general problems of the 2017 Kia Motor Optima

Vehicle experiences sudden and dangerous loss of power while driving, including hesitation during acceleration, consistent with connecting-rod bearing failure risk known in this model’s gdi engine. Dealer estimate found timing and oil-flow component failures connected to internal engine damage. Vehicle is unsafe to drive and stalls/lacks power unexpectedly, creating a high risk of crash. ”.

My fiancée and I just recently bought this car with the 1. 6t-gdi engine I immediately replaced the oil even though the dealership said that he just replaced it. I put 7 quarts of oil topping off from awk consumption after I initially changed the oil filter. Those 7 quarts were added over the period of three weeks and it’s just progressively gotten worse. I’m putting a quart to 1. 5 quarts of oil in here every other day. Worried about it causing total failure & being at risk of being stranded with 2 kids due to the only engine I’ve been able to find that kia doesn’t have any recall touched base on is the gamma 1. 6 engine. The turbo gamma 1. 6. The n/a 1. 6 was covered but it has ungodly pop/clunking backfiring sound coming from either intake manifold or valve train please help. Times are hard enough as it is to be without a vehicle due to a fault other than none of my own the dealership extended powertrain warranty isn’t being honored by kia even though they said it would just don’t want something to happen to me or the car that’s beyond my capabilities and knowledge and ultimately result in my spouse not having a reliable and/or safe means of transportation to/from work and commuting kids as well. Thanks in advance.

Oil is burning too fast. . . Car has had an issue like this in the past and the problem resulted in a blown engine. . . Re-call was found by dealer and honored and endinge re-placed. . Car is now expierenceing this problem again. . . Second, steering wheel is locking when turnning fully left. . . Third, car smells extremely strong like gasoline when car is warming up. . .

While driving my 2017 kia Optima (theta ii engine) at approximately 115,900 miles, I suddenly experienced engine failure. The vehicle began to stall and produced a burning smell shortly before the engine seized completely. I had the car towed to a kia dealership, which confirmed an internal engine failure and noted that there were no signs of external oil leaks or neglect. The failure occurred only 4,500 miles after my last oil change, which was documented and professionally completed. The kia technician mentioned verbally that this was due to excessive oil consumption and burning — an issue I later found to be widely reported in other kia vehicles using this engine type. The estimated repair cost is over $14,000, which is more than the value of the vehicle. Despite my warranty being expired, this type of failure appears consistent with known manufacturing defects. I am reporting this for public safety and accountability. The vehicle failed without warning and could have caused a dangerous situation on the road.

Engine is failing and using over 3 quarts of oil every 700-100 miles. Spark plugs have become oil fouled and replaced all 4 spark plugs June 11th, 2024 and replaced all 4 spark plugs again January 12th, 2025. Today July 7th, 2025 check engine light came back on with engine misfire code p0303 cylinder 3 misfire, changing spark plugs again today. My safety is put at risk because oil consumption is a know issue with kia gdi engines. At any moment my car can run out of oil if it is not check every other week causing my engine to completely fail or a spark plug become oil fouled and a spark plug needing to be replaced. In July of 2024 when this happened I was on the highway going 70 mph and my car just completed shut down. I could have been seriously injured had I not been able to pull over and only been 5 miles away from my home. I called kia today to start an oil consumption test, stated I am the 2nd owner and while this is a known issue I will pay for and upper engine clean which is only a band aid. This problem has been confirmed with kia that the gdi engines are consuming oil. I have also replaced all engine coolant, coolant temperature senor, thermostat as well as the pcv valve.

The power steering stopped working and the car became hard to turn because of it. The power steering light (red color with steering wheel and exclamation point to the right of it) came on also.

The contact owns a 2017 kia Optima. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 70 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but failed to accelerate as intended or change gear as intended. The vehicle was then taken to another dealer where it was diagnosed that the triaxle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.

I was getting on the freeway and my car suddenly just stopped accelerating. I even tried pushing the pedal to the floor and all power was gone. I was almost ran down by a 18 wheeler who must not have noticed my hazards had been switched on. A warning came on “check hybrid system. Turn off engine” when the car lost its momentum as I was pulling over and eventually came to a stop I followed the warnings directions and shut the car off since I couldn’t get any further anyways. I tried turning the car back on and then all lights and power instantly started flickering on and off and going crazy and then the warning came back on and then the whole car shut off by itself. I have been too scared to drive it since and I just got it back in October and I need a car to get to work and school and I don’t know what to do but the amount of danger this issue put me in is unsettling and cannot be overlooked. Not sure what caused the malfunction because so many different things happened at once that it was hard to tell it is available for inspection upon request a service center confirmed that there is a problem and they believe it is related to the coolant pump and hybrid battery there was one other time that a warning came up and it just said “check hybrid battery” but it went away only like a minute later and then a couple days after that I came outside to go to work and the car was dead but then I jumped it and it was fine up until the issue I first mentioned happened where I was put in danger a warning light that said !hev and the check engine light both appeared.

Vehicles has most recently developed a "whizzing" type sound coming from the transmission just before it shifts into the next gear. It is most discernible when it shifts out of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears. I don't profess to know if modern transmissions have "bands" that are adjustable or not. Clearly, it is a sound that has never been present. There's been enough wrong with this kia, so why not transmission issues as well. I was at my dealer today for PA state inspection & emissions along with an oil change (a problem arose out of the oil change that I just sent into the NHTSA) and they have me coming in on September 12th for a diagnostic look.

On Friday 6/23/2023 on my way home from work, one of the clutches went out on my dct transmission without any warning. I was at a stop light in front of all of the cars in a busy section and wasn’t able to go. I was able to get it to a safer location, but new something was wrong with my transmission. My mechanic was able to tell me that I’ve lost the 1st & 3rd gear. We drove around a few blocks with his diagnostics computer hooked into my car. My car isn’t safe to drive due to the faulty dct transmission kia had installed into this model.

