fixed it. Now it died again and haven’t had a car for a month now again.

It's February now and I still dont have my car. The car was approved for a long block (full engine). I called today to check on the status and was told the engine hasn't even shipped and there is a back order on the engine. So this is where I begin to lose my patience... My lease is up at the end of May, early June and I am paying for a car that I dont have, most like wont see again by the time the engine gets to the US and Kia wont let me out of my lease or put me in a new one. Instead, I am paying for a car to sit in lot and driving around a rental that is not comparable to what I have. I have the leather, heated seats, etc... the lucubre package. I have a rental, base model and I have had to fill the windshield fluids,

New wipers and now it needs an oil change. so I am inconvenienced yet again to bring the rental back in for an oil change. I was also told I may be driving this rental till the end of my lease! Does this make any sense? It doesn't to me! I spoke with Kia consumer and I will now be waiting for another 2-3 days to find out what the resolution will be. Well I got one for you... Reimburse me for the past 3 months and put me in a new lease or I walk away from Kia for good and I hire an attorney and I call the local news station! On a side note, the dealership has been helpful and they are trying to help me.

Mechanics at dealership replaced the oil with full synthetic and said that should clear the problem, but if it didn't to return. The engine seized in December 2017. At that time it was burning 4 quarts of oil a week. The dealership requested all maintenance records and decided that since we could not prove we had the oil changed every 6 months, they did not have to honor the warranty. We could provide proof of 2 of 4 scheduled changes but one garage had since closed (no way to trace proof of work) and another was out of town.

Hired an attorney in April 2018 to pursue the validity of Kia standing behind their warranty. Went back and forth a few times with Kia's legal department. They refused to repair the engine due to "lack of proof of regular maintenance" even though we have statements from independent mechanics stating the engine failure has nothing to do with the oil changes (or lack thereof). We are not in the financial position to continue pursuing legal action

Kia has stated in writing that they would repair the engine if a recall was issued (June 2018). Recall was issued in August 2018 for engine long block assembly repairs needed due to excessive connecting rod bearing damage to the 2015 Optima 2.4L GDI and 2.0L Turbocharged GDI engines. The local dealer continues to deny our claim, stating it is our fault for not changing the oil regularly. Clearly this is not the case as there are literally hundreds complaints from owners with the exact same engine failures (burning oil and engines seizing). There are multiple class action lawsuits in various states due to Kia's refusal to replace/repair the engines with these failures. The flaws are due to defects in the engines that allow contaminates to enter the engine's fuel injection system. The contaminates cause the oil to thicken and the engines to fail.

In an effort to repair the engine so we could continue to drive the vehicle and be able to purchase it at the end of the lease (which we extended for another six months to December 2018), we purchased a second engine block and hired a mechanic to install in August 2018. The replacement engine had the exact same failure within 2 days of driving the vehicle. This is clear evidence that the engines failed not based on maintenance, but because of a defect in the engines. We have tried to relay this to the dealership but they continue to give us excuses and lay blame elsewhere. It's Kia's problem, not theirs, even though they sold us the car.

We have been going around and around this circle for over a year. What we are left with is a car that does not work and a company that refused to uphold their word to replace the engine due to manufacturing defect. The lease ended in December 2018. Kia wants us to purchase the car or return it. We could not afford to put the old engine block back into the car after pulling and returning the second engine block, so currently the engine is separate from the car. Kia Finance said we must return the car if we are not buying it. We towed the car and the engine to Edmark January 24, 2019 but they refused the vehicle since the engine was not in it. They "won't store it and don't have room for it." I spoke with Kia Finance January 31, 2019 and it was suggested we file a complaint with Consumer Affairs. We will be posting this complaint to Kia Complaints along with State and local bureaus in an effort to get the word out about our issue.

A resolution could be reached by Kia honoring their warranty. We would then be willing and able to purchase the vehicle. It was our intent to do so, but will not (and should not be obligated to) buy a car that has a manufacturing defect. We do not believe it is unusual or outrageous to demand Kia uphold their warranty and replace the engine per their own recall. We have lost thousands in time, parts, labor and attorney fees in an effort to make this situation work. As of now, our next steps will be to be vocal about our situation and continue to let Kia Finance, Edmark and Kia Motors know we are very disappointed in their product and lack of integrity.

In all seriousness, that is major cause for concern due to many of the replacement engine's fuel lines were improperly or damaged during engine installation. In turn, fuel leaks or spews onto the hot parts of the engine which is causing fires. I am at the point where I would be thankful if I suffered a loss due to fire. I have lost all trust and loyalty with Kia and I am afraid to drive it or even leave it in my driveway just in case it goes boom. I'm going to check my oil because it seems a little low to me. Kia is the worst car company, terrible customer service and has terrible vehicle longevity. My radio cuts out, my sunroof does what it wants, and the car will randomly say welcome when I'm not even in it with the doors locked. I'm done with Kia.

Updated on 01/18/2019: Hi, l got a so called “engine replacement.” Car still sounds like trash and l checked the oil and it’s slightly low. l will check it again. It still smells weird when it is broken in and l still smell gas. I'm just waiting for doomsday. When l start it, it sounds weird. That's when it decides to kick over (mind you, l got a new starter as a good faith). My car is rusting out on the passenger side along the fender. It's the Corsa Blue so it’s noticeable. Point, my car sucks and l hate it and l wish l bought a Honda.

Original Review: I have read a few posts and l deeply apologize that you all are experiencing the same issue l did. l bought a 2011 Kia Optima Sx in Corsa Blue with about 14k. Beautiful vehicle so l that. Little did l know l was on the road to massive issues. Around 53k, l noticed the car would not move but 2mph. This was after it was on a trip from Severn Md. l live in Pittsburgh so it’s a 4 hr round trip. Anywho, l would have to pull over, turn it off and turn it back on. This happened several times. l was told by the dealer to wait till the check engine light came on so it did.

Took it in and it was claimed that the turbo needed adjusted. So ok whatever. Then it happened again and the turbo needed tuned again. Mind you, l drive in eco mode 100% of the time. l had noticed a few mornings when l started it, l would hear a teeny knock. l just kept it moving until one day around 60k ish. l was going down a hill and l thought l was rear ended at the stop sign. All my gauges went down. The car had shut off and it took a while to get it started. It was hot that day and my anger only added to it.

The next incident, l was driving up a hill then BOOM! l thought the car exploded. It picks the most inconvenient places to break down l tell you. l literally putted up the hill until l found a safe place to pull over. l got it towed and the dealer said the rings around all my spark plugs shot down into something. Oook, but here’s the kicker, Kia was only going to pay for one spark plug. Are you serious?!! Boy, l came out of my element even more.

About a week or two later, boom again and then l was told it was the fuel injection system and Kia and the goodness of their little greedy hearts decided to pay 80% to replace it. So l'm like yea ok do it. I went a year, but l noticed my car lost a significant amount of power, along with a gas smell. I called Kia Motors and they told me to not park it in a garage and to place it somewhere just in case it ignites. l'm like Whaaa?! l filed a complaint regarding the engine issues but like you all know, it was not logged. 2 weeks before Christmas 2018 with about 68k, me and my kids are riding down Rt 22 to turn right, all the dash lights came on and car died in motion. l slipped it in neutral and started it and took it home. l had taken it to the dealer twice with no success.

Dec 23rd, coming up 22, car shook, check engine light flashes as l am screaming at the car “no, no, don’t do this now with my babies in the car!” The car rode slower than an electric scooter. Looking stupid with my flashers and making other motorists mad, we putted to my mom's house praying that It didn’t die completely. l told my kids get out this car now. l shut the car off. l turned it on and l finally met the almighty knocking noise l have heard about.

The experience with Kia Motors was the worst. The first guy was really nice and he reassured me and we chatted about Georgia because that’s where they are and l have family there. (l don’t know why he works there, such a nice guy.) He did forward my info over. Great. A few days go by so l called again to see about getting a rental. l'm just going to say l got off the phone crying. l posted a review about how l felt and the next day an engine replacement and rental were approved. I got the car back a week later. So Kia replaced my starter as a “Good faith and due to customer loyalty and retention,” Pffft. l kinda need a starter to start the engine. Btw guys, on my receipt it says that the starter was included due to the catastrophic engine failure.

Another thing, you do NOT have to show them maintenance records of oil changes. l found that out through my own research. So please do not feel like you need to present them. The codes for mine were engine harness and catastrophic engine failure. That is all you need to get the parts replaced. Another FYI, they are not putting new engines in, just replacing the parts that caused the failure. Also, l did not get anything from KMA stating a warranty on the parts just in case it happens again. All l know is, l am never buying another Kia ever again in life. Good luck everyone.

The cars engine needs to give one of 3 Diagnostic codes, be knocking or blow for us to replace the engine. I said, "So what happens to a engine like mines which needs to be replaced." I was told to drive the car till the engine slows or is knocking "then we will replace it." I left the dealer with a car smoking so bad they could not keep it started in the shop. I said to the service manager, "You do realize if I’m on a highway or even a road and the cars engine blows and I get into accident because the engine blows and can’t safely get my car off the road it can possibly be Kia fault." That Liability is huge. I contacted Kia Consumer affairs to try to get this Resolved. They took my info and with a follow up did not contact the dealer.

When I called my case manager at Consumer affairs I was told by another operator, "Your case manager asked if was the dealer on the phone." She said, "No. It’s the customer." She said, "I’m busy then." I said, "That awesome. You don’t have time to speak with your customers." So now I drive a car with a engine that will blow anytime anywhere. I can’t go on long trips. I can’t Rely on this car to do anything. I was told by a Kia employee, "They know what’s wrong with your car and it’s a Manufacturers defect in the engine." It was stated to me that, "Kia wants to see how Loyal of a customer you are." And was asked, "How many people in your family own Kias. And "Would you recommend Kia to your family and friends." I really don’t know where to go from here. I really like my Kia. It’s a great car minus the engine problems. Any advice?

We made it to KC, and took it to another mechanic who diagnosed the same knock code and told us the same thing. He felt like the engine was going out and it could happen any day. Thankfully, the mechanic knew about a lot of engine recalls that were happening with Kia, so he called Olathe Kia for us and asked about our VIN. They told him our engine was a part of a defective batch that Kia made in the Optimas from 2014-2015, and that we might be eligible for an engine replacement.

I called Olathe Kia to confirm and they said they would not work on my car because Kia Corporate was not paying them for labor, costs, and rentals costs accrued by these defective engines. He said the Dealership Manager was basically engaged in a "war" with Kia Corporate to get finances and had decided to not look at ANY vehicles with failing engines due to the defect.

I called Shawnee Mission Kia in a nearby town and they said to bring in the car. However, the service employee after listening to my story, only notated that we were there for recalls, and nothing else. They tried to send me home without doing ANYTHING to the car. After clarifying for a second time what was actually happening with the car, they got the same knock code and were able to hear the rattling in the engine. However, they told us that the vibration or noise was not quite strong enough to qualify for a replacement even though the engine was defective. I was told to drive home to New Orleans and wait for the engine to get worse. Seriously.

After talking with the Dealership Owner, we found out that apparently there are MILLIONS of Optimas with defective engines. I asked that they submit a request directly to Kia on our behalf given the situation and how far away from home we were. Kia approved our vehicle to get a new engine. We were told that Kia was 1-2 months behind on engines due to the sheer volume being replaced. We were put in a rental and we left our vehicle in Kansas on 10/22/18.

On 11/14/18 I was notified by Shawnee Mission Kia that my car was finished. They had replaced the engine. I also paid for them to replace my brake pads while it was there. They wanted to know when I could come get the car. I requested that they send it to New Orleans as I was not inclined to take vacation time or burn a weekend driving 26 hours. They told me that they could not approved of that and that Kia Consumer Affairs would not listen to them if they asked them. They recommended that I reach out to Kia Consumer Affairs directly to get this done.

I spoke with Steve ** at Kia Consumer Affairs on 11/14/18. He told me that given my circumstances, they would try to ship the car to me on a tow truck to a Premier Kia in Kenner, LA. He said it would take a few days to get the paperwork through and that I would have a confirmation by Friday, 11/16/18. On 11/21/18, I called Kia Consumer Affairs to inquire about the vehicle and to find out why I hadn’t been contacted. Steve said that he was going to have to escalate the ticket to the national level. He said he would call me by 11/26/18 to let me know the status.

On 12/5/18 I called Kia Consumer Affairs after not hearing back from Steve. He was out of the office on until vacation until 12/18/18. He had not filed for my car to be towed to Louisiana. I spoke to ** (yes, her first and last name are both **). She was very nice, and after hearing my HOUR LONG STORY told me she would take over my claim and get me my car. She told me to expect a call from her by Friday, 12/7/18 with confirmation that the vehicle was scheduled to be towed.

On 12/10/18 I received a phone call from Shawnee Mission Kia stating that my vehicle had been removed from their lot by a tow truck. He was not sure of the delivery date, but the Service Manager told me that he overheard the driver say he would be in Kenner by Thursday, 12/13/18. Still no word from ** at Kia Consumer Affairs. I decided to call Premier Kia on 12/17/18 after hearing nothing to find that they had my car already. I went to pick it up, and the car was listed under the wrong name. I picked up the car and drove it home. I called Shawnee Mission Kia to inquire about the name on the car and they said they sold a Kia Forte to someone under that name in July of 2018 but they had no idea how that name got on my shipping receipt.

While driving my vehicle on 12/19/18, my engine light came on and a rattling sound was heard in the engine. I immediately called Shawnee Mission Kia to ask if they actually fixed the engine. I was told that they did. They told me they thought it might be a loose exhaust clamp. Seriously. On 12/20/18 I got an automatic phone call from Shawnee Mission Kia telling me my vehicle was ready for local pickup. On 12/26/18 I called ** with Kia Consumer Affairs and left a voicemail. No response. I had also left 2 emails with her. No response. On 1/2/19, I took my vehicle to a local mechanic (because at this point I have ZERO CONFIDENCE in Kia) and they confirmed I do have a new engine block only. There were no loose clamps that they could find and nothing they could diagnose other than the SAME EXACT KNOCK CODE as from before.

On 1/8/19 I decided to call Kia Consumer Affairs again, and after not getting through to **, I called Steve again. I knew he was back from vacation. He told me to bring the car to a Kia dealer. I told him I was going to bring it to Barker Kia in Houma, LA, so he called them and told them I was going to bring my car to them on 1/10/19. He told me that he would send them authorization for a rental vehicle so I could have transportation while the car was being looked at. He apologized for the lack of communication, saying “we have too many people with issues and not enough people working them.” He also said that my story isn’t really any different from many others in an attempt I guess to “de-escalate” my concern over how this entire thing was being handled. Super classy.

On 1/10/19 I arrived at Barker Kia in Houma, LA. The service manager had talked with Steve on the phone, but had not received any authorization for a rental. After waiting an hour, he was able to get me into a dealer loaner for a day. He was unable to get in touch with Steve. They inspected the vehicle and got the same knock code as before. They were able to hear the rattling as well. They informed me that apparently there were two steps of the engine recall that were not done in Kansas. One of them was a software update that basically shuts the car down in to “limp mode” when certain thresholds are met that identify an engine issue. This causes the car to reduce to 2,000 RPMs for the safety of the engine and driver.

