87 of the
1,263 complaints about the 2012 KIA Optima are about the
other systems — 7% of everything
reported for this model year.
Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before
80,000 miles.
Entire vehicle got burned while driving on the highway, the car is available at the impound shop for inspection. I was driving the car on the highway during the hours of rush hour when the car started burning, there were many drivers around on the other lanes. The NY Fire Department battalion and the NYPD responded to the scene and we have reports. The car was inspected by the NY fire department and a KIA inspector. There were no lamps or any warnings signs nor messages of any problem or failure.
NHTSA complaint #11752134 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Saylorsburg, PA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I had a engine replacement under Pi1803 they gave me the vechile back w active abs light exuast leak and damaged click spring refused ti look at till I paid dx fee this all appeared the day I went to pick uo vechicle
NHTSA complaint #11743061 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Saylorsburg, PA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I had a engine replaced 1600 miles ago delarsship advised it was ok to drive gave me a vechicle back with abs light tracation control light on along with a exuast leak
NHTSA complaint #11742371 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Shalimar, FL
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The clock spring keeps failing which is causing the air bag light to remain on; the horn to not work; various functions of the dashboard; and steering wheel heat.
NHTSA complaint #11740909 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Pendleton, SC
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
•I’m not sure what failed, the car was parked. And yes it’s available for inspection. •I had just parked the car coming from work and at the time. If I was in the car any longer than 5 more minutes it possibly could’ve been catastrophic. • All I know as of right now is that 5 days ago, it was escalated and I received a case number and a case manager 3 days ago. •The car has not been inspected •not that I’ve noticed, the engine light was on a week before the accident occurred, after getting off of work and the car system said to check my breaks. I had someone take me home since my car was undrivable. And the next morning I was going to have it towed but everything was working properly. The engine light was gone.
NHTSA complaint #11717968 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Colorado Springs, CO
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driving car on the highway then the car started smoking and shut down completely. IT would not turn on or anything. It smell burnt.
NHTSA complaint #11695693 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Roselle, NJ
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Doors unlock while driving
NHTSA complaint #11683332 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Cleveland, TN
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My steering wheel coupler has obviously gone bad and needs to be replaced. This was an issue with this year Kia Optima and my car and Kia has extended the warranty to 10 years/unlimited milage. I need this fixed because it sounds like my steering wheel is going to completely fall apart. Please help!!!
NHTSA complaint #11665438 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Naples, FL
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Rapid Delamination and paint peeling in the color of snow pearl white. The entire car is affected by this defect. Somewhere on the paint assembly line a missing step in the paint procedure is causing detrimental corrosion and overall safety and protection of the elements from outside.
NHTSA complaint #11650012 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Knoxville, TN
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Paint is coming off all over the car. You may look at it at any time. This is a safety concern for our environment and to the child in my home. She likes to attempt to eat or at least put everything in her mouth. It is very visable. No No, The first bit of paint started coming off around a year ago and has progressively gotten worse.
NHTSA complaint #11623603 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Wilton, CA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
my snow white pearl paint is peeling on several sections of the car. I obtained quotes from 2 body shops and its recommended to repaint the entire car. peeling started in 2018 and has continued to become worse every day.
NHTSA complaint #11592960 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Nashville, TN
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Kia sent out a safety recall notice (23V652). The letter clearly states the remedy is now available for my vehicle; that an engine compartment fire while parked or driving is the primary risk of the default; and that the recall service will take approximately 1-2 hours. I called two dealerships. Both said Kia won't send them the parts until an inspection has occurred - potentially resulting in requiring two different appointments prior to this safety recall being addressed - contrary to the verbatim language in the safety recall. I called Kia's customer service line and they confirmed that although the letter is written as described above, they won't provide parts to service centers until an inspection has been performed. I filed a complaint with them but know it won't matter unless someone with more authority gets involved. Considering this is a genuine life-safety issue - with the risk being a fire to the engine compartment - and the language in the recall notice - that the remedy is now available and the service will take 1-2 hours (no implication of multiple visits/appointments) - I think this is absolutely unacceptable. Someone needs to ensure Kia prioritizes human lives above cost when it comes to safety recalls.
NHTSA complaint #11589938 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
NEW Orleans, LA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
UNKNOWN....I just know it has a fire risk.
NHTSA complaint #11579641 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Virginia Beach, VA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Was driving on the road on the way back to work from lunch, started hitting the brakes at an upcoming stop light, and the car shut down. There was no lights indicating anything prior to the incident. I tried starting it again and it started smoking, I then opened the hood and all the smoke poured out. The engine bay smelled like something electrical melting or of some sort. I towed it to the dealership I work at and had my ex-kia technician coworkers look at it and said they've never seen anything like it, but did confirm the smell was electrical. OBD II reader was not reading anything at all. I was letting it sit for a while waiting for the recall to have some sort of remedy, but I've grown tired waiting so I decided to file a complaint. And I will reiterate again that NONE of the lights came on at all until my car decided to break down.
NHTSA complaint #11576204 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Havre de Grace, MD
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE WHILE PARKED OR DRIVING CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF INJURY. I transport my child in that car and kia is not working fast enough to be fixing the problem or giving people rental cars till they get the part.
NHTSA complaint #11571612 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Bagwell, TX
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Paint is peeling off top of my car and also along windshield and hood of my car.