Vehicle had oil change & filter service done on April 27, 2023 for the purpose of hoping the service would rectify an oil pressure sensor light illuminated on the dashboard. It did not. Sensor was subsequently replaced by the dealer. Vehicle taken into the dealership today (September 2, 2023) for pennsylvania state inspection and emissions, along with another oil change service. Dealer technician in the course of performing the oil change, noticed after he put the new oil plug washer and bolt back in place, a minute crack in the oil pan, itself. He took a picture of it, that I will include with this complaint. Unfortunately, the definition of the photo leaves a bit to be desired. The dealer service writer suggested that too much force (pneumatic socket driver) was employed when tightening the oil pan bolt. I stopped at the location where the April 27, 2023 was done. The general manager assured me they use a power torgue ratchet and not a pneumatic socket driver. He went under the car and detected a minute leak and said he would forward his report to their quality control department. He asked me if I could bring the car back on Tuesday or Wednesday, September 5th or 6th for a re-inspection. I said I would do that. He did mention there is a possible class action suit that might be filed over kia/Hyundai oil pans and bolts. It cites the use of poor materials used in the pan construction. Reports range from leaks to the oil bolt plug falling out due to expansion/contraction under duress. Don't know where or when any class action will manifest itself, but this oil change facility needs to step up and replace the oil pan, since they were the last ones to do a change before today.

Engine oil consumption, I have owned this car since new and almost every other week I need to add oil. My car has 85k miles on it , and has been service by dealer since new, just 2 months ago pomona kia said my oil pan gasket had a small leak and replaced the gasket, today 3500 miles after the gasket replacement my car needed 3 quarts of oil. I'm not a mechanic but I know my car should not go trough so much oil. Someone please help.

Excessive oil consumption started at 61,000 miles, causing engine misfires and dangerous power loss on the road. Engine codes 1326 and p0304 were frequent. Despite numerous services, including sensor replacements, spark plugs and oil top-offs, the problem worsened. At 97,769 miles, the dealer said a full engine replacement is needed along with other pertinent repairs related to the engine are needed. The situation was life-threatening each time as they occurred while driving and I now no working vehicle after my husband's recent death. Kia dealerships acknowledged the defect but refused to replace the engine and advised that kia corporate was refusing, although no claim information was ever provided that they indeed contacted the corporate office. I am seeking NHTSA support in holding kia accountable.

I was driving on the highway when my check engine light came on flashing the car jersey almost to a stop and I had to pull over. I cut the car off and sat then turned it back on. The check engine light was still flashing and I put my flashers on and was unable to go over 60 mph. I drove slowly to an autozone and a code was pulled p1326. I looked it up and it undeliverable due to the knock sensor issue.

While driving the car on the highway, when I try accelerating, the car suddenly acts as if it's in neutral and the engine roars without engaging a higher or lower gear and the car start losing power/speed. It takes like three to five seconds to engage a gear again; I have to lift my foot from the pedal a little bit and wait for it to lock on a higher or a lower gear for me to accelerate again.

Large oil consumption (1qt a week). No warning lights, experiencing loss of power, hesitation on acceleration, oil covering the motor with no signs of leaks underneath the car on the streets. Oil puddling up on the top of the valve cover near the plugs but unable to locate the source. Gaskets and hoses checked and all are in good condition. 125,000 miles.

I believe there is a problem with the transmission in this car. It is an lx with the 2. 4l engine gdi. It's the standard engine. The transmission seemed "off" after a firmware update. Prior to this, the car really performed and rolled nicely. By that I mean, there was no detectable dray when taking my foot off the gas. In driving the car now, the car just seems to lug, as it takes more acceleration to get the car moving. The transmission "hangs up" at around 40mph, with no load on the engine. The tach at 40mph or thereabouts, reads around 1900-2200rpms. This is far too high in my opinion, before I go a little faster, and the trans finally shifts to the next gear, lowering the rpms to where they should be at 40 mph. Gas mileage is down approx. 20% to what I enjoyed before this started. I did have the car back to the dealer, fred beans in langhorne PA, for routine maintenance and mentioned it to the service writer. Of course (and I mean this with all due respect), they couldn't duplicate the experience. What the did do was wipe the transmission memory clean and we started fresh. The idea being the transmission would relearn my driving habits. I don't profess to know everything about a trans learning habits, but I do know that the trans should not hang up between gears for any reason. Due to return to the dealership for regular service. Will mention it again. Out of regular warranty but I did purchase an extended warranty.

My vehicle has had multiple issues with its hybrid battery management system since purchase. It has been towed 4 times. While driving my car will start to jerk and a warning system telling me there is a problem with the battery management system (bms) and the power train. It will tell me to pull over or to contact the service department. This car has had its battery replaced and software upgraded numerous times, but I keep having the same issue. I'm concerned the battery system is faulty and it's dangerous to drive at this point, as nothing preceeds the issues - they happen out of nowhere.

A loud knocking noise in the car 61k miles. . Basically the dealship is saying the car needs a new engine.

Missfire on cylinder 3, check engine light, code p0303. At 34,900 miles.

Power train; shift lock specifically: had to use the release control more than once. While driving when it happens, I feel a surge/ decline in acceleration(something I requested be checked a year and a half ago, but kia said they could not recreate my description). Continues to drive but sluggish to accelerate. Once I put into "park" I cannot get it out of park except to use release. It did reset(?) when I turned the car off. Suspension; first few months of owning the car I periodically heard a creak in rear suspension here and there when backing out of driveway/gutter slope. Have noticed an increased creaking and more bounce while driving over time but have not even owned car more than 2 years.