They updated this software and the car IMMEDIATELY went in to limp mode. The Service Manager said that a percentage of the replaced defective engines were also failing and that Kia was trying to figure out a solution. He said he wasn’t sure on the timetable but that I could potentially be waiting for several months. However, he needed me to come back tomorrow on 1/11/19 to get a legit rental for long term use. He said he would get approval from Steve and be ready for me. On 1/11/19 I received a call from Barker Kia stating they have been unable to reach Steve by phone or by email to approve the rental. They requested I keep the dealer loaner until they can get that done. (To Be Continued…)

The car only has 135K on it. It's also had 4 recalls that I know of and they are still coming. 12/31 I was in running errands and it wouldn't start. Lights, radio, everything on except the engine. Finally got it to start by reading a bunch of posts online from lots of consumers who have had the same problem. Jiggle the shifter, hold the start button down for 20 seconds... This is a known problem with no solutions. Shouldn't it be illegal to sell a car that has a known problem with no solution? I wouldn't recommend this car to someone I didn't like. No one deserves this crap.

I did the runaround again and after stating I would need everything in writing (claim denial, warranty info, estimate of damages) from KIA and they stated they would not give me anything in writing. I advised them I needed it to get legal representation and then they stated that they would escalate my claim on 10/22/2018 and I should hear from my claim specialist in three business days. They also requested the additional three receipts, which I submitted to them within 24 hours. I called the escalation department weekly to try to get a status on my claim and there was always a reason why it has not been resolved.

On 12/11 Tammy ** called me to tell me that they will not honor the warranty. They would be willing to pay half the cost to fix the car. Total cost $7,814.89 and I would have to pay $3,907.45 plus all the taxes. I did ask what exactly is wrong with the car and she stated she could not release the details of my case because it is private information. In addition, they wanted me to sign an offer letter and a release agreement.

Until finally Kia consumer affairs calls to check on how I like my repaired vehicle. I informed them I didn't have it back yet and I was paying for my own rental. They told me I was not supposed to be and they got me a rental the next day. And then mysteriously my car was repaired 2 days later after waiting 2 months. I was told I would be reimbursed in 4 to 6 weeks. It is now December 4th 2018 and I have yet to receive a dime from Kia. 3 months of waiting and different people giving me the runaround. Their customer service for this sucks and I would never recommend anyone to them just based off of this experience.

It was not in any accidents and was certified, yet when I called repeatedly for the second key for 2 months almost and then this check engine light to see if it's warranted intake manifold problem is the code can be a number of issues, they kept saying it's as is!!! Hertz. Then Kia kept saying get the records and info from the dealer! The dealer kept saying, "We're not responsible" and won't give any records!!! Then after a week of yet another runaround, I got the manager at Hertz to say he'd pay for the inspection but only if they called him first to discuss. It’s an engine problem so it better be covered the inspection but they wouldn't of course say they would for sure. The worst part is that this looks to me like with 65 service records in the first year!!!

This is a 2017 Kia Optima, no accidents. Why would it have 65 service records!!! Not of course told to me or shown on the Carfax when we brought the car!!! And now suspiciously, I'm not allowed to even view these records??? They are online at the Kia dealerships according to the manager at Hertz on Smithtown. However, that's fraudulent to cover up records! I should be able to view them and I suspect they fraudulently covered this up when selling me the car that it had prior problems undisclosed at tone of purchase!!! Now I suspect If a car already has 65 service records at 44,641 miles one year old and now has a bad code indicating intake manifold problem which is the engine Bank 1 cylinder one, it means to me it's a ??? lemon!!! And it's going to have more more more engine lights on! Not what I bargained for nor what I paid a lot for!!!

I paid for a new used certified car that was inspected and had on its sticker a 120 point inspection and had no accidents!!! The Carfax given to me by the Hertz car sales in Smithtown said "clean" record. The service records were missing but I assumed since there were none it was standard. Not. I now have to fight to find out why Hertz and Kia are refusing to give me service records when they are a requirement of the warranty and my warranty will be up at 60000 miles at which time I'll be stuck with the bills. Constant check engine lights expensive repairs etc.

So what Kia and Hertz think they are getting away with is a cover-up for a malfunctioning shoddy car, the Kia Optima 2017 which I see other people have also had similar engine problems as well as electrical malfunctions. And the reviews which I looked up I great detail before I brought this. The reviews were all good!!! Except some diff models and older. So there's nothing you can rely on and truth is covered up and Kia And Hertz car sales or rent to own, do not back up their cars at call. I used to only buy new for this reason but the new cars have more than doubled and I also can't see spending $ such outrageous amounts like $30k on a new car that'll probably only last to 160k miles in less.

If only I had taken the time to read the reviews prior to making the purchase... If only, sigh. I was so anxious for an upgrade/reliable transportation to and from doctors’ appointments and family visits I failed to do my homework. With my kind of luck I am expecting to pay the price for failing to do so, and at my age it will be more than I can handle at this point and time in my life, my plate is already full due to a serious medical issue... I most definitely do not need car issues when I thought I was eliminating that stressor with an upgrade... life!

Informed from a previous employee of Kia, that the Optima has a defective motor which will have to be replaced, by the dealer. Corporations in America screw Americans continuously and we have no recourse. This is what this country has come too, the Great American Way! Consumers would be better off with horse and buggy.

At one point they said I might have to replace the ECM. Then, during test driving (and the same problem occurred briefly a few months prior), the gas pedal stopped working on a highway. And then it happened to me after spending $1200. So the check engine light code (after it had been setting off numerous codes), it was the gas pedal, so my mechanic replaced the gas pedal, which didn't work. The light continued to go on and the gas pedal wouldn't work for a short amount of time and it would kick back into gear soon after. So I took it to a different mechanic and they ended up thinking it was a gear shifting issue and re-set the transmission. And they called the local Kia dealer to ask questions. So that lasted about a week and a half. I can drive the car under 50 and be OK. It's happened twice to me while going over 50 and the second time I had to keep pulling over.

The lemon law indicates to be a lemon it has to be unsafe to drive, which it is, and that the problem has to interfere with the normal function of the car. So I opened a case at Kia. The first person, Octavia, claimed she tried to call me but there is no indication on my cell phone. So the second person has since denied me saying I have to go the dealer to get assessed, even though I provided receipts with all the work done--in order to assess the problem--well, what about the calipers??? The second person had said she would call me Monday afternoon. I had to leave 2 messages yesterday and had to call again today. One person said it's gone to the supervisors and then I heard that I had to take it to a Kia dealer. So I have to pay for the Kia dealer on top of a rental car??? They are useless.

Most of the problems are documented online in a lot of various forms. I will continue to contact them and tag them until they resolve this. I am lucky that I will be purchasing a HONDA for a very good price and then I will call the Kia dealer--which I avoided in the first place knowing that dealerships aren't always helpful and fair. Again, I have spent over $5,000 in 4 years on this car. Oh, the person I spoke with even said under her breath--that is a lot of money!!! It has just gone over 100,000 in the past couple of months.

I called KC back and the rep reached out to PKB and was told "in order for me to use my key, key fob and door latch at the same time once again I must buy a REMOTE STARTER" and the rep said "I was confusing the brain of the car." meaning the operating system or computer when I try to use the key, key fob and the door latch at the same time. I said no "whoever made this car should have linked the key, key fob and door latch together" instead of trying to make people spend more money on something they can’t get the full value back once the car is sold. This is a serious issue which needs a major recall. Nobody have time to fumble with a key if they are in trouble. Safety is not an importance to Kia.

If anyone here is interested in joining the pending class action lawsuit please email me. I understand the damage in the pictures doesn't look severe however that was luck, what if this had been a semi truck that smashed into me? I am lucky I am alive. KIA would not even care if I died. They are the worst crooks and joke of an automaker.

At this time the dealership said there was a switch that they were going to replace and that this was what could be causing the issue. I received the car back on Oct 9th. On Oct 10th while driving back on the interstate the car's lights and radio dimmed and the speedometer and rpm instruments were fluctuating for about 30-45 seconds. I immediately called the dealership where they made the appointment to check the car for the next day. I took the car in and they said that the tech had not cleared the codes from when they replaced the switch from the previous week. So after replacing the tires during this time I received the car back on Oct 12th.

On Oct 17th after starting the car and sitting in the car for about 1 minute, the car started to lock and unlock the doors (the car will usually lock the doors after it is put into drive only unless you press the lock/unlock button). When I heard the locks engaging, I looked at the instrument panel and noticed that my tpms light was flashing, about 10 seconds later all the lights went off and the speedometer and rpm instruments started to fluctuate (I also have video proof of this as well since the dealership said I had to get a video again of what it was doing before they could do anything). I immediately called the dealership and had the car towed to them that day. On Oct 26th the dealership called to say that they could not get the car to duplicate the issue and that I would need to contact Kia corporate to try and get a resolution.

A week later our case was moved to an escalation case manager (who I can never seem to get a hold of). It took about 2 weeks for the case manager to finally call at a time I could talk with her in person, not just have messages on voicemail. They keep the car and test drove it for what I would say was about 2.5 to 3 weeks, when I received a phone call stating that the car had actually finally had the issue while the service guy was driving it, however when it was put on the computer no codes showed up, as it had on the previous times that they had put the car on the computer to look for codes on the issue. During this time I had a loaner from the dealership, which I called on Nov 27th to say that loaner was close to needing an oil change.

On Nov 29th I received a call from the dealership stating that the Kia tech line had looked at the issue and found that items that were under the passenger seat were what was causing the issue and that the service tech had taken the items out from under the seat (which not everything was out from under the seat when I took possession of the car today and I might add against my opinion on taking the car back) and that Kia tech line stated that there was no safety issue with the car should the issue reoccur because for the week that they had test drove it after cleaning from under the seat the issue had not occurred again. The dealership stated that I would need to take the car back and drive it until the field tech could schedule an appointment for sometime in January 2018.

If the issue occurred again I was informed to call the dealership immediately and they would document it and report it to the field tech when he was at the dealership in January. Now I'm am trying to research what my options are, although MO seems to have one of the worst lemon laws for car owners. This will be the last Kia that we buy (and we have had two previous models- a Sedona and Optima)!!! We thought buying it brand new that we would not have any issues but this has been nothing but a headache. Hopefully our car will not seize up while we have to drive it!!!

I then had the car towed to Kia dealership where they informed me that there was a recall ion engines, but my car was not included because it is a HYBRID. (I was livid.) I was then told that since my car had 100,000 miles on it it was no longer in warranty and they wouldn't cover it. I was then told that they could open a claim but I would have to pay 124.99 to have them diagnose the engine failure before they could send claim. (Mind you I had just paid to have a diagnostic at a professional mechanic shop).

Hesitant I paid to have them diagnose the problem of engine failure. They sent claim off, asked me to get all of my records, which I did. I was called 2 hours later to say that they will not cover. And I am responsible for 5,700 for a new engine. I firmly believe that Kia should stand behind their product and replace the engine. There are far too many engine related complaints that are not being addressed. I have opened another case and waiting on them to return my call at this point.

Updated on 11/15/2017: This is an update to a previous complaint. Well after waiting almost 2 month getting nothing but a runaround I was told that repairs would not be made to my engine on the 2012 Optima. My case was sent to escalation which is a total joke and the sarcasm is unbelievable. They are not empathetic and basically sound like they are reading from a standard script. It is ridiculous that Kia does not stand behind their products when there is an obvious issue with engines including hybrid. At this point I will file with the BBB and also seek legal counsel.

I called Kia and opened a case, and 10 days later (even though we were told we would get a callback in 2-3 days) we were just told that Kia will not honor their warranty since we are slightly over in miles. A 6-year-old vehicle that has been maintained should NOT have a total engine failure! We also own a 2015 Kia Optima and we will be selling both vehicles now and not recommending Kia to anyone. The fact that Kia does not stand behind their vehicles speaks volumes. No more Kias for us. Very frustrating.

Once in Greer KIA, was advised engine recall would cover replacement cost; however it told two months to replace. Was also advised the dealer would have to "retro-fit" original long block with short block engine (finally received repaired Optima first week in February, 2017). Fast forward to August 13, 2017. While driving at approximately 60 mph, engine burst into flames. Through God's grace no one was hurt. In conversation with KIA Consumer Assistance in CA, was directed to Corp Claims. I was contacted by Alex who advised he was handling claim. Alex had a KIA Inspector visit Greer from CA to determine cause of fire. After 4 weeks, Alex said the cause of fire was inconclusive--that is (in my opinion) because the fire was so intense the evidence is destroyed! Originally I told Alex all I want is my 2012 vehicle replaced by KIA and doesn't matter what brand vehicle. His initial offer was a "Goodwill" offer (as he called it) of $4,000.

I refused his offer and reiterated I wanted car replaced and requested a copy of the inspector’s report. Alex said he did not have a written report; I called him a liar and said legally if they inspected my Optima they had to write a report. According to the KIA Greer there was a report written but they were not allow a copy. Alex counter offered a Goodwill offer of $8,000 and wanted possession of the Optima. Again I refused the offer if they were to take the vehicle. Throughout the ordeal, Alex continued to suggest I have my insurance pay. After advisement, I relented and filed with insurance as we had to have a replacement. We have had to pay off Optima and find a way to buy a replacement vehicle. Is there any recourse? Anyone able to help?

I will never recommend nor buy another Kia and let everyone know how they honor their work. It's a shame to own a car only a few years old and the paint is already coming off. He didn't have much to say. I also told him I already read that many more people have complained about this very same problem so People Beware if you Own or are thinking about buying a Kia or a Hyundai after 36,000 miles your Paint is on you.

The shop was having difficulty finding any electrical short, so I researched the VIN and discovered the recall on the faulty engine, and had the car towed to Carlock Kia of Tuscaloosa AL., where a charge of $850 for another starter, (dealer service said it was dangerous to the engine and the battery was also bad, of which none of these things were a problem prior to the engine failure). Out of the over $1000 of out of pocket costs due to the engine failure, Kia of America took responsibility for $275. This is my FIRST AND LAST KIA purchase and I say, buyer beware!!!

I called KIA Consumer to get my car payments reimbursed since I made all them on time and never had my vehicle. Bryan from Kia consumer was happy to get those 4 months reimbursed to me no problem. BUT now I am getting the run around from KIA Consumer on my reimbursement check. I was told it was sent out by USPS 3 weeks ago from California and it still hasn't made it, so I talked to Bryan again and he said he is having it sent out again by FED-EX that was 2 weeks ago and still no check! He has now not returning any emails and won't provide me with a tracking number for FED-EX. I have asked to speak to supervisors and no one will patch me through to one. KIA CONSUMER is a ** joke! They are suppose to help the consumer not feed us BS and give us the runaround.

I bought this car after saving and saving my money and put $5000 down to get it. I am in no way prepared to pay to have a new engine installed less than a year later. Kia has offered to pay for the parts if I pay for the labor. They have let me know that this is a generous offer and I should be grateful that they are making any offer at all. My feeling is that if they were truly reputable they would own up to the issues they are having and make good on their mistake. 1st, 2nd or 3rd owner, it doesn't matter and using the scapegoat response of "lack of maintenance" because of sludge in the engine due to their metal shavings is ridiculous. I will make sure to tell my family, friends and anyone else what kind of product they produce and how they deal with issues that are their fault. Meanwhile, I have gone over a month without a vehicle and see no choice but to pay for the labor but I am going to continue to pursue this with Kia corporate.

