Automatic Transmission Problems of Kia Motor Optima

The contact owns a 2014 kia Optima. The contact stated while his son was driving 45 mph the vehicle shut down. The contact son was able to pull over safely. The contact tried to jump start the vehicle, but the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was towed to the contact home. The was not able to see the vehicle. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 97,484.

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When driving car is ok, but when you slow down to around 20 mph the car jerks , but after car I driven for around 10-15 miles it doesn't do it.

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2009 kia Optima lx/ex sedan 4 door transmission 15,000 miles extreme hard down shift when slowing to a stop from second to first. , almost like it throws the car into park, enough that it could throw you into windshield if not wearing a seatbelt. The dealer can not find the problem, it only happens 20% of the time on ice and slick roads it can cause you to lose control of the vehicle. This has happened to me several times.

On two occasions (to date) my kia Optima has become inoperable - unable to put the car in drive or reverse. The first occurred during the winter in February 2010. After one of many snowstorms this season I was driving on a plowed road then encountered an area where there was only room enough for one car to pass. When I pulled over to allow an approaching vehicle to pass my car was in about 8-inches of snow. While moving the transmission selector between reverse to get out of loosely packed snow I found I could no longer get the car into a drive gear ¿ forward or reverse. The car had to be towed because it was no longer operable and was causing a road hazard for other vehicles. The dealer claimed snow caused the shifting cable to detach from the gear selector. The dealer, holly kia, reported the problem was repaired by reattaching the cable to the selector. More recently my son was operating my vehicle on or about July 6th, 2010 ¿ a 100+ degree day. He reported that he was in reverse to move the car to another parking spot in a car dealership and the car could no longer be shifted into any gear¿ again. During this instance the car was on a steep incline and my son was fortunate to be able to maneuver the car around other parked cars but the car had to be coasted to the bottom of the grade in order to be safely parked. After the second instance, the car was again towed back to holly kia for repair - holly kia is now replacing the shifting cable. The holly kia service department claims this problem with the 2007 kia Optima as a manufacturing flaw. My concern is, after the repair can the car be trusted and operated safely ¿ both incidents left the car in a very compromised state and a hazard to other vehicles (moving and parked).

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Bought a kia Optima a few months ago and recently it has developed a dangerous shifting pattern when down shifting from 2nd to 1st about 20mph it jerks the !@#$%¿. Out of you and if you happen to be braking at the time you meet a snap from seat belt as you fly towards windshield causing sever neck and back pain this is getting worse , dealer willing to fix but kia is ignoring the issue as I have heard of others having same problem , I have been told by dealer its probably just computer oriented but kia has to authorize the repair , contacted kia and as expected there computer was down and they could not help me!.

I have a 2009 kia Optima lx when I go to brake around 20 mph it feels like the car is downshifting hard causing me to jerk in the seat. It does this all the time I do feel this is the transmission and I am taking it to the dealer to be serviced.

After stopping at a stop sign I tried to accelerate and turn left. My car would not "go". So I pressed the accelerator harder and it finally and slowly moved forward. I have an automatic transmission, but it was like I was driving a manual and had tried to start in 3rd gear instead of 1st. It's almost like my car had to catch up for a minute before it would go. It has happened several times since that to different degrees. It is a 2003 with only 41,000 miles and no longer under warranty since I bought it used. I am afraid it will do this on the interstate or when I am trying to merge and could be dangerous.

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After buying the vehicle from a auto dealer between July 2 and July 5 . . . This vehicle began to have many problems like the audio receiver switch from radio to cd on its own,doors locks on its own,rpm runs to 4000 going 45mph after a hard jerk assuming that I was hit by a other car the air bag light came on after that 2 hard jerks while driving,,(they didn't even deployed) can not pump gas due to fuel keeps over flowing when its barely empty . . . . Its been a living ?!@#$% and I'm still paying for the car. . . . Is it legal for a dealership to sell a vehicle like this.

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The contact owns a 2006 kia Optima. When driving at any speed, the transmission would not downshift. The failure occurs everyday, but worsens in inclement weather. He took the vehicle to the dealer seven or eight times and was informed that the vehicle was designed in that fashion and nothing could be done. The current mileage was 36,000 and failure mileage was 22,220.

