Table 1 shows one common wheel related problems of the 2011 Kia Motor Optima.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Wheel problems |
The car just keep doing weird stuff with the lights. It want go off all the time the key went work the cv joints are popping. Have to trigger the battery sometimes to start up.
1- steering wheel. Yes 2- not sure if something was going to happen while driving whether da or night or long distance traveling 3- I spoke with the service center a while back and didn't have a good time to bring it by. 4- no no just loud shaking from the steering wheel. It's been going on for at least a month.
The wheel fell off when I was driving the key axle completely broke the pipe off but I still don’t have it fixed I only had liability.
I was on a curvy back road doing about 45mph applying the breaks not to stop but only to break my speed down some in order to go around the curve. While doing so my steering wheel locks up, it feel as if my tires are sliding & it feels like my breaks could be locked up as well. The next day I was getting off of the interstate on a ramp and again applied my brakes to break my speed down and the exact same thing happen. My wheel locked up, felt as if my brakes were locked up as well & my tires may have slid. I'm not noticing of my car is shutting off because when it is happening I'm too focused on the road & not losing control. But I am noticing that my radio is booting up. Which it only does this when I start up my engine.
Will produce photo from body shop when called.
My tires have had issues with extremely quick ware on the outside tread since about a year after purchase of the vehicle brand new in 2011. I have been told multiple times that it was just time to change the tires or have them rotates/balanced. The dealership wanted me to pay for an alignment and I took it somewhere else for a 2nd opinion - got an alignment done (which helped for about a month) took it back to the dealership, had it reset to factory settings - and the problem continues. . I have gone through so many tires. . . In addition, I now recently have an issue with a very loud clanking noise in the steering column, very intense steering wheel vibration in addition to a click noise when I turn hard right or left, it almost feels like the steering wheel is loose somewhere.
My family was on hwy 75 returning from thanksgiving vacay when we discovered that the airbag light was on. After placing a call to kia, I discovered that apparently airbags aren't covered by the 130,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. Now the ignition has an issue. Often times, I have to hit my key in the ignition in order to be able to turn the key. I am wondering if the ignition issue and the airbag issue are relateable and need to see if covered by warranty. There are 90,000 miles on this car and I have had it for less than a year. We purchased it used from drivetime. Thanks.
Tl- the contact owns a 2011 kia Optima. The contact stated that when driving at various speeds there was a loud abnormal nose emitting from the steering wheel in addition the contact stated that while driving at various highway sppeeds the vehcicle's steering wheel and wheels began to shake. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to get diagnoised. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000. Gl.
Just weeks after purchasing my kia, it had to be brought back to replace cracked dash, heated steering wheel peeling, tires wearing on the outside, wiper blades sucked & you could not see out of them when it rain, cracked outside of sunroof seal, pulling to left side and surges. They put new tires, steering wheel & fixed the dash. The service manager stated the specs were within normal limits for the alignment & transmission. The outside of the sunroof is normal wear & tear & it will crack again, stated the sun cracks it! it has been in the service department 5 times! even though my car is still under warranty! I have had 4 set of tires & they wear on the outside, it stills pulls to the left & I was told the alignment is normal. 6 sets of new wiper blades & they say that's not a problem. My car surges & it has not even been addressed! in late September my check engine light came on the day after I had my oil changed, I took my car to my dealership service, they kept it, fixed the 'oil control valve" within 5 miles from my dealership, check engine light came back on. After a week & a half, my 'intake cvvt timing & my 'exhaust cvvt timing! my warranty will be up in the next few months & I am worried about what is going to happen next & then theres no warranty! there should be a recall on Optima's steering to the left & on the tires either, alignment! I have went as far as contacting the georgia consumer protection, kia consumer hotline, us department of transportation, traffic safety, the attorney general's office. I have also contacted my local & national news station & will be meeting with them next week. If this does not raise a few questions, I will hire an attorney!! this is not about money, verses what is right!.
When I purchased the vehicle I noticed it pulled to the left and I brought it back to the dealer and they "said" they performed a fix according to an internal kia TSB-032 document. When I brought the vehicle back for a 15,000 mile service and another tire rotation they rotated the tires and the car aggressively pulled to the left again. I brought it back and argued over paying for an alignment and they said they would do the alignment to correct the problem. At this point, it did not correct the issue and the tires were put back prior to the 15k rotation. Since owning the vehicle, I am unable to rotate the tires without an aggressive pull to the left. Just today, 8/24/2013, the dealer told me kia had numerous complaints with nexen tires and have since switched to kumho. There should be a recall because kia used a product line that is obviously flawed and now the dealer is saying I have to spend >$1000 on a set of new tires for a problem that has existed since I drove the vehicle (brand new) off the lot.
This is a brand new hybrid. Since initial purchase the car has been observed to steer to left on its own at lowest speeds. Tire pressure has been checked weekly and has been maintained as per specs. Car still veers to left. On researching have found that this is an issue with all 2011 kia Optimas including other models. Continuously observed this for next 500 or so miles and then took to dealer who acknowledged the issue but said kia corporate has not notified them of any issue so they do not know what to do as this hybrid car is too new. The same issues has been reported on other kias non hybrid as well. The dealer was dulles kia in leesburg, va . I would not worry about cosmetic issues but on a brand new car such safety issues are troublesome especially when dealers have no clue. Dealer indicated these are new cars with new power steering modules and hence they have seen lot of these cases. Kia needs to recall and replace ASAP. Nhtsa needs to issues safety research. The car on higher speeds also pulls to left and is dangerous with windy conditions.