I found documentation on the NHTSA website about a recall that would soon be issued for the said defect. The following week I took my car to the dealer for a separate recall. While there, I communicated the issue with my car burning oil and asked about the recall that had yet to be formally issued for the engine. The dealership was, at that time, unaware that this recall was coming. The dealership told me to bring it back after I receive the engine recall notice. When I received the notice, I did what the dealership directed me to do, I took it back in. The dealership tested my engine for the knocking sound, my car passed however because my car was burning so much oil (a quart per 1000 miles) the dealership told me to drive it and bring it back in 1000 miles and they would check to see how much oil it had burned and then they would go from there. At 900 miles, I checked and the oil was already at the L on the dip stick.

A few days later I received a call from the dealership, they wanted to look at a few other things and needed me to bring my car back in. I dropped my car off with them yesterday. This morning I received a call from the dealership saying that corporate wants the dealership to investigate deeper into the engine however corporate will not pay for the work to investigate deeper. The work is $100/hour and they do not know how many hours it will take to find what they are looking for.

If I pay for the investigation hours and they deem that the engine is defective, they will reimburse me but if they do not find what they deem to be a manufacturing defect then I will be right back at square one and will also owe a repair bill. I do not understand the logic of KIA at this point. I am a consumer complaints manager for a very large corporation. I have extensive training and years of experience on how to handle consumer complaints. I thoroughly understand the importance of keeping the customer happy. A happy customer is a repeat customer and at the end of the day that is what keeps companies in business. Asking a customer to pay for a consumer complaint investigation is unheard of and I feel that is what KIA is currently asking me to do.

The oil burning issue began before the car was out of warranty, this was communicated with them before the car was out of warranty. I have done everything KIA directed me to do. It almost seems as though KIA is putting up just enough roadblocks to keep from having to fix an issue that they manufactured. This is not right, it's not good business, and it isn't how companies get repeat customers nor is it how companies stay in business long term!!! I would like for KIA to do the right thing and fix my Optima. The dealership that my car is with has been nothing but helpful and courteous, they are not the ones dropping the ball, KIA is!!! I am giving KIA the opportunity to do the right thing otherwise I will be forced to take further action.

The mechanic then told me that the car would need a new engine and, I wouldn’t be covered under warranty. I felt so hurt and confused; I did my job as a good car owner and here I was with a dead car. Later that evening I found out online that I wasn’t the only one with the same issue. I was in fact lucky to have not have had the engine quit on while I was driving. Many other owners had the same issue with their optimas but they were being serviced through their warranty and even notice of a RECALL. I NEVER GOT NOTIFIED, NEVER RECEIVED A LETTER OR PHONE CALL! My car sits in my yard like a blemish. When I tried to reach out to the dealership where my car came from they treated me as if I didn’t matter. They wouldn’t return my phones or give me any answers about the recall.

I felt stupid for trusting the KIA brand. It was the worst car mistake I have ever made. It’s been two months and counting and I still can’t get an answer on what they will do for me to fix my car. I have no car, no way of transporting myself and my children. To make matters worse, I am still making payments on my car. A car I can’t drive or use because of the dealer and manufacturer’s fault. My question is, what should I do now, and why aren’t I being considered important like the rest of the KIA consumers who were noticed and had their cars repairs.

I question the way they conduct their business. My car came from KIA in PUERTO RICO, and I live and reside in St. Croix. KIA is treating me as worthless as my car is. Is this a matter of discrimination or what? I’m loyal a consumer who purchased a car from KIA and now the car is dead while I am still making payments. I am kindly requesting your office to intervene and help me solve this urgent matter. I hope that no one gets treated how I am being treated.

On Thursday they tell me that I need a new engine because it blew. I told him that I just received a letter from Kia Corp. stating my call Vin# had a Safety recall if that is part of it. He stated yes, he put in for a new Engine and I was approved by the following Monday. I also got a rental from them that Kia is paying for a cheap ** Nissan Versa, that goes 0-60 in 5 min on the highway but at least it takes me from point A to B. I asked how long would it take for the engine to come in they stated the 2011 Kia Optima Engines are on back order. That they do not have a TBA on how long it will be. This was on Monday June 26th.

I call yesterday Tues, July 18th and they still don't have a TBA on when the engines are coming in. REALLY KIA, REALLY!!! I am paying on a loan for a car that is sitting in the dirt behind a Kia Dealership collecting dust. Why I have a car note to pay for. If you are giving me a new engine just give me a new car. It seem that I will never get my car back. By the way the service department is saying they don't know. They don't have an idea. KIA give me a new car for all the heartache and trouble I have gone through in regards of the vehicle. ***I just want to make one thing straight that this has nothing to do with Lake City Kia Dealership they've been very people and courteous, it's the Kia Corporation. *Has anyone with this recall has received their engine and car already?

Kia is a horrible corruption. Like come on. My car is only 5 years old I don't even think there is something that I could have done wrong to have metal shavings in an engine so young. They said that my car was made in a different country then the car's covered under the recall but said that they would try and see if I could get an engine at Kia cost no not pay for labor. And I'm just like fix that car. It's your people's ** up.

I took it upon myself to call KIA Consumer Affair (Terry). I explained to her exactly what happen and what I was told. She put me on hold and called the dealership, after 35 minutes she came back and told me that was not the protocol for the recall due to safety issue the car was not suppose to leave the lot until the car was fixed and considered safe to drive and I needed to be placed in a loaner car now. I returned to the dealership to get the loaner car and return my vehicle. Jacob ** approached me and said, "I just got my butt chewed out by my manager because you called KIA Consumer Affairs." I told him safety is my first priority. He went on to say, "I could lose my job." I told him he need to follow the KIA protocol from now on.

I was told that I would be picked up by Enterprise rental car for a car because there were none left on the lot due to this recall. At Enterprise most of their rentals were also gone due to this recall. I feel discriminated against because my safety was not important to this technician. I severity hope that this will not be the way customers be treated when coming in on this SC147 recall. KIA Consumer Affairs need to re-educate the service technician on the protocol when handling this situation... I am very disappointed in the treatment I received!!

I had the Rio towed by roadside assistance to our local Kia dealer. KIA OF DARTMOUTH, MASS. I went with the tow truck and got to the dealership and signed the car in. The Rio has 22,500 miles on it and we bought it new with 17 miles on it. In April 2015. The woman in the dealer said it "sounds like the EB cable might be stuck and it is under warranty. The dealer had the car all day. I called at 4 pm to get a status update.

The technician could not reproduce the smoke or burning smell but the back brakes "did show some wear and it could be burning". I agreed to let the service manager drive the Rio home for the night, about 10 miles, to see if the burning can be reproduced after a long drive. I called the dealer on the morning of June 15. I was told by the service manager that they could not find an issue causing smoking or burning. They did note the rear brake pads are in the slides. Recommended service for a rear brake job. This car has 21,500 miles on it and the BACK BRAKES are wearing quicker than the front. On a front wheel drive car, the wear patterns should be opposite. The cost of the brake job $299.00.

I asked about the warranty as the car is still in the 5 years, 60K warranty period. I was told that "the brake pads and rotors are a wear item so it is not a warranty issue". I broke down what was going on per the manager and my conversation that the brake pad slides malfunctioned, causing the brake pads to constantly rub against the rotor causing wear. If the slides had not malfunctioned, then there would not be any issues with the brakes. I was denied again. I called Kia customer service. Opened a claim with Kia corporate I called the dealer back to tell them of the claim. The service manager was not too happy about the claim being filed. "Brake pads and rotors are wear items and we have to send all warranty defective parts back to the warehouse and if there was no warranty in place, we do not get reimbursed".

I again explained the cascade of the issues. Slides--brake pads rubbing on rotor--brake pads and rotors wear out. I was then allowed to take the car home with possible overheating brakes in the back. The car is now parked in our driveway until we hear from Kia corporate. The Optima will soon go in for its recall so we will be left with no car. I am ready to pay the $299 and seek reimbursement through Kia. Just to relieve the stress of it all.

Last time I checked it has the same engine V6 2.4 liter like all the other people cars engine failing and my did too. So ended up paying $5500 for a refurbished engine. So I will be getting in contact with Kia and lawyer to get my reimbursement for this life threatening engine. Recall did not specify what time of Kia Optima, they use the same engine! I am pissed!

When I received my car back I smelled oil. A.C. wasn't blowing out. I took my car back the same day. The manager said they didn't get all the oil from under my car due to the oil leak. On the 3rd day my car wouldn't start. Had to get a jump off. Took it back. He claim they put it on the machine and everything came back fine. But my car wasn't doing none of that before I took it there. I called corporate headquarters. They never call back. I have to keep calling. They acting real **. Kevin is my worker. He has a bad attitude with an IDGAF mind frame. I am a single mother with no transpo. I love my car. First time owning a lease and last time I will be riding or driving one. I'm tired of being friendly. It's time to get a lawyer and take further actions from here on out. I have lost wages and I have migraines due to stress. They have poor service and the cars or crappy.

I get a call from my local repair shop later that evening saying that they went to crank the car and it will not start. I get the car towed to Kia and was advised the engine had locked up, and that it is covered under warranty, that was 03/06/2017. Here is where my problem lies, the dealership in which my car is at, was unable to provide me with a loaner because I live out of state. I asked the young lady "Well my mom lives here, could you give her the loaner and I can just drive her car back?" We are listed on each other's insurance policies. I was advised no. Totally frustrated I just purchased a bus ticket back home. A 22 hour bus ride for a 7 hour car drive.

I called on 03/13/2017 to get an update and was advised that the engine was on back order and I would be looking a 10 days. So I called my local dealer. Spoke with the service manager. Explained everything to him, and he also advised that the engine was on back order with no ETA, however he had no problem with providing me a loaner if was able to get the car towed to their dealer. He also provided me with 1-800-333-4kia. I called and spoke with a gentleman who escalated my issue. I explained to the representative supervisor that this vehicle is my only form of transportation as I am a traveling home health aide. I need a vehicle to drive. Megan is her name. Said that she would call the dealer to verify what I was telling her.

On 03/24/2017 I get a call back from Megan advising me that she verified the information that I was given, and the only thing that she could do was offer me rental car reimbursement and that they would reimburse 20 a day for a non Kia, and 30 a day for a Kia and that does not include taxes and fees, I told her I can't afford that. She said "I'm sorry but that is all we can do." I go online to look at rental car rates at all the companies and I'm looking at 350 a week for an economy car not including fees. 3/27/2017 I speak back with Megan and advised of the rates and told her that is not feasible and that Kia needed to think outside the box on how to resolve my issue. I then propose to her that Kia arrange to have to vehicle towed from South Carolina to Florida where I live to my local dealership since I have to wait and at least I can be provided with a loaner.

I was advised the Kia Consumer Affairs with only pay for towing once the repairs are complete, and that my motor had already been ordered through Kia company and that I just have to wait! I then asked since we are on the topic of reimbursement as well, is Kia able to reimburse me for my bus ticket? She told me I can submit it for review along with my receipts from Uber. At this time I'm seeking a lawyer because this is totally unacceptable. How can a company that knew that had a particular issue with a certain engine not issue a recall, instead of "If it happens we will address it at that time." Not only that why isn't there a stockpile of engines somewhere due to Kia knowing that this issue is out there.

I will never recommend the purchase of a Kia to anyone. I won't buy another one myself. KIA does not care about consumers because if they did they would have other measures in place to aid in customer satisfaction being that people are already being inconvenience due their poorly manufactured vehicles. Here is issue number two I have with this vehicle. I also noticed while on this trip that while getting gas it leaks. When I called into Consumer Affairs I was advised of all these other campaigns opened on this vehicle. Sad part about issue number 2 is Kia is not willing to look at it until issue number 1 is remedied. I am the second owner of this vehicle and I feel like I purchased an underdeveloped lemon.

The Kia's Optima manual states not to tow from rear regardless of it having flat tires, in my case, I had flat tires (all four) and tires have sport edition rims which should have been a big caution sign (visible) not to tow vehicle from the rear. I will be emailing other responsible individuals within Kia, BBB and other necessary parties. During my own investigation, I interviewed a tow driver who conducted service when talking to a Kia service department in Covina, he mentioned and described the appropriate method of towing my vehicle because of the flat tires and sport edition rims. He stated, that the flat tire on the driver side should have been replaced with the spare tire (easily accessed from the trunk).

After replacing the flat tire with the spare tire, my vehicle should have been towed from the front bumper on to the flat bed. It was obvious, that this method is commonly know by tow truck drivers and used to prevent damages on vehicles being serviced. It is unfortunate that in time of need, I utilized Kia's warranty service which is offered to its customers and highly advertised and in return an unprofessional tow truck driver was contracted and completely ignored the proper method and therefore damaged my vehicle. I with my own eyes saw when my vehicle was towed from the rear on to the flat and both bumpers were scraped from the bottom. The front bumper was pulled apart from the entire body in the way I could see it almost come apart. The cracks on the front bumper clearly illustrated on the photos and are the result of improper towing service.

I also just had the car in because the steering wheel was loose, very unsafe. I researched the issue and sure enough it was not just me with the issue it was a recall. I never got anything notifying me of the recall. I also have a annoying piece of folded paper keeping my side mirrors button up from causing my side mirrors to click even when the car is off and this is not covered under warranty and will cost at least $400 for a simple button issue. The car isn't worth the price and Kia needs to be given the credit for the horrible service of not taking care of the problems that are obviously due to faulty parts in combination with poor customer service. It has cost me more than the cost of the car. It has cost me my son's birthday his football game and now I have to pay for a rental for because they will not even when the car was 4 months old provide a rental while my car was in shop for over a week!

Do not buy a Kia esp the Optima and never take it to Kingman Kia to be repaired (my only option being I moved from California to Arizona.). "They said how do we know it was us that left the mounting brackets off..." unbelievable! Maybe because when my brand new car needed a new engine because it was not repaired properly the first time at Kia of riverside so I had to take it to Kia in Kingman being I moved to AZ from Cali... a month after purchasing the car. Then your Kia in Kingman who had it for 2 weeks replacing the engine did not mount it so it's been sliding around rubbing the oil line!

The service has been ridiculous bad/ time responding bad/follow ups from Headquarters super bad not to mentioned many more. I won't say more, but to tell people that are reading this blog to simply STAY AWAY FROM GETTING ON A SORENTO!!! DO NOT BUY ONE!!! YOU WILL GET WHITE HAIRS!!! Definitely not a fan of Kia anymore!!! I am thinking of going back to HONDA.

Updated on 2/16/2017: I just wanted to follow up on my previous post. Since then the dealership said that they sent pictures of the inside of my engine to Kia and that there was oil sludge inside. As a result I needed to show proof of every oil change that I had done since I bought my car or Kia would deny the claim. I was able to provide bank and credit card statements of the services but the service tech at my Kia dealership laughed and said these weren't proof that an oil change had been performed and he doubted that Kia would approve.

I called to follow up a week later and was told Kia denied my claim. I immediately wrote directly to Kia. A few days later, to my surprise, Kia called. The person that I talked to on the phone said that my claim had not been denied but that they had requested more photos from the dealership as the ones that were sent were too dark. He called the dealership while I waited but no one answered. He left them a message and said Kia would get back to me and gave me a case #. I called Kia a couple of times afterwards but had to leave messages.

Two weeks later a woman from Kia called and said she was assigned to my case. She said they were waiting for the dealership to send more pictures, I about lost it on the phone but managed to be polite and conveyed to her that I was told that two weeks ago. By the way, I had to go out and buy a used car so that I could work. Some days later she called to tell me that Kia would be fixing my car under the warranty. Yay. A week later she called to say that the parts were on backorder and she would keep my informed of the status. She called every week to say that she didn't have any news.