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Purchased oct,15,07. Within 3 day we had it up to dealer were purchases 1) for windows not going up or down all the time. 2) light on radio and heater do not work. 3) the car had no power and would go from 1st gear to 3rd gear and would stay that way until car turned off. 4)had to replace speed shift sensor. 5) brakes. Got looked in car several times and could not get out. Sometimes they work most of the time they don't. 6). Antenna broke off for no reason. Went out on day barely touched it and it feel off. 7) on Feb 9th car would not start for 4 days for no reason had towed from own house to garage were they know believe it has a cracked head or blown head gasket. This car only has 89,000 miles and should not have all these problems already. There needs to be something done I have a 3yr old and a 7 yr old. I fear for there lives and mine. . I don't even want this car anymore and have had it for only 4 months. Please help if u have any advice. Don't buy a kia. Also this car came with a 90 day warranty from harry's auto sales and they kept telling me for 3 month there was nothing wrong and only would reset computer until I took it to another garage and they found out differt. They told us head gasket. Harry said noooooo. When warranty ran out then they informed me I need a head gasket. They said I would have to pay for it cause warranty out. That sounds like a lemon. Please help me find legal advice.

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2002 kia Optima sub frame is rusting out. Customer states that the dealer told her there was a spot on the sub frame where the control arm mounts to the engine cradle had rusted out and it looked as if it had been in an accident, and would not help with the repairs. The mechanic concluded that due to the design of the vehicle, the condensation from the air condition running down the frame is what caused the rust to occur. The speed sensor for the automatic transmission was replaced.

Input and output speed sensor failure. Failure of sensors cause transmission to drop from 4th gear to 3rd gear. From there transmission can only shift between 2nd and 3rd gear using "sport shift-stick" . On a good day without problems engine is sluggish. Very scary to drive.

The contact owns a 2005 kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle would come out of gear while driving approximately 35 mph which made it difficult to move forward. Occasionally, the vehicle appeared to be in the neutral position. Over the course of the day the vehicle would gradually correct itself; although, the check engine light would illuminate and stay on for a couple days. She took the vehicle to several dealers and the transmission was replaced but the problem recurred. She called the manufacturer and was instructed to take her vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle has not been repaired to-date. The current mileage was approximately 66,500. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

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: the contact stated the vehicle continuously lost transmission fluid. Also, while driving 30 mph, the vehicle lost acceleration power, causing a lag in the pickup. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer who was unable to determine the problem.

When I first brought the car and drove it, the lights became dim in the inside and the headlights. The radio turned off and on, took it to dealer 4-5 times for problem and they could find nothing wrong. The car doesn't pick up spend when going over hills not even little ones. The gas needle does not read full even when the tank is practically overflowing with gas. Reading a full tank of gas happens every once in a while. Check engine light comes on . Have taken to shop and was told that my spend sensor is going out and that is why the car is going from 1st to 3rd gear and skips 2nd altogether I've only had the car for one year the warrinty is gone and I was never offered the extended warrinty and really didn't think of it since the car was only 4 yr old. Back brakes have also gone out at least I think so they started grinding with no warning 2 days ago I'm going to have them checked this weekend. Air (never used befoe this summer)doesn't get cold like it should. Door lock making a crazy sound on drivers side, believe the motor is going out on power locks they also tend to not want to unlock sometimes. Atenna broke. Air bag light came on and won't turn off. Also how can I find out if any recall items have been fixed on my car or not or if they still need to be replaced.

Since purchasing my 2001 kia Optima, I have had nothing but difficulty. I purchased an extended warranty at the dealership I purchased it from in case I needed repairs. I got my money's worth. But the problems I had are common problems with the vehicle, locks not working, windows not rolling up, paint peeling off, transmission problems, check engine light constantly on, decreased acceleration, heat surges when gas pedal released and pressed and the list goes on. It is not hard to find other kia owners with the same problems. The repair that bothers me the most is the complete transmission it needs. There is 41,000 miles on the vehicle. Common problems that are widely known and should be repaired at an authorized dealer at Kia Motor company's expense.

