Brake Light problems of the 2012 Kia Motor Optima

Three problems related to brake light have been reported for the 2012 Kia Motor Optima. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2012 Kia Motor Optima based on all problems reported for the 2012 Optima.

1 Brake Light problem

Failure Date: 05/03/2020

The contact owns a 2012 kia Optima. The contact stated that the rear brake lamps illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was turned off however, the brake lamps remained illuminated with the esc warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the only way to turn the brake lamps off, was to disconnect the battery. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The dealer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

2 Brake Light problem

Failure Date: 07/12/2019

Tl the contact owns a 2012 kia Optima. While driving with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle decelerated on its own. When the accelerator pedal was released and depressed again, the vehicle would accelerate normally. In addition, when accelerating from a stop, the vehicle started to rattle, the oil warning indicator flickered, and the rear brake lights would remain illuminated when the vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was taken to atlanta west kia (located at 1301 thornton rd, lithia spring, GA 30122, (678) 715-5399) where it was diagnosed that the high pressure fuel pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notifed. The approximate failure mileage was 166,000.

3 Brake Light problem

Failure Date: 11/10/2017

I first noticed a problem with my vehicle when the cruise control would randomly disengage while going down the interstate. Then a couple of weeks later I was making a left turn across a two lanes of traffic on a city street. When I first pushed the accelerator the car started to go and then suddenly I lost all acceleration. I let my foot off the accelerator and then pushed back down and was able to go. This was a very dangerous situation as I was stuck in the middle of two lanes of traffic for several extra seconds longer than necessary. A similar situation happened a couple of more time and when I parked the vehicle at home I noticed that brake light was staying on after I got out of the car. I took the car to the local kia dealership and they replaced the brake sensor which fixed all of the above problems. I would like to not that Hyundai issued a recall on the nearly identical sonata for this same issue and did so years ago and yet nothing for the Optima.


Other Exterior Lighting related problems of the 2012 Kia Motor Optima



Safety Ratings of Optima Cars
Fuel Economy of Optima Vehicles
Optima Defect Investigations