Finally, a few days ago, my dealership called to say that the parts had just arrived and that the install would take two days and they would need to drive the car for about 50 miles to make sure it was running smoothly. I went by today to check on it and was told that during the install they realized that the parts that they were going to reuse were damaged so they are now waiting for those parts to arrive. I should have my car back soon with all new engine parts. We'll see. The point of me writing is to inform anyone having this issue to push Kia hard on fixing it. The lawsuit should have pushed to Kia to a recall and unfortunately, thousands of people found themselves spending $8000 or ruining their credit. Don't let them tell you no.

However, about two weeks later, Kia Motors America mailed me a letter stating about their warranty extensions and how I was a qualified candidate for this matter at hand. After reading the letter thoroughly, the clicking noise was to blame for a small, plastic piece at the very end of the steering wheel column and it is called a coupling. I was ecstatic about the letter and how Kia will reimburse (if I had fixed the issue before the warranty extension program). Needless to say, the vehicle was fixed and covered under an extended warranty from Kia. And after nine months of ownership, I can say I just had to replace the battery seven days after I purchased the vehicle and primarily the dealer's fault, as well as mine for not getting the vehicle a certified check (with a five-day test drive), and I had to replace the proximity keys' batteries which were inexpensive and easy to fix.

My experience with this Kia Optima has been sensational with no mechanical problems or electrical problems. It is majestic with great and appealing looks with being noticed as a sporty, sharp car from the majority, who likes it especially with the panoramic moonroofs, LED tail lamps, Snow White Pearl metallic paint and it’s impressive angles. As always, the key to a successful vehicle is to follow the owner manual's steps when it comes to some mechanical components, as well as other key features to make your ownership experience immensely impeccable, fundamentally.

Kia has also admitted to both myself and my wife, that they did extend the warranty but they continue to tell us that our model is not covered. The two models that they say are covered are the Optima and Sorento as seen below in the email excerpt. Our vehicle has the same identical engine as the other two models that are covered. We need help. We have been given the runaround for a couple weeks and seem to be at the highest level of appeal at Kia, even this "escalation office" has made us wait almost five days for an answer. We created a page to unite people with the same issue. Search Kia engine failure on Facebook.

After waiting two weeks, I contacted them and was told the part was never ordered because they didn’t believe it was needed. The service department told me it was just an update and said they couldn’t call to tell me that because they didn’t have my phone number. This was difficult to believe since they would call me to verify each service appt I made. I made another appt for them to do the update and the check engine light came on again on the drive home. I contacted the service department again and was told it was probably the catalytic converter and I needed to schedule another service appt to have it replaced. I expressed my frustration saying I just wanted to get the car fixed so I can trade it in. I was told "I probably owed too much money on the car and couldn’t afford to do that." I told them regardless I had gone through 4 appointments and was still having issues.

At this point, I was so frustrated so I contacted the Kia Customer Service. I spoke to Representative who listened to my story and contact both Son’s Kia and Kia of Carland while I was on hold to get my service history. The rep stated I could switch service to another KIA dealership about 30 mins away. The rep also stated that he would assign me a case manager who would contact me within a few days to make sure we had assistance in getting the issue resolved. We made a service appt and were told it was the catalytic converter which would take a week to order and receive. The service dept did contact us when the part arrived but was told they could not fix it on Saturday since they only do oil changes on that day. We inquired about getting a loaner and dropping off the vehicle and were told they were unsure when it would be available.

Today, I contacted KIA customer service again since a case manager never called me as previously promised. I was told there was no record of my previous conversation and no documentation that the other Kia’s had been contacted. No case had ever been made and no case manager ever assigned. At this point, I became so frustrated I began to cry. I explained the story once again that we had been through 3 dealerships, 5 service appts, and 2 phone calls to Kia customer service just to get this issue resolved. I was told by the representative that he could not make the dealership to change his schedule to fix my car on Saturday. I never once asked him to do such a thing. I was only wanting help figuring out how to get my car fixed since the only day I have off is Saturday and they don’t fix cars on that day at that dealership.

I was told by the representative that I would have to work out something with the dealership and that is all that could be done. This is the 5th Kia that we have owned and I never would have thought I would have this problem. I just want to get the car fixed so I can trade it in and never own another KIA. I don’t trust the car, the dealerships, or the corporation.

I was contacted by Kia Customer Service (KCS) on 11/14/16. My situation was reviewed and I was given a case number. I was told someone from KCS would be contacting me in a few days to resolve my issue. When I didn’t receive a return call within a week, I called back on 11/21/16. I was told then by KCS that my case was given to an escalated case manager who would contact me by 11/23/16. No one ever called so I called KIA Customer Service back on 11/28/16. That representative told me that all of KCS was on holiday last week and no one would have been there to call. The rep verified my phone number which was outdated. I gave rep the correct number which she later found since someone had called me before. The rep stated that I had a new case number, why I do not know.

The rep stated that someone would call me back in a couple days. I related that I was frustrated because every conversation I had had with KIA Customer Service I was told someone would call me back and never did. The rep proceeded to tell me the dates that I had called which only listed a few. To date, I have called 5 times since October. The rep stated that it took time to contact the dealerships which I’m surprised took 28 days to do. I really thought contacting KIA Customer Service would result in action and I would finally get my car fixed. However, the opposite is true. To keep count, I've been through 5 phone calls to KIA Customer Service, 5 service appointments, and 3 different KIA dealerships and my car still needs to be repaired.

I overheard the girl behind the desk saying it wasn't there. She was shocked to see me walk in as I caught her talking about me... Let's just say she never e-mailed me that survey that she said she would send before this happened. It would of been a bad review for her. They did get the scratch out for me eventually but I am sure they thought it wasn't their fault. DO YOUR ASSESSMENT.

Second incident - another flat tire. The person who sold me my car said that "I keep blowing the tires." Insinuating it is my fault. So there on after I literally have to avoid all bumps in the road causing me to drive uncomfortably. Third incident - Brakes failed on me three times. Had I been closer to the car in front of me, I would of crashed or could of hurt someone walking. I pulled over after the first time and called KIA. Told them what happened and they asked me "So, you're afraid to drive the car?" Uhh... YES!!! (Unbelievable)...

After getting off the phone with them, I decided to try the brakes again with no one in front of me and twice they failed. You would step on them and they would flutter, make a loud noise and the car would NOT STOP. I got the car towed. Roadside assistance charged me $70 and they weren't supposed to. When they came to pick up the car, they didn't have a destination for my car and told me I would have to pay MORE to bring the car to another location. I was supposed to be charged ZERO dollars for this whole process. (I am still trying to get reimbursed). Car eventually got back to KIA and I was told that there is nothing wrong with the brakes. Nothing at all. 90% on the left and right side. The guy went through all the check for the brakes.

"Ok, so why didn't the car stop," I asked. He said, "I don't know." At this point, I didn't feel comfortable without knowing the WHY to my question, and that there was nothing to fix. It's a very scary thing. I made a visit to the dealership and spoke with a manager there about my concerns. He said to me "Maybe it was your mind and you stepped on the gas pedal." Probably THE WORST response to provide to a client about their concern.

A month later I get in my car (that's how long since I've been in it) and I found a piece of paper with someone else's information in it. A different name, different car, different case, different vin number. So now I am wondering, "Did they even check the right car for the right person, right problem?" I called KIA consumer affairs. I had them document this issue. They really didn't help much. I asked to switch out cars, give me something I feel safe in. They told me it would cost me $1000 and an extra $100 a month. So I would be paying $415/mo for a Nissan Altima. I just feel that it's important that people know about my case because it is a very serious issue. I feel that I shouldn't have to pay more for a problem I didn't cause. It's cheaper and safer for me to take the bus. It's a matter of doing the right thing by people and that KIA did not do. Be careful with these cars.

Rotors brake pads has to be changed at 25k and again at 50k and needs it again. Mind you I don't drive it hard at all. I was told the rotors and brake pads on a new Kia are among the cheapest, & I would have to replace both the rotors and brakes all around to elevate the continuing issue. (I had a 2007 Nissan and at 75k never had to replace the brakes or anything for that matter.) Clear coat on front bumper cracked and pealing completely off. Kia refused to look into the issue blaming it on me for rocks and debris causing damage. Warranty not transferable (no need to say anything on this).

I was happy with this polished ** only until about 25k miles when the first issue happened with the steering column rubbing together. Then it was the turbo. Several times I took it to the dealership for the repair. They said it was too much oil. Drained some oil, it kept doing it. I took it back in all 4 to 5 times before they found out it was the wastegate. Then it's the turbo oil line and even though I've had several issues with the turbo, it's out of warranty now and they refuse the fix. Currently it's the fuel gauge sending unit. While this could happen on any car I feel very strongly Kia uses the cheapest parts available essentially selling lemons and even though there has been several complaints refuses recalls. Several times I was left on a tollway where the speed limit is 80 because car refused to accelerate.

All around bad for business, and I will continue to fight for justice & deny recommendations to everyone wanting to purchase any type of Kia. Kia needs to recognize that the vehicles they continue to put on the road are unsafe, and unreliable and they need to own up to it, & set responsible recalls. All around cheaply made, but look great. Seems they have it backwards. I do not recommend to anyone, and I will not buy another.

There were many customers just like me at the dealership dealing with the same problem, that says to me you there is a problem and rather than issue a recall and get them off the road you would RATHER JEOPARDIZE OUR LIVES AND PACIFY THE SITUATION BY ISSUING SERVICE BULLETIN. The fact is you all are responsible and should be held liable for all the inconvenience and dangers we consumers face everyday in this dangerous unsafe hazardous cars you call Kia's.

Was in shop a few weeks ago, needed new throttle body ($500). "That fixed it", NO IT DIDN'T. Did not even make it home, light came on, van went into "limp" mode. Now, we're at $2,500 total repair bill and still have a defective van. Called Kia, but like everyone else, that did not do any good. Don't plan on buying another Kia. I did get a loaner for a couple of months, the Kia Optima. Wasn't real impressed with it either. Van is too old for Lemon Law so exploring options of contacting local news outlet for a story and looking at small claims court. Looking at replacing, but reading other reviews I'm wondering, "Where can you get an affordable vehicle that someone will stand behind when it's bad?"

They wanted all of my maintenance receipts. We don't have ALL of them. And when I called another dealership to get a copy of the maintenance they did on my car, they said I must show ID and have to drive all the way down there in person to get it, because they won't fax it. Are you kidding me??? How am I supposed to get there with NO CAR!!! I'm so upset!!! I have owned a Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Accord, Lexus and have NEVER EVER had any problems like this!!! And a couple of those cars I bought used and they went over the 100,000 mile mark with NO issues. This is a KIA engine issue, NOT a car owner issue. Why are they putting the blame on us.

If they are going to give me the runaround like everyone else, I am going to get a lawyer, contact the media and go out of my way to make this public. Even if I have to go into the dealership and warn everyone not buy a car from them. We are getting treated like ** as if this is our fault!!! I currently have NO transportation to work and am going to be forced to rent a car...at my own expense, for a problem in their manufacturing!!! I don't have the $$ to do this. FYI it looks like there is a class action lawsuit going out of Redlands, CA with an attorney McCune **. I will be joining that. When will they stop being shady and admit they have a problem with their engines???

The service tech called my husband and said that the motor was blown and when he explained the warranty paperwork my husband was told that due to poor maintenance records we voided the warranty. All oil changes except 3 have been done at KIA dealerships and they stated we needed to get them those records before they would do anything. My husband told them that even if we missed the oil changes (which we did not) with the use of only synthetic oil that the oil does not break down like that to cause a motor to blow and there is oil in the motor. Greg the tech told my husband he understands what he is saying, but that is what Kia requires. My husband also told Greg that you cannot determine the reason for a blown motor until the motor is taken apart. They still required the proof of oil changes and that they would have to get with KIA corporate.

A week goes by and we hear nothing. My husband calls and Greg stated they were waiting on corporate and asked for the proof again. Another week goes by and Greg calls stating they have not heard from corporate and wants to know if we have. 2 weeks goes by and we hear nothing! I call Kia corporate, consumer affairs on 8/1216 and I am told they have nothing. I talk with Monica, explain everything and she states she will call the dealership and call me back within 3 business days. 8/13/16 I get a voicemail from Greg at the dealership wanting to know if we heard anything because they have not. How amazing is that!

8/18/16 I call Monica back because I have heard nothing and Ali answers and says that my claim has been escalated to him and he sees that they still have not heard back from KIA dealership. Amazing considering I received a voicemail from Greg Saturday and the reason I called was because my husband just received a voicemail from Greg.

Poor Ali had to deal with me, I was not as nice as I usually am because it is obvious that communication is a big problem here. During our conversation I did tell Ali that I had already consulted with an attorney and if I had to go that route I would. I also explained that I had talked to a local news channel, which I had and they were waiting to hear back from me. I also told ALI that he can google KIA engine failure and see all the other people with the same issue.

This has nothing to do with poor maintenance, but with an engine defect that KIA needs to take care of and stop treating the people who spend their money on a purchase and expect common courtesy instead of feeling like they have done something wrong when they have not and have maintained the vehicle per the owners manual that states oil changes every 7500 miles not 5000 like the service techs say. It is synthetic oil which is supposed to give longer oil life and less oil changes! Toyota only requires oil changes every 10,000 miles.

Ali went through the whole voiding of warranty etc. I let him have it because no one has even verified if it was a bad rod in the motor which was the reason Kia sent the letters to all the owners of the vehicles from 2013-2015. (I know 3 other owners that received the same letter with an extension to 120,000 miles.) How do they know without looking? Why has no one contacted me and why is Greg calling saying they have not heard from corporate?

Ali was professional and understanding. Ali stated that he was escalating this to the manager at my dealership and he would call the service manager and call me back. I asked him to place me on hold and call then do a conference call. 10 minutes on hold and Ali came back stating that Don the service manager would be calling me within 2 hours to discuss. I told Ali I would be calling him the next day to let him know that I did not hear from Don because I knew he would not call. I apologized to Ali because it is not his fault he had to hear me when it is the dealership's fault and should have been in touch. Ali stated that he has it noted and this should not have taken a month.

I NEVER received a call from Don the service manager!!! 8/19/16 I receive a call from someone else at KIA corporate stating she was calling with an update. I asked why Ali was not calling and she stated she did not know that she was just calling to let me know that the dealership had ordered my engine to replace. I asked if this meant that this was covered by the warranty and she stated yes. I thanked her and asked her to note that once I get my car from KIA MALL of GEORGIA that it will never go back there and I will never step foot back in there because of all of this. She stated she was just the messenger and I told her I understood and I was very Thankful for her call.

8/24/16 I call and leave a message for Greg in service to find out the status and when to expect my car to be ready, no return call. 8/25/16, today I get a call from Rick with the service department that my car is ready for pick up. I have my car with a new motor in it. The paperwork states the following "verified concern, removed valve cover to inspect, no sludge. Removed oil pan and found rod bearing material from #2 rod bearing failure" "removed and replaced long block assembly per tech line" remain sub engine.