I was driving my 2003 kia Optima on i85 at 65 mph when the vehicle suddenly lost power and slowed quickly to less than 10 mph. The vehicle continued to sputter and backfire until I was forced to pull over and wait approximately. 15 minutes before proceeding normally. My wife has also experienced the same problems and is afraid of being involved in an accident. The vehicle has been in the shop for this issue 4 times. The last repair involved paramount kia in hickory where the mechanic replaced many of the assumed problem parts such as faulty wiring harness, ecm, maf sensor and fuel pump without resolve. The service department stated that they had no idea on how to fix the problem.

Irregular occurrences of steering problem, leaking power steering rack. Since the initial repair of the power steering rack, the consumer has continued to experience problems with the steering, however the dealer was unable to duplicate the consumers concern. The consumer stated when the vehicle was started in the mornings, there was a second delay in the transmission.

See all problems of the 2004 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

Bought kia Optima on June 22, 2004 VIN# [xxx] and have since had seven service appointments, replaced two sets of drive belts, replaced a leaking power steering rack, replaced a leaking fuel regulator, machined the front rotors, lost time from work, lost productivity from work as well as jeopardized my wife's work from car pooling for five months, completed scheduled arbitration with the bbb without success for four problems: acceleration delay, low grinding brake noise, low vibration steering noise, and loud squealing noise from the drive belts. Updated 07/24/2012 information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I purchased my Optima used in may 2004. One month after purchase, I experienced a hesitation in the shifting of the automatic transmission. I took the car back to the dealer of purchase to have the problem fixed under warranty. They could not duplicate the problem, and therefore, apparently they can't fix it either. Since then, my car has been in 2 different kia dealer shops for the exact same problem 4 or 5 times. With the same result: they can't duplicate the problem, so they can't fix it. The fourth time I took it in, they couldn't duplicate the problem, but because I called customer care, they did check all the connectors for the transmission. I was also informed that no codes came up for the car at all, but when I took it to an independent mechanic, there were 4 codes that came the same 2 twice. One set was on 'hold' and the other set had just occurred that day. The problem recurred the day I picked up the car from the dealer, who'd had it for a week and still couldn't duplicate the problem. The fifth time I took it in (in Dec 2006), the mechanic finally was able to duplicate the problem, but my warranty ran out 2,000 miles before this. Now they won't fix it under warranty. I have contacted customer care and was informed that it might get fixed under warranty if I had a transmission service at 60,000 miles. I'm not sure why that even matters if the problem started at 48,000 miles. Plus, in all the contact I have had with any of these people, not a single one ever recommended or required a transmission service. I would never recommend this model car to another person; not only because of the problems, but because of the service tech's who are rude and un-informative to customers.

Defect: kia Optima 2004 manual transmission when shifting from second to third gear, engine often surges after you remove foot from gas pedal creating an extremely dangerous driving condition. It will surge two times out of three. Dealer states that the mfgr states that the engine surge is computor controled and nothing can be done about it. I cannot emphasise enough what a dangerous driving condition/situation this creates. This is a condition that will result in death and injury. Kia sells so few manual transmission Optima's that I don't think they care and kia will try to ignore the defect. This is not a single incident/this is continual.

My vehicle has spent more than 35 days in a kia authorized dealership including transmission repairs since the date of purchase. I have carried the vehicle to two different dealerships more than six times. The problems with the vehicle have not yet been repaired. I feel that this vehicle is unsafe and a liability to others and myself while it is on the roads. Some of the other problems that the vehicle has had, but have been corrected are 1. Keys would not open trunk 2. Driver's side door would malfunction and lock itself. Manual release of the lock could only occur from outside the vehicle, resulting in myself have to climb out the passenger's side door to exit the vehicle.

The front passenger side door will not unlock from the inside or the outside. The key does not always work. Also the remote is not able to unlock the doors. This problem first started in 7-2001. The consumer took the vehicle to a dealership to be repaired and they were still waiting for the part. There also was a problem with the transmission. The consumer was unable to get the gears to shift smoothly. The dealership replaced the front sensor for the transmission the first time. The dealership recently replaced the rear sensor because the problem recurred.

A/c condensation build up on the inside of car had at dealer 2 times before they fixed . #2 replaced right headlight 4 times in1 1/2 yr no finger on bulbe! #3 after sitting over night on first start up transmission will not move at first #4 gas gauge from day 1 wouldn't read full after 3 trip to shop they fixed it.