general problems of the 2007 Kia Motor Optima

Ever since we got this car it has been in 2 accidents due to the rain, when I started to look into what was causing this problem I noticed there is a hole in the plastic right below the oil filter. This allows water to get on the engine causing it to short power for the car. This in return causes the power steering to cease up making it nearly impossible to control the car, hence why it has been in two accidents; one that put my mother in the hospital a few years back. The last time this happened was yesterday but enough is enough, this flaw is a deadly problem.

As I was driving on the freeway today the car suddenly went from a speed pf 65 to 20 mph in the passing lane. I suddenly turned on the emergency lights to let the cars behind me know that their was a problem. Thank god I was hit and was able to pull the car over on the ramp. I called to have the car towed but in houston (this labor day) no one is able to look at the car so I was able to get it towed to auto zone. They ran a diagnostic and the tps (throttle position sensor) codes appeared. I was told only kia carries the part. I was so scared for my life and I don't want to ever be in that position again because my kids were in the car. I was reading complaints on several websites and it seems that this has been an ongoing problem for a while. It's sad that kia hasn't of yet issued a recall to fix this problem. Something has to be done about this as this was wake up call for me I can honestly say I thought I was going to lose my life when my car dropped dawn from speeds of 65 to 20. I have had problems with the car losing power but it would quickly regain power but nothing of this instance. Very scary situation for not only me but for the sake of my children that were present in the vehicle. . Read more...

I bougjt this car in 2014. I have replaced both low-beam headlights, twice, a brake light, both rear blinkers, a front blinker, as well as both highbeams. I have never replaced even half the number of lights in the entire lifetime of ownership of any vehicle I have owned in the past. This is an obvious recall issue based on safety as well as quality if kia cared. When the lights are working I have to drive with my high-beams on and I never get flashed or pulled over. It is extremely hard to see vs. Any other vehicle. I have had many friends and family in the car and have shared the story. And everyone says the same thing, its like the brights in this car is everyone else's regular lights. In fact, many people say the high-beams are not as bright as most vehicles low-beams. It is ridiculous and unfair that us owners have to spend $10-$35 on a bulb or two an average of every 5-8 weeks. Crazy. . . . Kia step up and fix this quality and safety issue. Gov't I guess wont step in without someone dying first and it making the news because I see I am not the first by any means, and wont be the last!.

I was in a crash and I have to say that this is a problem. After I received my car back from the body shop the car has been malfunctioning ! the 2. 7l has stumble on and at acceleration the failure is the throttle position switch this is a safety problem for all driver's that drive a 2007 kia Optima. The malfunction occurs five time's in one day. This problem may cause severe or fatal injuries to the occupants in the vehicle. Nothing was done to correct the failure and the old throttle position switch is available! I really thank that this is found to have a defect that affects safety and the automakers need voluntarily announce a recalls on all the 2007 kia Optima that have the same throttle position switch as this vehicle.

Had ongoing issues in which the car got "stuck" and would not accelerate past 25 mph, even if I "floored" it. I had to take my foot completely off the gas pedal, wait a few seconds (by then the car would be down to 10-15 mph), then try to accelerate again, which sometimes took several tries. I was very worried about getting into an accident when this happened because there was no warning and if you suddenly stop moving at the speed of traffic with no indication you are slowing down, you could easily be hit. In one case, I was trying to pass a slow-moving vehicle going 25 in a 40. I attempted to go around the vehicle, which should have been a pretty low-speed pass, as I only needed to get up to about 35 mph, but the car stopped accelerating at 25 and I could not get past. I had to take my foot off the gas, wait, try again, and repeat this a couple times before the car would accelerate again. This became a very scary situation because by that time, there was oncoming traffic approaching and I was literally stuck in the passing lane. I also had the car just completely lose power and shut off while I was at a red light at a busy urban intersection. Took it to a repair shop. They diagnosed it as a throttle position switch problem, and it cost almost $800 to get it fixed. At first I thought I just had bad luck, but I later found this message board in which people with this same model describe the exact same problems. . Read more...

While parking 2007 Optima I was unable to put the vehicle in park or take out the key. The shifter linkage and cable had broken. I used the emergency brake to keep the vehicle from rolling. I took vehicle to dealer (summit kia, waterford, mi) they replaced the vehicle shifting linkage at a cost of $750. 00. The dealer stated the cable broke and when I asked if the part was defective they stated that it was not unusual to have to replace this on the 2007 kia Optima. The vehicle has 108,000 miles. In 40 years and many vehicles I have never had this go on any other vehicle I owned.

The headlights and brake lights/turn signal lights burn out repeatedly. At least one of them burns out every 2-3 months.