Needless to say, it was one of my worst life experiences in my 45 years and why do you have to threaten legal action to get something done? I made 2 car payments without a car, no offer to give me a loaner car and no offer to reimburse me for being put out without my car for almost 6 weeks, but I have my car back now and I am happy about that. Our plan is to keep the car for maybe 6 months and trade it. I work from home now so the mileage will barely reach 1000,000 by then and I will go back to Chevy! I had one previous KIA optima 2001, and had no problems with it until my son totaled it, so that is why I went with KIA again but brand new this time and look at this. I am happy now and wanted to share my story so others with the same problem can give my example and get things taken care of. Thank you.

Hit the offender in the pocketbook and capitalize on bad press. I am getting cards printed. One side just says, "Google Kia engine failure." The other side will have a selection of links to sites as this. I will stand on the sidewalk in front of Kia dealers and hand them out to people driving onto the lots. Then when they call the police, I call the media. When I see a Kia anywhere, a card goes under the wiper.

The US has better consumer protection laws than Canada so guerilla tactics are called for. Never do anything illegal, never trespass, always be polite, always be a serious pain in the ass. A grass roots revolt may not resolve the matter, but it will make their lives unpleasant and bring me a form of cold comfort. Luckily I am semi-retired and have the time to take this on as a hobby. Kia's approach is just plain bad on so many levels and we consumers shouldn't just roll over. Hyundai had the same problem, but they stood up for it and kept some credibility.

I can't afford to keep a dead car as yard art so will have to figure out how to fix it, then dump it, but it violates my ethics to sell it to some other unsuspecting schmuck. If Kia only warranties replacement engines for 12 months it shows how much confidence they have. That said, if it was a 200K warranty it would still be worthless.

We got a call from Chris ** on July the 8th that our car was not being covered because of bad maintenance records. I said "take the motor apart and you will see that the engine has been maintained." We now are responsible for our own rental car cost and it is going to be 10,000 dollars to fix your car. After this call I drove my sister's car to Lee Kia and took the license plate off the vehicle and took pictures of the engine which was very clean for 56,000 miles. I then asked Kevin ** why I was denied when the motor wasn't even diagnosed, and he said Chris ** would not approve a tear down of the motor. I explained that was a very bad way to handle a horrible situation for a loyal Kia customer. Approx. 4 pm Central Time I received a call from Chris ** that he would approve a tear down if I agreed to pay 586.00 if the motor was dirty.

I gladly agreed, because I maintained the car and at home In Vero Beach Fl I had a service campaign letter from Kia that covered the rod bearings in the motor, which by the way I was told by every Kia representative involved that there was no such letter. Approx. 6 pm Central time I rent a car from Enterprise in Ft. Walton at a cost of 428.00, which I paid out of pocket. We arrived home in Vero Beach Fl on July 9. On July 10 I found the service campaign letter. On July 11 I reported and emailed the service campaign letter to all parties involved. Received a call from Chris ** that he received the letter, and he then stated he was aware of this service campaign letter when just a week before he and all involved said no letter existed. This was a bold faced lie. We then asked how is the tear down going and again about a rental from Kia. We were instructed from Chris ** that they have not done the tear down because they're busy.

Meanwhile still no rental car from Kia. We were late the whole week to work because we had to get rides and pay 15 dollars a day for cabs. On July 12 was informed the tear down took place. They said it was the rod, but still would not tell us if it was approved. Still no rental from Kia. On July 14 receive a call from Chris ** that Kia was going to fix the car at no cost to us. I explained this has already cost me more than a 1000.00. How is that no cost to us. No response and still no rental car. I then explained to Mr. ** that I was tired of the lies and the bs and I was taking my story to the media and social network. Chris ** then explained that it would not be in my best interest to contact the media basically threatening me.

On July 15 I was granted a rental car approval finally. Then come to find out it was actually approved on July 12 but no one ever called us to tell us we were approved. I was also told by Chris ** that my case had been transferred to Richard ** in the expediting division. That was July the 15. Today is August the 3. The car was fixed on the 28 of July. I have heard from the expediting division 2 times since July 15. My car still sits at Lee Kia with more lies about when they are shipping it to us. I was also informed that my new engine comes with a 12 month or 12,000 mile warranty. That warranty tells me that Kia doesn't even have confidence in their new motors. I have referred my friends and family to Kia before this incident. Now the 5 people that purchased Kias have seen the problems we have had and are not very confident in Kia or Kia's ability to resolve problems.

Whenever that Optima finally does arrive we will be looking to trade it in on a different vehicle, and I can assure you it will not be a Kia or Hyundai. I will be telling everyone I know that has a Kia or is talking about purchasing one BEWARE. This has been nothing short of a total failure of process and customer service on Kia's behalf. We were going to trade our Optima in on a Kia Sorento 7 months ago. I am so glad I didn't follow thru with that transaction. Here is the problem as I see it. Kia knows these motors from the Hyundai plant in Alabama have had nothing but problems and instead of making it right they put the consumer through things like we have been thru. We have been to hell and back and lied to by every Kia party involved. The only way I would ever do business again with Kia is if they offered me a real solution to the problems they have created. Until I get a formidable response to this letter I will be boycotting Kia and all of its products.

At the present day of August 5th, 2016 at 8:39 am, I received a text message from Devon requesting to bring in the receipts. Wanting to expedite repairs on my vehicle, I immediately proceeded to the dealership. While there, Devon make copies of all of my receipts and submits them to KIA. After this step, he informed me that he would let me know the status of the car. Later the same day, I received another text from him stating that Kia denied the warranty without any explanation.

My wife Maria **/ co-owner of this vehicle, after hearing what had transpired, got on the phone with the Kia Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-333-4KIA at 2:45PM in order to receive some kind of explanation as to why our warranty was not honored since we are still within the parameters of the warranty and the car is fairly new. She spoke to a representative called Zenith (ex#**). My wife explained the situation to the young woman. My wife Maria explained how we had done all the steps the dealership had asked of us in order to have the warranty honored. Zenith stated "Kia is declining repairs based on incomplete reports." Maria asked the rep. to explain what she meant by 'incomplete'. Zenith went on to explain how the reports were missing mileage and VIN number.

I saw the puzzled looked on my wife's face since the receipts that were right in front of us had the mileage on them. The rep continues to argue how there was not mileage on them and my wife Maria interjected guiding her to the section of the document pertaining to the mileage. "Oh, I see" the young lady mentioned. She then blurted out that the VIN number was not attached to the receipts making them incomplete-that receipts should all have specific information on them. Maria explained how we took notes and recorded the care and keep based on the factory manual that accompanied the sale of the car. The maintenance log provided by KIA does not include details of VIN number or plate number when logging car information. It only asks the consumer to provide miles, RO number, date, authorized signature of who serviced the car, and Dealership name, which we have.

My wife asked what now when we had done everything that was required to be denied on the warranty of our new car. Maria asked if there was a manager present or perhaps take this claim to corporate due to its inaccuracy and illogical explanation. Zenith said she would send the case to the Techline Department and to be forewarned that whatever action they decided on, would be the final! The final statement was that this office would take 2-3 business days to respond. Call ended.

I became extremely disillusioned that after bringing the car into KIA due to an issue that can be tied to the manufacturer. We were denied service under the rightful warranty which we are still under. Our car is fairly new with less than 25k miles. We carried out all of the steps thus far including taking care of our investment, proving our car has been taken care of including keeping meticulous annotations (kept in the log provided by KIA) and receipts to date. Our receipts have the information given by the service providers and we wrote down what the KIA maintenance log suggest we do. Now we are being taken due to technicality.

This is another example of big companies looking for loopholes and using tactics to swindle hard working Americans of their hard earned paychecks. We have supplied all of the information we were asked to in order to receive service under our warranty. However, KIA does not want to honor us. How were we to know that 'certain' specifications were to be kept track of. These things being asked of us now are not stated in the warranty. Our paperwork/log/receipts are being taken apart with prejudice in order to not provide services and rectify this issue that may soon be proven to come from the manufacturer. Your vehicle's maintenance log is flawed and does not provide the entries you are now asking us to submit."

In further research on the matter of performance, quality, reviews on KIA vehicles posted with consumer affairs, https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/kia.htm KIA gets a one star rating. 150 out of a 1,259 reviews. I have used these other formal complaints as reference to benchmark the quality of KIA's cars and customers satisfaction.

Furthermore, additional findings in my research which verifies inconsistencies In KIA's commitment to safety, quality and customer service is documented by reputable sources. Overall customers reviews of dissatisfaction out of 1,259 reviews https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/kia.htm. Yonkers Kia had 31 complaints closed in the last 3 years/ 13 within the last 12 months. sited with an F- rating on a scale A+ to F.

We are in such dismay regarding this issue. Moreover, after careful research on the situation, we are concluding that based on the poor handling of our case and so many others like ours, present and previous, demonstrates that KIA and its affiliates /dealers and corporate, are not about safety and customer satisfaction. After spending time evaluating KIA vehicles, I asked the question with a hunch. What were the circumstances that prompted the recall on the brake gear lock of the Sorento models, in which I am the owner of such vehicle? I have found it in a web link from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration http://www.safercar.gov/

We are completely torn and appalled at the fact that this new vehicle is having this issue affecting many other owners like myself, yet KIA feels they should not honor what they offer under their warranty. This is a safety issue that can affect many. If any part of the engine or the entire engine itself breaks down while driving our kids to school and to and from work, this can cause major deaths and accidents. No one would like the matter of negligence of their records. Additionally, would it take losing lives or additional injuries as it has transpired in the case of the service brake recall to prompt your commitment to satisfaction? All we ask is that KIA honors its warranty rather than finagle use on the fabricated notion that we are at fault rather than poor engineering.

We ended up doing research and found this is a HUGE problem with hundreds, if not thousands, of other Kia owners, and better yet the same problem has been a recall with Hyundai who make the Sonata, which is the same engine as the Optima. Kia has been turning down warranties knowing damn well they are at absolute fault for THEIR crappy designs! Shame on Kia and I will never buy from them again...first and LAST!

Like all other complaints I've read so far Kia is not responsible for any of this and it's all on the consumers lack of maintenance and there's nothing Kia dealerships (our dealership was Tyler of Niles, Mi.) can do about it if you can not prove every oil change, even then they still might not cover it. We are the 2nd owners of this vehicle. How can we obtain oil changes before we even owned the car? I will be looking in the class action lawsuit that has been started recently against the Kia Optima.

Upon leaving the dealership, the car felt sluggish, but I attributed that to the new part wearing in. I drove 16 miles to my home and then 24 miles to the airport at which point the rumbling began again. By the time I got home, it was no longer a rumble, but a very loud knocking noise and the car could not get above 40 mph. I should also mention that between the time that I originally took my car to the dealer and picked it up again, I received a letter from Kia Corporate Headquarters in Irving, TX stating that they are aware of a critical engine failure problem and are "extending the warranty to 120,000 miles". That would be great, if they would actually honor the warranty.

Turns out, it was that engine problem. They again said that the warranty was denied because of sludge in the engine. As it also turns out, this engine problem causes metal shavings to mix with the oil in the engine leading to sludge. It also causes larger than normal gaps in the oil path of the engine which leads to the oil overheating and sputtering in large quantities, which also leads to sludge. Therefore, Kia is denying coverage on an engine because of sludge when in fact it is their faulty engine that is causing the sludge in the first place.

I have filed a BBB claim against the dealership for misdiagnosing my car problems and costing me $2600. I suggest all 2011-2016 Kia Optima and Kia Sorento owners google Kia Optima Engine Class Action. Hopefully, if we can band together as a community, we can get them to start fixing a problem that is in fact a known faulty part and should be part of a recall. By the way, this shady dealership in Albuquerque is quoting me almost $8900 (seems like the most expensive fix that I have found on here yet).

How can I be told by three different people it's approved and then be told it's not? Now I've been told I will get a call by Wednesday after they review more documents. What documents? Has anyone gotten anywhere since they sent out those letters? If they deny it on Wednesday I'm contacting either an attorney or the media as I don't know what else to do. We've been paying $475 a month for a year now and have not been able to drive the car and we still owe around $7000. This is ridiculous that they are giving us the runaround when they are the ones that sent the letter stating they would fix it!

They have diagnosed the engine is seized and we have a rod knock. We have had the engine started and the estimate cost to replace the engine which Kia is telling us is required is $8,300. We've contacted Kia corporate and they will not help they said it is out of their hands their tech department denied the claim. I've done a lot of research and noticed this problem is going on with many Kias. They are not honoring their warranty nor do they have any customer service skills nor do they stand behind their product. I have less than 51000 miles and also received the letter extending the warranty do to their malfunctioning engine.

The dealership has had the car for 3 days and they can't figure it out. I've had a car salesman blowing up my cell phone with texts trying to urge me to buy a new car because he states it appears the hybrid system is shot and the repair is going to be $6200-10,000 but we owe $12K on it still, which is odd that he can give me an estimate if they don't know what is wrong with it. Unfortunately since we bought it from a used car dealership there is no warranty and apparently nothing we can do as of yet. He offered to buy it for $4K if we purchase a new car with them but I don't want another Kia if they don't stand behind their product.

Still waiting for a solution. A rental car would be nice, or an actual answer. Heck, even a written estimate for repair would be nice and not a text from a desperate salesman pulling number from "you know where" so I have more data to make a decision on but we can't even get that. Until then, my daughter is taking a bus 2 hours to work each way. Needless to say I am very disappointed with Kia!

I have been driving a Kia for 19 years and currently own 3 and never had a problem. The funny thing is they just sent me a notice that they are extending the warranty on this motor for 10 years and 120,000 miles due to engine failure. But what good is that if they won't honor it. DO NOT BUY FROM KIA!!! WHEN I GET A CHANCE I WILL TRADE IN MY OTHER VEHICLES.

Now the point of this post is to advise anyone interested that Kia has a U.S. Consumer Affairs department that reviewed our case for over a month and would not lend assistance to replace the engine. They told me that they are advocates for the consumer and there to help. They were clear that this car was not covered with a warranty and if they offered any assistance it would be "Good Will".

In the end they stuck to their warranty statement and would not offer any good will. I have owned many brands of cars and some I have driven for over 200K miles. I would tell anyone who may ask that they should not buy Kia, this is a company that wouldn't offer assistance for a 4 year old car. SHAME ON KIA Corporate for not recognizing that a 4 year 5 month old car with 100k miles should still be on the road with a working engine.

I contacted KIA and had a not very pleasant conversation with them. They said since I had done some damage to two rims they could not decide if it was from what I did or they were defected. My argument was that how could the area I had damaged cause the rest of the rim to be peeling and oddly enough that all four were peeling but I had only damaged two. His answer was always the same that he could not decide if I was the cause or they were defected. Well of course I knew that it was just an excuse not to honor their warranty. I was upset but could see that they really didn't care. He was not very nice. I waited several months for the rims to arrive and when they finally came in I was told that I had 30 days to get them changed or they would be sent back to corporate.

I already didn't like that I waited several months and they had no problem with it but when I said since it took so long could I wait a little bit until I was due for a oil change and make it one trip. They said as long as I did it in the 30 day time frame. Funny it did not bother them I had to wait three months. Well when I went for the oil change and I thought at least getting the two rims on I found out after waiting two hours that I was only getting one because the other one was now damaged and did not qualify for the warranty. The dealership said it was out of their hands because the corporate rep was there and he decided that. I contacted KIA again and after several weeks another gentlemen from Corporate called. He was nicer and listened to me. I wanted to know after waiting 3 months and KIA had already approved two rims and and then when I went changed their mind.

