general problems of the 2011 Kia Motor Optima - part 1

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.

Hydraulic electronic control unit (hecu) experienced an electrical short circuit and engine hardly running.

Recall states to not drive vehicle due to hecu which can result in an engine compartment fire. I have contacted 3 dealerships and corporate. There are 15,000 dealerships/service centers that have technology/technical issues. I have spent 3 days, and 12 hours trying to get assistance. I'm being told corporate is not providing any additional support or payment to individually owned dealerships. Expecting them to cover additional expenses. I am disabled and need to go to treatments/procedures multiple times a week. They are backed up 1-2 months for an appointment. Consumers are to pay everything up front and then 90 days later request a reimbursement. They will not provide or pay for a rental or loaner car until the car is being serviced. Therefore they are leaving me with no vehicle for up to 2 months as their letter clearly states that the vehicle is not to be driven and is unsafe. I should not be inconvenienced because kia made a mistake and is now having to perform a recall, 15,000 stores are not able to perform because of technical issues, they are so far behind in their service appointments which should not have any effect on me and I should not be responsible to pay for any of this and they should absolutely provide me with the vehicle and not leave me with no transportation for 2+months. I am unable to get to my appts. For treatments, my daughter cannot drive to work. And they have absolutely no solution for me and telling me that there is nothing that can be done other than me paying $45/day out of pocket. They stated that I personally would be charged to do a full diagnostic test to confirm that there are no safety issues, however corporate stated that it was required in order to get my car back. This has been an absolute nightmare, I am also wanting to know if ada would get involved in something like this as they are not making any type of reasonable accommodation for me. There has to be a law preventing this that they are required to provide a vehicle unt.

Recall for hecu fuse. Dealer made appointment to fix the cancelled saying fix was no longer available by kia. Kia should not have said there is a remedy available when there is not.

The contact owns a 2011 kia Optima. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v652000 (service brakes, hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start up after not being drive for a while. The check engine warning was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed with an unknown result. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.

There's something going on at the kia dealership in wake forest (westgate). Per the current recall notice, the lights came on that were highlighted in the notice ( ”mil” , abs warning light) so I had my car towed into the dealership. They claimed my car had a bad battery and the problems were not due to the recall situation. I took my car out of there and straight to auto zone, about 200 feet from the dealership. My battery tested fine. Not only this, the lights (check engine, and others) were no longer illuminated and the radio was mysteriously working again. I'm not sure what they did to my car, but they charged me over $200 for a diagnosis. Not only this, they cited several other issues with the vehicle that I nor my master mechanic were aware of. They had my car for several days without so much as a phone call. In addition, while I was waiting for the keys to my car (which took 15 minutes to obtain), I overheard the other gentleman inform a kia owner via phone that her car was not covered under the warranty because she had over 150k miles on the car. I'm so disgusted. This is what happens every time we have to take a car into a dealership. They're full of baloney.

Car could catch on fire ,recall for 5 months not repaired yet!!!!.

Hydraulic electronic control unit (hecu) can start a fire, I was informed not to park the car in a garage or near other cars, also it can also catch fire while driving the car!! I was notified months ago of this problem !! I called a kia dealer that got me no where !! kia recall #sc284tf.

Defect discovered by kia September 2023 affected owners not notified until November 2023 as of March 1, 2024, no updates. After six months, if no "fuse" is available, entire hecu should be replaced. Vehicle's exterior has significantly deteriorated since being required to park outside. Additionally, seriousness of fire hazard restricts use of car.

My car won’t crank. Starter is not working. Ask if warranty or recall. Let’s see if they accept warranty for starter replacement. My car towed to kia of Lincoln in Lincoln, nebraska where the car parked there right now. Please contact kia at Lincoln and I better hope warranty are accepted and diagnostic are free too. Thank you!.