NHTSA complaint #11569275 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Pace, FL
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2012 Kia Optima snow white pearl paint. A few months ago the paint started bubbling and then flaking off. There are areas all over the car with bubbles and missing paint. This is a latent defect in the paint process, not a warranty issue. Every area of the car is affected. Kia needs to accept responsibility for their defect and fix this paint problem.
NHTSA complaint #11567554 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Avondale, LA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When driving the vehicle the engine light is on & under the hood is smoking . It smells like burnt rubber or just burning something. This started happening right after the engine light came on. It’s not safe to drive my vehicle at this point
NHTSA complaint #11561561 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Ankeny, IA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
THE CAR JUST SHUTS DOWN FOR NO APPARENT REASON AND WILL NOT RESTART. IT JUST DIES IN THE ROAD WITH NO WARNING. MECHANIC SAID THERE IS A WIRING ISSUE AND NOONE CAN SEEM TO FIND IT BECAUSE IT STARTS AND THEY CANT FIGURE OUT WHY AND MOST OF THE TIME IT WONT START
NHTSA complaint #11549162 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Henderson, NV
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The white Pearl paint on my 2012 Kia optima ex is peeling all over the car. There are 4 spots that are peeling and getting worse. I’ve read numerous online forums about this issue and there is a latent defect with the paint
NHTSA complaint #11548302 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Farmers Branch, TX
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
SUNROOF TRIM SEAL LOOSE, The rubber seal/trim catching under the sunroof glass.
NHTSA complaint #11531260 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Vanzant, MO
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
.I recently have actually found out about the recall concerning my engine. Manufacture SC148. NHTSA recall 17V224m I called a dealership. When I asked them about the recalls this one was not mentioned. I wanted to ensure I was reading that properly. Can you explain what that means as far as the engine
NHTSA complaint #11516568 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Gastonia, NCFire
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving down the highway going 75 mph and all of a sudden my car tells me pull over safely do not drive and it shut down while I'm driving. It never turned back on. It started smoking and you could see orange light coming through the vents. I was stuck on a [XXX] bridge for 4 hours and I missed court that day. I called Kia and they came to pick up my car. They said it was free because my car has been recalled but ever since they've had it, they stop answering my phone calls and emails and now they are trying to charge me 5000 to get my car back and fixed. Before any of this happened, I noticed an oil leak at the gas station but was unsure whether it came from my car or not. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
NHTSA complaint #11509246 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Altamonte Springs, FL
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
MY 2012 PEARL WHITE KIA OPTIMAS PAINT IS PEELING IN VARIOUS AREAS. LARGE AREAS OF PAINT WAS JUST MISSING WITHOUT PREVIOUS CHIPS. MY VEHICLE LOOKS HORRIBLE AND IS STARTING TO RUST IN SOME PLACES. BELOW YOU WILL FIND AN UPLOAD OF THE LARGEST PEEL ON MY VEHICLE, HOWEVER THERE ARE MORE!!
NHTSA complaint #11500029 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Kenneth City, FL
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
available for inspection front door latches, Driver and passenger, stick in down position and prevent closing of doors to latch. Someone who does notice could have a collision, be ejected, suddenly suprised and crash, break latches permanently. I contacted kia dealer, they said on Soul was recalled for same problem. Inspected by my insurance broker. Passenger side was December 2021, and driver side latch gave out june 2022.
NHTSA complaint #11488670 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lowell, MAFire
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My car caught on fire while driving from somewhere near the engine. The fire was so severe that fire department nor my insurance company were able to determine cause of fire and I’d only had vehicle for 45 days, it was a single owner with no accidents and maintained its entire life up to that point. I am requesting someone to examine vehicle and tell me how this possibly happened.
NHTSA complaint #11472604 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Newnan, GA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Paint keeps chipping and the car bounces I have got it fixed twice and it’s still doing the same thing
NHTSA complaint #11459641 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 79,000 milesHemet, CA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while turning the steering wheel in either direction, the steering wheel seized in either direction with the electric power steering warning light illuminated. The contact had initially taken the vehicle to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. After multiple repeated failures, the contact took the vehicle back to the dealer and the mechanic duplicated the failure. The vehicle was diagnosed with a defective steering column. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but there were no recalls on his vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
NHTSA complaint #11438200 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Leesburg, VA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle produced a grinding noise then lurched a few times every couple of minutes and then the engine shut down. Luckily I was able to safely coast to a stop while going downhill and stop the vehicle at the side of the road. Turned the engine off, waited one minute, then pushed ignition button. Hybrid system started but engine did not. Shifted to Drive, pressed accelerator, but vehicle would not proceed. Turned everything off and waited five minutes. Pushed ignition button and hybrid system and engine started and shifted to drive. Vehicle would drive at underpowered speed and was able to drive 2 miles home at 35 mph. As I drove into driveway, the engine shutdown again. This occurred just a few hours ago, so it has not been serviced by anyone.
NHTSA complaint #11436870 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Huntington, WV
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was coming home from work doing around 75 mph on cruise control when all of the sudden the car jerked violently and lost all power, the car behind me would’ve rear ended me if they weren’t paying attention. I just hold the throttle down to get home, misfiring terribly, and the best way I can describe, it smelled hot if that makes sense. I had it looked at and was told it doesn’t have compression in one of the cylinders and that it wasn’t covered under warranty or recall. So now I’m paying for a car that I can’t drive.
NHTSA complaint #11432659 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.