I said first of all I had not damaged the rim on that side and even if I did what would be the difference they had already agreed that the rim was defected. The representative said he would review my complaint and after a week or so got back to me. He stated that it was the Service Manager at the Dealership I was working with that declined me to have the second rim. The Service Manager at the Dealership lied to me and said it was out of his hands and he fully agreed with me that the rim should have been replaced and emailed me and stated he agreed it was not fair and would help me. The gentlemen from corporate KIA said that could not be true because he was the one saying not to replace the second rim.

I think the Service Manager was deceitful. The Dealership were the people that said they felt the rims were defected and had seen this before. My car was under warranty and it was very upsetting to me that I had thought that KIA would do the right thing. Found out that was not going to happen. This was my second KIA and I will not buy another KIA.

The customer service operator just kept saying he was sorry, but there is nothing Kia Motors can do. Why? I didn't install the faulty motor, why should I pay for a tow, a repair bill of over $4000 and be inconvenienced for an obviously faulty motor. I don't understand how Kia can claim no knowledge of a faulty engine when clearly I am not the only customer with this experience. I would expect Kia to want to have happy customers that will be brand loyal, but after this experience with customer service and the lack of empathy or offer of assistance, they don't have that from me. Was I sold a lemon? Or is Kia just playing dumb in not acknowledging there is a problem. The dealership was surprised the engine blew at this lower mileage and yet they also didn't seem aware that others have had the same issue. There is obviously something wrong with the 2011 Kia Optima engines period. Very dissatisfied with Kia at this time.

I then called 2 days later to find out what was going on. They stated the warranty dept denied my claim. How can this be, I asked? I have proof that I well maintained the car and this is a defect of the car. The service mgr said he asked to see the report from the service dept as to what their findings were and he walked around my car and left. Remind you once again the mgr said he did not look at 1 receipt. He called them 10 min later and denied it. His findings that there was "SLUDGE" buildup and the warranty does not cover sludge. I then called warranty place and said if there's sludge then it obviously is a problem with this car because I have maintained this car, there's no doubt of that. I said "didn't you look at my receipts?" He said "yes and the 1 looks fake." I said "that's funny 'cause the mechanic said you didn't look at not 1 receipt." He was silent and hung up!!!

I don't know what else to do. I still have a car payment for another 3 years. I have no vehicle, no way to get to work and have 4 kids to drive to school. This is why I purchased the warranty!! I have contacted the dealership that the car is at, dealership that I bought it from, finance place, car insurance co, warranty place and not 1 person can help me, not even guide me to what I can possibly do?? My only recourse is to contact an attorney because this is not Fair to do to anyone!!!! I hope whoever reads this DOES NOT EVER PURCHASE A KIA. They are your Best Friend at time of purchase when they need you to purchase their vehicles so they can get commission, then turn the cheek when you need something from them!!!

After doing one quick Google search I found out I am NOT the only one with this problem!! Kia is WELL AWARE of this issue. In fact, Hyundai uses this engine in their Hyundai Sonata and that motor is RECALLED!!! But Kia is not affected by this recall for some reason. I have opened a case with Kia for assistance in replacing the motor but they have denied it since I am out of warranty with 105,000 miles. My complaint is this: If I had not done routine oil changes and my car was starved of oil, I'll take responsibility. If there was a Check Engine light on, or a funny noise, or a funny smell, or something didn't feel right, or there was a temperature light on, a Warning OF ANY KIND and I ignored it, I'll take responsibility. But NONE of that happened!! In this day and age of cars practically being a computer, you would think there should be some sort of warning that the car is not right and you would have an opportunity of correct it.

I did everything I was supposed to do and the car still failed. I think Kia should do something about it. I am not asking for them to pay for the entire repair, but at least participate and show me they care about my business!! I have been looking for used motors but they are all getting sold faster than I can call on them... which, again, leads me to believe I am not the only one with this issue. Kia should own up to the problem and take care of it!!! I have been told someone from Consumer Affairs will be in contact with me, but they never call back. I would assume they are just hoping I go away.

Kia is trying to blame me for their faulty engine. Maintenance records were provide as they asked. Now Kia wants more. I still owe over $20000 for this piece of junk. I recommend no one buy a Kia from any dealership. For I bought this car with only 10 miles on it, it shouldn't need a engine at 15 months old. Kia will do anything not to honor their warranty.

This is our second Kia and it will be our last! Clearly based on other consumer complaints I will be wasting my time in trying to pursue this further. I am disgusted to the point of tears. A trade-in somewhere else will just leave me upside down. I would love to just drop the thing off and tell them where to stick it but that would ruin my credit. I feel like I should get some mold kits because this has to have an impact on my health. If not the mold then the toxic chemicals used on air fresheners that currently make my car smell like Hawaiian mold.

$2000 later we get the car back and a week later it is back in the shop. The turbocharger has failed and they won't cover that under warranty and of course need a new motor that Kia's fake 100 thousand mile warranty won't cover. We are protesting the decision. Can't get corporate to call us back. Have been without a car for over a week (for the 2nd time). We have since found out that Kia has a history of automobiles with sludge in the motors. We are contacting The Attorney General's Office, The BBB, and an attorney. This has turned out to be the worst car we have ever owned, the warranty they have is a total joke, and they do not work with you. I am only giving 1 star because negative stars in not an option.

Next day wife goes to run errands in town and low and behold huge amount of smoke trailing vehicle. Immediately took to dealer and they performed an oil change and said they couldn't find problem, told us to drive for 1000 miles see how it goes. Barely 280 miles later vehicle shows signs of worse problem, lost power when trying to merge nearly caused accident so back to dealer. They say need oil change receipts so my brother in law who is a certified mechanic and has been for 20 years writes out receipts based on the dates recorded in our owner's manual where we recorded the maintenance. Dealer takes photos of engine and says it's not covered because of sludge... only 36000 miles on the vehicle. Then they saw the receipts aren't enough to show vehicle was maintained. They wanted the sales receipts for the oil and filters, tried to get from Advanced Auto but because not a warranty part with them there is no records kept.

So now we have been denied coverage under the warranty and are escalating things to BBB. Owner's manual says receipts are needed but doesn't say they have to be from dealer or commercial garage... They basically discredited my mechanic that has maintained all my vehicles for the past two decades. I will NEVER purchase another Kia and once I get this one fixed I will be looking to trade it in. Bottom line is don't count on America's Best Warranty!!

The next step is where it all began. I completed the application in hopes I would be able to get a baseline number of what my monthly lease payments would be, and again, this would have been for the 2016 base model Sorento. Upon completing the application, the sales manager Danny ** explained the detail regarding my credit and provided advice regarding how to make the credit score better. We already knew the details. We were asked and answered other questions with regards to my trade-in of a 2013 Kia Optima. Danny expressed the concerns regarding the trade-in, for which it did not appear as though he wanted to buy out the remaining payoff. I advised Danny it was not possible for me to get a new car if I was unable to trade the Optima.

Danny ** was abrupt, completely obnoxious and should clearly not be a manger, his management skills are clearly not visible. After expressing the concerns regards the credit and what we could afford monthly, in which we clearly advised Danny we need to be far less than $ 600.00 per month, we sat in the showroom for hours, nearly 3-4 hours. During this time Dan (salesman) drove up with a 2016 Sorento with all the bells and whistles. Not knowing the sticker price for the car, my wife drove it as requested, at the same time we were confused as to why they would want us to drive this model if they were hesitant about the affordability of the base model. Interesting!!!

After returning from the test drive, we met the Danny again. He provided us with a $650.00 a month lease payment, absurd! Not sure what vehicles this was for (???) as this was not explained. In an attempt to make a mockery out of the situation Danny said, "You like the Sorento you just drove." Of course I do! Who wouldn't? He proceeded to say, "that car is over $ 40,000, okay?" So why would he and Dan request that we test-drive this vehicle, in not understanding why this was done, and no clear explanation. My wife was extremely upset and expressed that the situation was ridiculous. We waited over 4 hours in the dealership for this!!!

That is when the general manager appeared, he quietly called over Dan the salesman. A few moments later, we were asked if we liked the 2015 Kia Cadenza in the showroom, beautiful car. My wife asked why they would offer this vehicle, being that the MSRP is nearly $ 37,000. We were told there are better incentives. We agreed to drive the vehicle, still being extremely upset with the situation. The general manager, for whom was on his way out, said he would give us the lease for $ 499.00 per month. As he was pulling away he yelled out his window - he was including the maintenance for free!!! We should have known better!!!

After going on over 5 hours, we finally made it to the finance office. ** the finance manager printed the usual forms for signature, he briefly said what each form was, never giving any details. At this point 5 hours later, we were exhausted, stressed, and hungry. We just wanted to get the process over with!!! Meanwhile, just so you have an understanding of how nothing was explained in detail, ** ran outside to have me sign yet another form that he forgot! How well do you think this form was explained outside in the dark at 7:30 pm???

In review of all the documents a few days later, we noticed we were indeed charged $1200.00 for the maintenance. My wife immediately contacted the salesman Dan for his assistance, he wanted no part of it. He advised I have nothing to do with money/financing. My wife simply asked for him to speak with the general manager, as this was clearly in error because the maintenance was supposed to given to me. The emails went back and forth between my wife and the salesman with no resolution.

I contacted the general manager Albert ** directly via phone. He advised me the price did include the maintenance, absurd! The constant issue was the amount of the monthly payment, we did not ask for the maintenance. It was supposed to be thrown in. We could have saved $ 23.00 a month. Mr. ** said, "Nothing is free Mr. **." Well when you don't ask for something and are advised it's being given to you for free just to make the sale, I didn't expect to be paying for it for the next 4 years.

Mr. ** was great at getting the car sold, but terrible at resolving the issue. His statement that I completely understood the conversation for which he explained is correct - yes I understood, but clearly did not agree. I then contacted Kia Care with regards to cancelling the maintenance, as it is less than 30 days since the purchase, I was advised I needed to speak with Finance at Coral Springs Kia. I have emailed ** three times with no response, the only response received was from the salesman Dan ** indicating that he thought this was resolved, and I would need to contact **. He too, clearly did not read the emails for which he was copied. I did email ** THREE TIMES.

In conclusion, we leased the car, we're screwed into the maintenance, and are now being ignored. Terrible way of doing business, and extremely unethical. I and my family had purchased 5 vehicles from Coral Springs Auto Mall, they will NEVER receive my business again. After this review this provided on all available websites for consumers, I hope you choose another dealership or go in with your guard up.

I am certainly glad that I haven't been fooled with the dealership lies about warranty coverage (that apparently don't exist) and have and won't be purchasing anything from this manufacturer. I feel very sorry for people who actually paid good money for these things, at least mine is a rental and I can't wait to return it to Enterprise Car Rental Agency. Enterprise must have got a really good deal on these deathtraps.

He went to find out what the main ingredient was from a co-worker. He came back a few minutes later and said it was some kind of alcohol. He said I didn't have to do the treatment but it may void my warranty if I didn't take the recommended advice of the service center. Well...ok, go ahead. 45 minutes later or so I got my car and headed out. The fumes were VERY strong. I decided not to turn my AC on because I didn't want that product blowing directly on me. Over the next week or so I drove the car for many hours at a time. I still couldn't use the AC because the smell that was coming from it was too strong. All the while I was thinking it was a mold problem still. I was getting headaches, a scratchy throat and my tongue felt powdery. Like something was coating it. Clients and my girlfriend mentioned it.

I did some research on Kias and mold and found MANY, MANY complaints. So many, in fact, that Kia has a technical service bulletin just for this issue. TSB 016. Apparently, you cannot use your AC for the last 5 minutes of your drive because the moisture doesn't dry up. This creates mold growth in the car. Oddly, I wasn't told this when I purchased the vehicle. I set up another appointment with the service department and they scheduled the TSB 016 cleaning. Apparently this is a whole series of things they do if the refreshener doesn't work? That's still not totally clear. I Sat around two hours in the lobby while they did the service. I got the car, all windows were rolled down by the service dept, and noticed a similar smell to the last time but this time it was 50x stronger. I could smell the car from 10 ft away. I got in the car and drove off.

Within 10 minutes my throat, mouth and tongue were burning. Like I ate a pile of Icy Hot. I started getting very nauseated, started feeling dizzy and my lungs started burning within 15 minutes. I pulled over fearing I was going to pass out and stood in a parking lot for about 45 minutes. I called a co-worker and asked them to pick me up. I was only about 10 minutes away from my office at this point. While on the phone, I decided I was just being a wuss about it and would finish the rest of the drive. By the time I got to the office the symptoms worsened. I laid down for about an hour while letting the car continue to air out. All windows were down the entire time. Over the next few hours my symptoms got worse and worse despite not being near the car. I had to cancel an appointment with a client and asked my girlfriend to take me to the ER. I felt REALLY sick. Just ILL.

I felt like I was poisoned and was concerned about what was going to happen if the symptoms continued to get worse. On the way to the ER I called poison control. At this point, I was having a hard time putting sentences together. I just felt that sick. Poison control misunderstood and thought I was making a joke about air freshener in the car. I was unable to continue the conversation and hung up. They thought I had a bad connection. I just couldn't speak well enough to describe the problem. It was VERY clear that I was exposed to a very toxic substance. I got to the ER and checked in. My symptoms started subsiding and the ER wait was 3 hours. They said there wasn't anything they could do about it other than monitor my symptoms. Again, they thought this was air freshener not a mold killer, due to the name.

I was headed to a family member's house who is a long time nurse. I figured she could monitor my symptoms instead of sitting in the waiting room of the ER and if it got real bad, I could go back. My symptoms flashed in and out for the remainder of the night and into the next morning. I told Kia about the problem and requested the MSDS sheets so I could figure out what happened and determine how toxic the car was. They said there are no MSDS sheets. Their only concern was the story and not a solution. I told them I wanted to know what was sprayed in the car. They said they would escalate the issue and have someone from the headquarters call me.

A couple days later they called. Again, they just wanted to know the story instead of talking about a solution. She said I could take the car back to the service center to have them check it out. I said I would do that after I received the MSDS sheets. I needed to know what that was so I could determine if the solution offered fit the problem. Keep in mind, this is a company that is covering up a known mold issue, and has refused to tell me what they sprayed in the car already. Needless to say, I don't trust them to fix any problem at this point. The gal from corporate said MSDS sheets are not readily available but they will find them. I haven't heard back since. I have, however, found similar AC/mold cleaning product MSDS sheets and the symptoms listed are EXACTLY what I went through and still get if I get in the car.

These chemicals are very dangerous and state some people may stop breathing from prolonged exposure. It has been almost a month since this started. The car is not driveable STILL. I had other people drive it to confirm and they started coughing and getting nauseated too. So, here I am with a brand new car that I can't drive, that is under warranty, and a company that doesn't care that the product they sprayed in it, to cover up a known defect, that sent me to the ER. They have refused to respond to my multiple requests for MSDS sheets. I have given them until Friday to refund my trade in allowance, take the car back and pay for damages. I will be trading the car in and suing them for negligence if it's not dealt with by Friday.

They've had MANY opportunities to do the right thing and haven't. REFUSING to disclose the MSDS sheets or poisoning protocol for a product recommended by them, is unacceptable. This is gross negligence. Had they simply told me what was in the products, offered a solution to clean the car, and given me a loaner during that time, we wouldn't be in this position. Instead they refuse to accept ANY fault for their KNOWN mold defect and the poisonous products they use to cover up the defect.