After driving the car over 15 miles, the check brake light comes on, activating my emergency brake, slowing the car down and preventing me to accelerate. This happens on the freeway, where traffic is fast and my decelerating car puts me and those around me at risk of collision. Once it occurs the first time, it happens again a few minutes later. I have to frequently veer off the side of the freeway, turn off the car, and then turn it on again for the check brake light to go away and for me to travel once more. This has been a problem for a couple of years with me trying to get the issue repaired, and documented in my visits. Kia and other service operatives have repeatedly not been able to replicate the error in their care, however they never drive it long enough for it to occur. I’ve spent a lot of money now trying to fix this problem and have videos and photos of it occurring. The last time it was inspected they only drove it 6 miles and said there were a lot of little codes going off but weren’t again able to replicate the problem I had been describing. It first appeared 2 years ago and I can feel it start to come on when I’m not able to accelerate my car any further like there is an added resistance. This then amounts to the check brakes display to appear with the emergency brake icon always accompanying it. It makes a scraping, gargled sounds and slows down the car. Overall it has affected the overall drive of the car and braking system as it is growing harder to stop the car when driving. The brakes have been repeatedly checked as well as the fluid and it’s normal, so it should be braking normally. This car has had other issues in the past that have been fixed but this has continued and has been a growing issue that is not being resolved. I’ve googled this issue with others expressing the same issue without any viable solution from kia so I know I’m not alone in this. It’s not safe to drive. Also I tried uploading the videos but it only allowed the pictures.

It appears I have a defective oil pump in the car which I think is what caused the engine to go bad to begin with. I am requesting that kia of denham springs be authorized by the main office of kia to install a new oil pump in my car after the new motor is installed, otherwise the new motor will probably go bad and will result in kia having to install another motor for the car. I hope you can step in and assist me in getting a new oil pump installed as this would be a safety issue of the car breaking down on the road and could result in myself or other passengers possibly stranded on the highway . A engine compartment fire could happen if the engine gets too hot due to the deflective oil pump no keeping all engine parts oiled properly by the defective oil pump. I am requesting that the national highway traffic safety administration's office look into this matter. Thanks for your assistance tommie mcmorris 985-969-8995 email: tommieap@charter. Net.

I was driving out of town and when I went to accelerate and the engine had seized, the brakes had locked up and I lost power steering which almost resulted in an accident. On the dash was showing the engine, oil, and esc light, which were not on the dash before and there was nothing wrong or weird going on with the car prior to the first incident to even indicate that something was wrong. Had to get the car towed home then realized there had been a recall on the engine. Contacted the kia manufacturer and they had towed it to a kia dealership where they replaced the engine. Waited 2 months to get my car back, the dealership let me leave with the abs and eps light on the dash, and couldn't give me a reason why the lights were still on. I had it for 3 days, it drove okay and now it no longer drives nor does it start. I was stranded because the car wouldnt start again giving the same issues as before the recall repair was done, with only accessories turning on. On the dash it only shows engine, oil, eps and battery light. Found the serpentine belt already coming apart and misplaced, found strips of the belt laying in the bottom of the hood. Also had found out the entire engine block rocks back and forth while car is in motion. If I had driven the car any longer the belt would have completely snapped and would most likely result in an injury or worse. With the engine movement that is also going to cause other damages to the car and more safety hazards. I have not even known about the engine recall on this car until after everything happened and when the car was purchased no one had notified me in anyway about the recall. Now they refuse to cover towing costs back to the dealership because the "5 year warranty had expired" when this in no way is my fault. Second incident was oct. 17th 2022.

When accelerating in traffic car will completely shut off for about two seconds. This kicks off the traction control and power steering is lost. This did not start happening untill the engine was replaced in June 2021.

Safety: it appears the vehicle in question has had engine, electrical, and driveability issues within less than 8,000 miles of it being on the road the first record of this vehicle show's one owner, purchased not from a kia dealership but a third party. The carfax history showed there has been a driveability issue an ecm module has been replaced twice? less than 30,000 miles? it's believed that the warranty or millage has been used as a reason to deny repair and or because as the recall on the engine states it is undetermined as to what is causing a malfunction but it has or will result in fire. This becomes a liability for those who offer works on the vehicle. Something within the vehicle is without warning causing the vehicle to randomly fail while descending from 65-85 miles an hour. There are also sudden jerks that randomly accrue. Rendering the car hard to maintain direction. Imagin a first-time driver attempting to handle this on a busy highway in texas - the day we acquired the car we took it to kia to do a full inspection - oil change, etc- the report given was that there are no problems identified but a computer module may need to be changed. We also asked that they give us an appraisal it was at that point they said that the car had a salvage title. Which the seller who sold it us arellano auto sales sail the title was clean. Last year a recall on the engine was issued. The insurance company determined the vehicle a total loss since how the car was branded a lost because it appears kia refused to fix the car, while everyone else says they can't recreate the issue for fear of liability. So here are with a car that has an undetermined engine issue that causes other electronics to malfunction. The vehicle has been seen at kia dealerships according to the carfax. It's been seen. By two other service facilities and all have come up with something that may needed to be service while nothing has fixed the car.

Went to dealer under warranty because of check charging system (hybrid) 2011 kia Optima they said they did an update it did not help it has been constantly doing the same thing I loose power I have to pull over and start the engine the check engine light stays on this is dangerous because I am driving down the street and it goes into the safe mode I have no power I need help kia said they will not do anything the dealer is an idiot told me I needed a transmission please help me.

The passenger airbag lights will flash, my lights won't turn off when on auto, my radio is turning on and off by itself and is doing some weird things.

Hi my car has lot of safety issues. . I took many times to kia dealer in jersey city my car door gets unlocked while it's in driving mode which makes me feel unsafe I told so many times to the dealers to fix it they do some temporary things in my car and they live me but again after some days that problem is arising again. . . I am fed up with this situation as I am the second owner of the car. . .

I was on I 95 yesterday in the evening heading home and all of sudden my car went to shaking in the engine light was blinking on and off I pulled over to the side of the road to stop the car as I pulled over on the side of the road I sat in the car while the car was still running part in the car cut off by itself end it all the sudden started making a knocking sound once I turn the car back on.

Tl- the contact owns 2011 kia Optima xx. The contact stated that the low front beams illuminated too low at night. The contact stated they had replaced the bulbs however, the issue remained. The contact stated they had read the housing for the front beams were burning out due to the receptive strip melting when the front beams were being used. The contact took the vehicle to the dealership (hagerstown kia located at 10307 auto place, hagerstown, MD, 21740 phone number: 866-404-6114) who were in the process of diagnosing the vehicle at this time. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 114,000. Gl.

My trunk lid opens my it's self. I find it open in the morning & sometimes during the day.

Engine died while driving on public street and would not restart and within minutes fire in engine compartment. Destroyed front of car and damaged interior.

Having problems with electrical system/shortage in 2011 kia Optima. While in motion, driver side door unlocks, interior lights comes on and off and door/doors open light comes on.

My headlights are so dim that ****safe driving at night is impossible*** for me and other cars on the road because it's too dark to see! I've had new light bulbs installed, only to no avail. This problem started around 80k miles. I spoke to kia's regional rep only to find that he has a pompous attitude and no regard for consumer safety. He told me that despite safety concerns, it all comes down to the warranty which expired at 40k miles and kia "can't" do anything about it. Of course they can, but he assured me they wont. I advised him that according to the thousands of complaints on the internet, this defect typically occurs at 75k+ miles, meaning that their warranty would never cover it anyhow. It's a catch 22 and kia apparently knows this, according to the rep. His supervisor, julie miller, is supposed to contact me within 48 hours. I hope she has more compassion for human life than her employee. This is my 3rd kia vehicle, and hopefully not my last, since their vehicles and service have been great up until now. Kia, recall this defect before people die.

Head lights flash on and off for no reason when first started it up last for about 10 minutes.

Lights flash off and on while driving / hear clicking sound while my dash board flickers as well. This happens when parked and in motion.

While parked in various locations (on street, at gas pump, in parking lots), and on about 8-10 occasions, I was unable to get the car to start after depressing the brake and start button on my car. All the lights lit up on the instrument panel and the radio went on as well - the rest of the car electrical system worked fine. The brake pedal became very stiff and was hard to depress. I put my key fob into the bypass in the trunk and it still would not start. The only way to get the car to start was to depress the stiff brake pedal, then shift from p to d and back again. Then the brake pedal seemed to loosen up and I was able to start the car successfully. I had researched the remedy through you tube. The first time it happened was October 2, 2018 and it has happened about 8-10 times since then. I have a video of the problem, but not of the solution that I found online, therefore I am unable to attach any documentation. I noticed that the replacement of the brake switch was "voluntary" NHTSA # 13v-114, but feel that this should be a mandatory fix instead since it has happened so often to me. Just last week when it happened again, I remembered what to do quickly as I was stuck in a long line at the gas station just last week, with cars honking at me to move when I could not. It happened to me the last time just yesterday 10/8/2019 inside my garage. Please look into making this a mandatory recall. I will be contacting my local dealer this week as well. Thank you.