Never made it to the camping trips and had to get my car towed to a Kia dealership 70 + miles away from home. Me and my children had to catch a cab to a hotel. They didn't have any loaner vehicles. So we caught a cab from the hotel to the train station and another cab from the train station to our home. Kia is going to replace the engine which is covered under warranty but still have no loaner vehicle to give me. They had my car for a week now and it's no way near repaired.

I couldn't have been more wrong. KIA proceeded to tell me, the warranty isn't going to cover my issue and it would be $6,000-$7,000 to fix my car. I have seen others write about oil leak issues with new KIA's such as my own as well. KIA has completely let me down. There is no way I can afford to fix my own car. I will never recommend ANYONE to purchase a KIA and will steer clear from these deviants of the auto industry for the remainder of my days. To think the reason for purchasing the (warranty) car is what let me down the most. DON'T BUY KIA. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

The second issue happened when I noticed that the car was having a hard time pulling off. Now this was at around 70,000 miles, this year in 2015 in April. The next day the engine light came on, so I took it to auto zone and had it put on the machines code: p0014. So the next day we took it to the same service center, Memphis, TN Covington Pike. This time I was with my husband and I told them before they do anything see us. The guy came from the back stating that he couldn't begin to tell us how much it was going cost to get the car repaired. They had to dig down in the engine because there was slug in the engine.

Now my problem was I just had the oil changed Jan 7, 2015 and it is now April 7, 2015. So I knew if I was going to get it repaired it was going to be too costly at the dealership and this is not covered under the BS warranty. So I told them to pull the car around and we get it repaired somewhere else. So we drove home. Well the next day I drove work and the oil light was now on, this was new. So I had one of my student's to check the oil and to my surprise, the car was completely empty of oil, BONE DRY!!!

So I called the Kia dealership upset, because how could there be no oil in my car? I spoke with ** the Service Manager who now change his complete story. "I told my guys not to work on it because there was slug in the engine," of course that's not what it said. We decided to get it done somewhere else. Can anyone tell me why my car would not have any oil in it after I had taken it to the Kia Service Center? Also Mister ** started stating if you could bring me ALL your oil change records he would try to get KIA corporate replace the engine. What, I need a new engine?

Of course I am upset because my husband and I are working people. I called David Gossett, the owner to no avail. So now, it looks like we are going to trade this car in. I WILL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER KIA ESPECIALLY FROM GOSSETT KIA COVINGTON PIKE, MEMPHIS, TN!!! I researched this issue on line to find that I am not the only owner to have a problem with slug when the miles get high. But it would seem the only solution Kia has is to blame the owner of the car. I have had many cars and have never had a problem with slug. This was my first new car!!!

I think the mechanics are trained to tell you nothing is wrong, they did offer to let me BUY another Kia and said they would give us a great deal on a 2013, we declined to give them yet more of our money and took the tremendous loss we had already incurred. I am afraid to do business with Kia again and that is too bad because I love the look and feel of the Optima and my daughter wants to buy the Soul but I am afraid to encourage her because of my experience - what good is a long warranty if they do not fix anything.

Original Review: Nov. 3, 2014

I am on my 3rd lease with Kia and have been happy with their cars until I had an accident and my optima was totaled. The accident wasn't my fault and my insurance (Traveler) who were great and got things going right away. Unfortunately, Kia cares nothing for their customers and are just dishonest thieves. I was told by Kia to myself, my lawyer and the insurance agent what my payoff was. So my great insurance company does their part and gave me a certain amt for other expenses so the amt they gave was more than the payoff that Kia stated. My insurance company tries to get things done but Kia continues to stall, then they say they want the full amount from my insurance company and then will refund to me the rest. I thought this was absurd and turns out it was so they could take more than they said the payoff was.

Basically, because my insurance paid out Kia decides to take more with no explanation. It was simple math, they gave me the payout and my insurance sent full amt expecting them to send me the difference, however, Kia decided to take another $250 again with no good explanation. I am disgusted with this dishonest, lying scumbags running this crappy company. They have nice cars but unfortunately will screw you any way possible. I will never do business with this company again and will continue to tell everyone I can to not buy a Kia or Hyundai considering it is same company.

I told him I thought the warranty as expressed and advertised at 10 years and/or 100,000 was deceptive. I told him also that I had owned 4 new Ford cars in the past 10 years, and the bumper to bumper warranty covered everything for 36,000 miles. He again explained that Kia only covered manufacturing defects during this period. I told him that I really liked the car and the dealership but was really dissatisfied that the manufacturer did not honor their warranty to the fullest, but rather denies issues as they see fit....too bad as I will probably not choose to purchase another Kia now knowing that they waffle on fulfilling their warranty obligation on the small things. I can only imagine if I had a really serious problem with my $35,000 (w-tax) Optima Hybrid, the hassles I could anticipate...

16 year old son went to start the car one morning after just getting his driving license in the last days for his birthday and the driver's side seat air bag exploded while he was sitting on it -- there was like gun powder smell in the car and my son couldn't hear... It was quite traumatic (thank God he's okay and thank God no one was driving it, he was starting it to warm it before school). The clock doesn't keep time, the lights are constantly having to have the bulbs changed, the water pump and power steering have been replaced including the hoses.

I know this car wasn't brand new when I bought it, however I have NEVER owned a car that had less than 60K miles on it that required to have everything on it replaced. I essentially have the most expensive 2001 Kia Optima ever made. When you add the 11K I paid for the car with the 20K that I have had to put into it to keep it running... it's horrible! I kept thinking at some point that this would be the last thing... each time thinking this was going to be the last of it. In a matter of a couple of years this car has demanded everything that a car could from me. I would never in my life consider buying another Kia. NEVER!

I brought it in to get looked at. They could not duplicate the problem so I took it home. The problem kept happening so I brought it in a couple more times and nothing. Then around June of 2014 I brought it in again because those problems plus my trunk was now popping open on its own. They still could not find what was causing it.

About a month later I brought the car in again because the ignition was getting worse. They finally found the problem with that and replaced the ignition. A couple days later I called stating that it was rough to pull out the key and the mechanic told me maybe because it's new so I let it go. About 3 weeks after my key got stuck in the ignition and would not come out, I tried everything to get it out and nothing. So again I brought it in and they tested the ignition and could not find out what was causing the problem. I love the style of the car but I have had nothing but problems with this particular car.

2) Front struts bobble up and down like an 87 Cutlass Ciera. Front end is too heavy for these cheap struts. Spend an extra $20 bucks on each front strut and you will get better handling reviews...and you are aware that the overall owner opinion is that the bottom out and offer very little control. Dangerous.

3) BACKUP CAMERA MUST BE STANDARD FEATURE. I do not want to run over the neighbor's kid because I CAN'T SEE. By the time I wrench my neck around 10 times...I can no longer drive because my neck hurts too much to turn. DANGEROUS.

LASTLY: Brakes are shot at 30k. Is it me racing? NO. Is it repeated high speed braking reviews? NO. It is congested here in Washington DC and tourists more than occasionally SLAM on their brakes to make an illegal U-turn because they missed their destination. I want my front rotors replaced free. I want my rears turned, and the front calipers rebuilt free as well, including all the little rubber gaskets and other parts most uneducated consumers are unaware that the calipers need to keep the fluid from leaking out and provide a nice firm, smooth stop.

2012 Optima EX 2.4 base. Other than that, drop in a K&N filter, change the oil every 3 to 5 k.

On Aug 2, 2014, we sold our Kia to a couple who live a couple hours away...we sold them a car with good faith that there was nothing wrong with it.. this was on a Saturday afternoon, they gave us a check, we gave them a car and a bill of sale. The next evening we received a phone call from these people telling us they were stranded and it "sounded bad" "like something wrong with the motor bad"...we was SHOCKED! I have driven this car everyday, including the day they bought it. We have never had ANY problems with this car..we called our local Kia dealership, which is 45 minutes from our house and asked what we should do..we was told to get the car to the nearest Kia dealership and get it looked at. The gentleman that purchased our car took it by trailer to Cavenaugh Kia in Jonesboro AR that afternoon.

The next morning he went to the dealership and told the Service Dept. Manager ** what had happened and asked if they would check it out. He gave him my husband's phone number and also his own number. By afternoon, we get a phone call that "it appeared there was metal fragments in oil" and that there "definitely was a problem with the motor". They asked if we had maintenance records, I stated that most were in the glove box of car when it left our house but I would call and request copies from our local service station.

I was immediately brought copies of receipts which we faxed to dealership. Next we was told that these records were not sufficient because they did not have VIN# or mileage on receipts. I called my service station back and she brought me a stack of documents with VIN# and mileage and also where we had made our payments to them. At this we was then told, that because we did not use a "Kia filter" they would not warranty this. So I called our service station again and told them what I was being told and they called their parts representative who confirmed that we did not have to use their brand and that their filters were OEN approved. We sent Kia a letter stating this. THEN they said they would not stand behind their warranty because "not happy with our maintenance records" but they would out of "good Samaritan" give us a discount. So now we will have to borrow $2000 and will get motor fixed and only have a 12month or 12000 mile warranty on this motor......this is a crock......I am sooo disappointed in this company. I would never buy or recommend this company again!!

I left the dealership in tears with no one offering to help me figure out what to do. My car still sits there. I'm surprised they were unwilling to sell me a car with a good deal and miss out on a sale. They have no care at all for the customer. Very disappointing. The service department was decent to me except for charging me so much for a crappy engine. Never buy from here. No one has called me to help me. I left the dealership crying with absolute frustration and still no one wanted to help. They do not care about their customers and I still am at a loss as to what to do with $8,000 left on a loan on a bad car. Maybe someone can help me understand what to do since Peak KIA is not concerned

I'm a full time student and work part time, that $2500 repair if it is cover under warranty. When you purchase car how many times do you sit and go through the manual before signing on the dotted line. After I was told this, I look up problems on the Optima SLX and it looks like this problem could have been electrical issue and so I called back the service department and ask if they would check that, and they responded we are only allow to submit the repair once. So now I have no car because I can’t afford the repairs, and I have 2 more years left to pay on it.

I feel Kia Motors needs to disclose this information up front before purchasing or leasing one of their vehicles. I also called customer assist and requested an appeal on their decision and it should take 48 hrs. for a response. I don't recommend ever buying a vehicle from Kia. This is definitely can turn into a class action from all the consumer complaints on the same issue in regards to maintenance and the warranty.

This is when I knew I had more of a problem than just a bad battery or a bad terminal connection, it had to be something with the ignition or its components. Finally after 45min and lot of on and off and rocking the car it started. This happened 2 more times until finally my husband insisted that I have it towed to the dealer (Burlington Kia in NJ) after dealing with Kia roadside assistance for 3hr 45min, I finally called my insurance company and had them send a tow truck out (it took 20 minutes for the truck to arrive!). The tow truck driver tried jumping the car and messed with the battery terminals and it still did not start, the Optima was taken to Burlington Kia of Burlington NJ.

Well, when the car arrived it started, like in the past when I rocked the car sometimes it would start and this must be what made the car start, the towing process. I begged the dealership to check the car because I did not feel safe using it at this point, I just never knew when it wasn't going to start. Well the dealership said there was nothing they could do because the "call center" would not give them permission to work on the car!! Now this is a car with less than 30,000 miles and a lot of money in extended warranties and they were telling me they would not could not fix my car...

The next weekend I traded in my 2011 Kia Optima!!!!! And the day I traded it in, it would not start, so we rocked it and rocked it and banged on the starter button and then while we were outside of the car rocking it back and forth, the car started, nobody in the car and it started!! Now don't take this the wrong way. We loved this car, we wanted to keep it until it rotted off the frame. It was just the service was terrible and we just couldn't trust the car to go anywhere anymore... If the dealer would have stood behind their product and did the right thing by attempting to diagnose the problem, I may have kept the car, but, because they stopped caring after the paperwork was signed, I decided to get rid of the car, back to Detroit for us!!!!!!

When I picked my car up at the end of the week, it jerked me to the left and slammed on the brakes before I got home. The car pulled me once into the oncoming lane, thank God no car was approaching. I can't sell this car, because I don't want anyone hurt or killed because of the jerking. I can't trade it, because I am done with Kia. I have written so many letters and sent so many emails over the past three years and nothing. I think Kia is waiting for someone to get killed before they do a recall.

Older vehicles were made better and parts lasted longer. Now we have advanced so far that even myself needs educated in how to use and maintain my car. Years ago, we manual adjusted seats, put a blanket across the seat to keep warm. Heaters now are computerized and run differently. They cool then heat and this helps to maintain the heat just like your furnace does. It circulates the air to maintain a balance in the house. My Sportage does the exact same thing. First its warm then later it feels cool and I look notice I need to adjust the fan and its warm again. If you watch your heat gauge, it will fluctuate in temps. My Optima did the same but it wasn't as noticeable.

Remember as consumers we want the most for our money or bang for your buck, we want luxury in the cars we buy and do everything except cook meals, and go to work for us. The more we introduce into modernization, there will be issues. REMEMBER NO DEALERSHIP IS PERFECT. Chevy, Ford, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, etc. have had recalls, just plain down bad cars (Lemons). I've had my share. WHEN YOU BUY, use the adage "BUYER BEWARE".

I took it right back and made another appointment to have it looked at AGAIN. The dealership became my second home. After looking at it for the 9th time they literary told me it was my fault that the TPMS light was coming on due to using a Tom Tom or some other form of GPS (which I do not own and the only thing that is used in the car is a cell phone and I'm pretty sure everyone has a cell now a days) and that they were washing their hands in the situation and to contact consumer affairs. Well I contacted Consumer Affairs back in November of 2013 and was assigned Tyrone ** as my analysis in the Western Region division and spoke to him ONCE which provided no information. He has not corresponded with me at all since then. I cannot believe that KIA is so negligent. I will never purchase another Kia ever again and will advise everyone I know or even come across that is even thinking of buying a KIA.

01/29/2014 - I was driving to Central Kia of Plano (dealership purchased from), had driven approximately 2/10 of a mile from my house, and the vehicle began pulling to the right with more intensity than ever before. While traveling between 25 & 30 miles per hour, I tried turning the wheel to the left to even out the car. The wheel turned, but the car continued driving to the right - causing a collision with a parked vehicle. Again, I was wearing my seat belt, but the air bags FAILED TO DEPLOY. The impact lifted me from the seat and my head shattered the windshield. The steering wheel caused a hematoma to form in my thigh, which is causing me severe pain and limiting my movement by great extent. I have an ongoing headache and excessive pressure in my face. My insurance adjuster has determined that because of the extent of damage - there is no way to pinpoint the cause of the malfunction.

Found out the hard way that is not the case. They have changed their policy to make the 100,000 warranty change to multiple owners but this is not the case with my 08. I am now out 7100 dollars unless I want to pay for a brand new engine or take a crap deal for a trade in of 2500. Contacted multiple managers and have now contacted Kia headquarters to see if they will stand by their product and original 100,000 mile warranty.

I will NEVER EVER buy another Kia or go back to Kia for any reason. Was treated like crap and made to feel like my mistake was more important than their product being crap. They offered me nothing to help me out. Told me that they were 100 percent sure their salesman offered me a extended warranty and told me 100 percent of the offers available disclosed all info, and that I was the idiot for signing without getting a warranty.

I would advise buying another car brand and do not sign anything without making sure you are getting what you expect. Not sure why they changed their policy but will not stand by the change for my 08. And not sure why a warranty does not extend to multiple owners if they believe in their product. I was basically shafted and now am stuck with my mistake. I will admit I should have asked a simple question regarding my warranty. However, that to me is TERRIBLE business. Not only do they not certify any car over 60,000 miles at the dealership, they don’t stand by the original ten year 100,000 mile warranty, but will do it for newer models.

They put their cars in a lot with signs and stickers for other certified pre-owned vehicles but don’t explain the difference and only offer a 3 month, 3000 mile warranty on any used car that is not certified, which to me is RIDICULOUS, bad business and bad customer service when selling a product so vital to people’s lives. TERRIBLE car company. Don’t buy a Kia or you will probably regret it at some point. I now understand why people told me not to buy a Kia, and I will never again. Was thinking about trading my car in for a 2013 but after the way I was treated, that is never ever going to happen.

Obviously they didn't explain the warranty information enough to me for me to understand that I only had a 3000 mile warranty on my used car and that my car was not certified for its original warranty. I think their policies are outrageous. They care more about making money than having good business, repeat business and a good reputation for making cars. I hope Kia goes out of business for bad business practices and lawsuits.

Next morning, a warning message came on. Took it to dealer & it was fixed, they said. 6 months later, the same problems begin again. This time, I didn't wait until there was almost no acceleration & the warning light came on - just the overhead light flashes, acceleration off, gas gauge & door lock action while driving. I took it in & told them same problems as last time. Just picked up. Said the door locks and overhead light problem caused by something different than last time - a loose pin in door lock. And nothing wrong to cause the remainder, as there was the first time. Same problems supposedly fixed last time with 1 solution.

This time, exact same problems with part being fixed with a different solution than before & the other problems not found. Really? I am expected to believe that? Also, last time I told them the seat belt was not catching properly when released. Supposedly fixed - problem began again recently. Love the car, but wondering what this is & if it will continue.

After the second visit it had lost 2 quarts of oil. I had to leave the car there after he came back and told me that there is no oil at the bottom so they need to find out what is going on. I did and about a week later the kia rep was there and said that the engine had sludge for not changing the oil and that I need all of the oil receipts. We looked at the engine could not see no sludge on the engine. Took pictures. We didn't give them receipts and he told me that kia would not pay so we told them to put the car back together and we will take the car. He told us let him talk to the kia rep and see what he can do. Well just like I have been reading he came back that kia would pay half of the repairs. So we are paying for a warranty they will not honor. What can we do to get them to pay?

I notified the Kia dealership. They said to drive it 1000 miles and we'll check it again. They also said it was because the engine was still breaking in. In my opinion the engine should be broken in in the first 1000 to 1500 miles and not at 10,000 like my car has. Also the burning oil is not normal by any means. It did not do this in the first 2500 miles. This message is for Kia "I love the car but am not going to buy or recommend to anyone this car or brand, understand!! You don't lose your customers all at once, just one at a time."

I contacted Kia about this and they said we would have to have it checked out by a Kia dealership technician. So, we had it towed another 50 miles to make that happen. In the meantime, I've been back and forth with the dealership, Youngblood Kia in Springfield, MO, and Kia customer assistance line trying to get this problem resolved. The Kia dealer techs, just like the other auto techs, verified the engine was destroyed and there was nothing that I did to cause this. It was a catastrophic failure of the engine which should never have happened.

Well, I was just notified by Kia that they would not pay to have it repaired because it's out of warranty. It turns out that if I had been the original owner it would still be under warranty, but since it is pre-owned, it isn't. If you are the original owner your warranty is good for 100,000 miles, but since I'm the second owner, it's only covered for 60,000 miles. Why would that be?

I still owe $6,000 on this car, and it's going to cost around $7,000 to fix it. I don't have that kind of money and am at a loss on what to do. Then I look up the Blue Book value, and the car in good running condition is only worth about $7,500. This is causing a great hardship on my family.

Mistake #1 - always review your bills so that nothing changes without you knowing it so you can inquire about any changes immediately. Kia - if you are reading this - this part is on me for not keeping a close eye on my responsibilities! I noticed last week that I was "past due" on my account. How could this be???? I asked my wife about it and she said she didn't know but she did start to get calls from Kia. "That's strange," I said. I called Kia and a very nice lady - sorry I forget her name - said that she saw I had been paying on time and the correct amount as per my contract yet my account status was past due. She then noticed that since February, I was being charged a $25.72 fee but didn't know why. I asked her if moving had anything to do with this and she said perhaps it did. I asked her to please call me back and confirm what was going on because I do not want my account status to be past due! I never heard back.

This brings me to today. I call Kia Customer Service and speak with a person named Dee. I explained what I just described above and without any notification or warning, a very stern Beverly gets on the phone. She starts to tell me, not explaining - know what I mean? - that there is a sales tax now on the account and I need to talk to my local tax assessor concerning the matter that Kia has nothing to do with the fee/tax. As I begin to ask why I am paying Kia this "tax" and not the state as I had done before with a leased vehicle from VW when moving from Indiana to Illinois, she starts to interrupt me several times. I said to her, "Let me finish," and she kept interrupting me.

I stated again, sternly this time, that I would like to finish my question. I asked why I am paying "you people" a sales tax and not the state which I had done before. She then stated that, "Sir, this is just like buying a tee shirt where you pay a sales tax when you buy the shirt." Of course, this angered me greatly since she felt the need to explain to me how sales tax works. I hope anyone reading this is understanding my state of mind and my thoughts at this point. I then, more sternly, stated that I was not stupid and I understood how sales tax works. I want to know why I am paying sales tax to Kia and, more importantly, an amount greater than what I contractually agreed to pay. She then stated that Kia pays the sales tax to the state and they have nothing to do with it - I need to contact my municipal tax office. I said, "Okay, then why am I paying Kia late fees on something they have nothing to do with?"

She said, "Sir, I don't know what you want me to tell you because you are not listening to me and you do not want to listen. We (Kia) have nothing to do with this." I said, "Okay, I will pay the sales tax but I am not paying Kia late fees for it especially when I didn't know anything about it." Beverly then stated that, "Well, that's your choice because those late fees will be carried over on your account." I then had had enough and said, very sarcastically I admit (again Kia - admitting I was wrong for that part) that she had been such a big help in explaining this to me in very clear and simple terms so as I could understand this and to have nice day and slammed the phone down on a table - which is funny because it was my cell phone so I just hurt myself by slamming it down on the table - and I heard her sarcastically saying, "Thank you for calling Kia," and "Have a nice day."

What is with these companies? Does GM, Ford, or Chrysler treat people any better? Fact is, we like the car and it has been fun to drive with no issues except with customer service. What an oxymoron - customer service. Maybe not the correct term but you catch my drift. I have not choice but to pay those people the late fees in order to get my account back to current or it will hurt me even further and Kia couldn't care less. I am not asking nor am I expecting something for nothing or more than anyone else should expect but to be treated in this manner is unacceptable. At least I think which apparently is not the mindset of Kia.

Then, on August 23, 2013, Kia and BBB called me on a conference call. Kia informed me that whoever wrote the initial Offer Letter made a mistake and did not account for a rebate of $4250 in the contract. This was not a rebate discussed when leasing the vehicle. This amount would have to be subtracted from the original buy-back offer of $5624.86. This now left us with $1682.86 (including the September payment we were about to make). Kia said that they would be able to offer us the 10 months of car payments ($3077.60), fix the car and return it. I told them that because we were no longer provided a rental car and since we had signed an agreement to have the Optima repurchased, we bought a new car. The woman from Kia, Margie, then told me to take the money and sell the car to someone else! I responded by saying, I would never knowingly sell a broken car to someone. My husband asked to be sent the new offer so we could review it, and they said would send a new offer that afternoon. We never received the offer. I called multiple times and left 3 voicemail messages with Chris **.

Then, on September 6, 2013 (2 weeks later) we finally got a response. Kia and BBB called my husband on a conference call and reviewed the new offer, which was later sent to us via email. This new Offer Letter included 2 offers: (1) repurchase the vehicle and give us no money, (2) fix the car, return it, and give us 10 months of car payments totaling $3077.60. Under offer 1, because of the rebate in the contract, we would actually OWE Kia $2259.62. However, for customer satisfaction, Kia will provide to the customer $2259.62 which would leave a remaining balance owed by the customer to Kia of $0. If you add up the payments made so far on the Kia Optima Hybrid (307.76 x 6 = 1846.56) plus the trade in (508.90), we have spent $2,355.46. Kia urged my husband to chose Option 2 and then cancel our lease for $400, leaving us with $2677.60. That seems like another trap to get us stuck with this car. This does not seem fair.

I feel like we are being taken advantage of. We were leased a lemon. It took multiple attempts to even get Kia to acknowledge that it was a lemon. We finally got an offer that we were pleased with except we were no longer provided a rental car. This forced us to buy another car. Then, they called and said they made a mistake and they actually owe us less money. They were supposed to email a new offer over, which they did not do for 2 weeks. When we finally got this, we are now forced to either get no money back from this lease or get back a broken car. I don’t know where to turn. I am completely stressed and overwhelmed with this situation. We are being taken advantage of by a huge corporation and no one is on our side. Kia is an absolutely awful business. I would NEVER recommend anyone to do business with them.

As soon as the diagnosis was done, the lights on the passenger side went out. I traced it to a blown fuse. Why a car would blow fuses for no reason, I have no idea. At this point we contacted KIA corporate to see if there was anything they could do for us. They again blamed us for the problems and basically told us to go away. We finally rid ourselves of the problem by selling the car and taking a huge depreciation hit to go with the huge repair bills. As far as I am concerned, any car that cannot go at least 100,000 miles without a major problem, never mind two major and a few minor is a piece of junk, especially when the company that built it will not stand behind their products.

So, I took the car to my local Chevrolet dealer and had the work done for around the same price, maybe a little more. I would rather pay my Chevy dealer more than take it clear out to Kia and chance it with them. The power steering pump was whining and had metal shavings in it. I had them replace the power steering pump and flush the lines. To add to this, the front stabilizer bushings were going bad too. I was told I had over $1,500 work done to this car. I called Kia of Des Moines and asked if any of this was covered under warranty, and of course, it is not!!! Surprise!

This just reinforced my opinion of KIA products. Now, I understand the need for regular maintenance, but a power steering pump and stabilizers going bad with less than 65,000 miles?! Give me a break! I have owned Chevrolets and Fords with more than 150,000 miles and didn't have these types of things fail. When we bought the car, it came with high performance tires on it. During the first winter, the car was not drivable AT ALL in the snow. I took the car to a tire shop and the service guy was amazed it had those types of tires on it. The tires that came with the car were made for southern/ warmer climates, so I had to replace all four tires. Why would they sell a car with those types of tires on it in the Midwest? This just adds up to my total displeasure of KIA motors. I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER KIA…Now, I have had trouble with my Chevrolet also, but the dealer is ALWAYS willing to work with you on repairs. KIA just flatly refuses. NEVER AGAIN! BUYERS BEWARE!

It is a manual shift. Nothing in book states manual shifts are excluded. You are not the original owner. I am the original owner. You did not bring it in at 60,000 miles for check up. Book doesn't say I have to. Something struck underside of transmission casing, caused a hole and a crack in casing, and as a result, warranty is invalid. The KIA corporation, its dealers, mechanics and techs are liars and dishonest. They have no integrity and the product is inferior and worthless. Buy a Toyota, Honda or Nissan if you want quality. I'm going to sell my Optima and never buy another KIA again.

In February and after many threats over the phone, KIA decided to try something new to fix the brake warning light and they replaced the entire front wiring harness; less than two weeks later, it wouldn’t start. I had it towed into the dealership who told me the battery was bad. I took the car home and the next morning (new battery) it wouldn’t start again. I had it towed back to the dealership who then kept it for almost 3 weeks without being able to fix the problem. They finally told me to come get my broken car.

When I got there to pick up my car, they tried to tell me that they found missing bolts and non-KIA connectors on the car while they were diagnosing the engine starting problems, so the problem with the car could be related to the accident and I needed to talk to the shop that did the repairs. The shop that did all the repairs is one of the most reputable shops in town. They repaired only sheet metal damage to the rear of the car and touched nothing anywhere near the engine compartment. This is a failed attempt by the KIA Motor Company and Cottonwood KIA in Albuquerque to void the warranty on this car, so they don't have to deal with it anymore. In order for me to drive my car off of their lot, they had to jump one of the relays under the hood, which bypassed the computer system. This left me driving a car with absolutely no safety features activated such as traction control, airbags, anti-lock brakes and all the others. As a matter of fact, the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree the whole way home.

Bottom line, don’t buy a KIA, and definitely don’t buy a KIA from Cottonwood KIA in Albuquerque. I have now had to hire an attorney. I only have one drivable car and I have had to go back to my insurance company and the body repair shop to tell them the crap that KIA and this dealership are trying to pull.

Because as it turns out, Kia doesn't tell you that if you do any of your own maintenance, your car's engine will eventually fail before you ever reach 10 years or 100k miles, because their engine system is fatally flawed and requires that specific use of Kia brand oil filters. But that fact is not listed anywhere in the warranty guide or the manual which allows you to think that if you maintain your engine within the recommended guidelines, then your car will last for years to come. It's wrong and they lied. Kia is refusing to fix, under warranty, my car that has been in the shop since Nov. 2012. They claim that it has gunk in the engine when my mechanic can personally attest that there wasn't any, because I had him diagnose the vehicle before taking it to the dealership. I also happen to know that Kia issued a statement to all mechanics via the all data system to inform them of this defect just six months after I purchased my brand new 2007 Kia Optima!

I returned 2 and 1/2 hours later to pick up my car and pay my $398.70 bill and asked the woman ringing me up about what was found. She looked at the service paper and then told me I needed to ask the service center. I then did and when I inquired about what was found, the gentleman looked confused and then told me, "We couldn't find what was wrong so you'll have to wait until it happens again and we will have the car towed in and looked at." This did surprise me because (1) it's a service department and it's their job and (2) what if this had happened to me late at night while I was alone or w/ my young daughter?

Well, the following Monday evening, Feb 4, 2013, the car did the same thing but w/in a min. turned over and started, but on Tues., Feb. 5, 2013, the car wouldn't start so I had to find a ride to work. Thankfully, I could. I then called Lazare Kia at 8:00 am that morning and Bill in service answered the phone. I explained the situation and his response was to very rudely inform me that he was down to only 3 techs and wasn't sure he could look at the car today. I stated that was fine because it was not doing me any good dead in my driveway and that the car could be picked up and looked at either Tues., the following day.

Bill then took my number and hung up. Tues. went by ... then Wed. went by and there was no tow or phone call. Thurs. then came and still nothing, so I contacted the Fathers and Sons (a Kia dealer in W. Springfield) and had to have the car towed there. After looking at my car, the service dept informed me that I need both a new battery and a new starter. When I returned the phone call, I inquired about the service that would have been included in the 60,000 mile maintenance and was informed that a standard check of the battery should have been included.

So now, I have a service station who ignored my initial complaint and sent me home w/ a car that is not functioning correctly as well as a $398.70 bill to provide service for my car which was clearly not completed, as well as an additional $59.99 bill from Fathers and Sons for providing a service I have already paid for in the $398.70 maintenance bill, as well as the bill I will be charged for the tow ... which would have been avoided if Lazare had actually looked when the car was in on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013. On top of the bill, I will now have to pay for the starter and battery.