Tl the contact owned a 2011 kia Optima. While driving 25 mph, the contact smelled a burning electrical odor. Seconds later, black smoke appeared and flames rose from the hood. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road and exited the vehicle without injury. The vehicle then burst into flames. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a tow lot. The cause of the failure was not determined. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The approximate failure mileage was 86,300.

My car cut off in the middle of the street causing a accident.

Using owners manual procedure for starting the engine. Vehicle is parked, transmission lever in park position. Foot depressing brake pedal, push button for starting engine on dashboard is depressed = no engine crank & no start ! instrument cluster display fully illuminates & "immobilizer" icon 'light' is displayed on preventing engine starting. Key fob is placed on the dash during above starting sequence. . . Placing the key fob in the glove-box override "by-pass" port also will not start the vehicle. This is a very "intermittent" problem & has occurred 5 times in recent 2 weeks stranding us at shopping malls & gas stations. The Optima has been to the kia dealership 3 times & service manager claims they are unable to find the problem or have the defect happen in their presence. I see many owners have posted videos on youtube. Com with exactly the same problem as we are experiencing. This is very frustrating & unacceptable. . . Especially with winter conditions arriving in 2 months ! please investigate ASAP !.

The engine seized. Ive been waiting for this recall. Kia has had tis vehicle for a month and I can't seem to get the approval for the current recall. It was in motion driving at 30 miles per hour smoke came from the engine and never turned on again. It was 300 downtown salt lake city. A city street. We had the vehicle towed home. The dealership seized the engine and quoted us 6500. 00 to fix the entire car. Replace the engine.

My kia was making a whistling noise on and off for awhile then my oil light would flicker so I figured I need an oil change. Got my oil changed and then the car started make a knocking noise and would get worse with acceleration and would have a hard time accelerating. It would jolt and vibrate and make knocking and flapping noises. Turn on my road to go home and lost power. My car slowly came to a stop I could not accelerate at all. My engine, battery, oil, and eps light came on. I tried starting it up and would come on for about 5 seconds make a lot of noise and the engine would turn off but my radio and windows still worked. My ac was on but not cooling. All the cabin lights work still but my brake are stiff.

2 issues with 2011 kia Optima @ 101,987 miles. Quick burning of oil (causing oil to burn up and having car owner deal with topping off oil levels) and gradual "ticking" sound from engine that results in engine shutdown as car is in motion prob #1: my kia burning thru oil at high temp-I performed each and every oil change paying over $70 for top quality oil. Issue with oil gradually became worse. I had to buy my oil in between changes to keep adding oil to engine, made mistake in blaming oil change companies, wasted time and money in having oil changed sooner then 3,000 miles. Oil can henry stated that they believed kia engine ran on high temp which was burning oil 2x faster then any car. Problem #2: "ticking" sound from engine, that gradually for louder, finally caused engine to shut down (characteristics are deceiving car owner assumes battery issues/ kia mechanics blame bad battery) this is not the case! I have aaa witness my car issues, and car still had issues after new battery was installed, which kia mechanics still blamed battery. Car shutdown is not battery since all inside lights, radio etc still function and when car died during driving it still allowed me to "coast" home at 3 mph. The day my car died, there was already a new battery in car. I came out to leave for doc appointment, car lights came on/radio on but engine barely start, if it did start car engine died, it was as if engine barely started and couldn't maintain itself. I missed a urgent appointment(iam disabled). Called aaa, they confirmed battery at 100%. We tried everything possible, aaa guys said horrible noise from engine, after 20 tries I was barely able to revive it enough to test drive. Drove around my block down the street and after 10 min car died, but not completely. Although I couldn't accelerate, car "drifted" at 2-3 mph. I turned on er lights, coasted home in 1 hour.

While driving on interstate car just quit running. Had to pull to shoulder and use emergency brake to stop. Car towed, first repair shop said it was an electrical fire. Then towed to kia dealer who wouldn't really commit on cause. Blamed sludge on motor. Have service records. Regular maintenance and oil changes.

Tl-the contact owns a 2011 kia Optima. The contact stated that the electrical system is malfunctioning. The contact stated that several warning lights illuminate and it gets hot in the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle unlocks itself. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 85,000. Ad.