Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Kia Motor Optima - part 1

The contact owned a 2015 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, during a doordash delivery, the vehicle vibrated. The contact pulled to the side of the road and noticed smoke emitting underneath the vehicle from the right side. The contact exited the vehicle and noticed smoke emitting from underneath the hood. The state troopers were called. By the time the fire department arrived, the vehicle was engulfed in flames, and the engine had exploded. The fire department extinguished the fire. The contact was not injured. No police report was filed. The state troopers believed that the fire was caused by an electrical short. The contact stated that prior to the fire, the vehicle vibrated when idled. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a towing yard. The insurance company was not notified about the fire. The contact was unaware that NHTSA campaign number: 21v331000 (service brakes, hydraulic) was associated with the VIN. The manufacturer was not notified of the fire. The failure mileage was approximately 174,000.

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Was driving then suddenly the engine shut off I was able to pull to the side tried to restart it I saw smoke coming out from the hood I did tow it to my apartment looks like the engine is locked I contacted kia they said I have a branded title they can’t do anything about it even if the car title was branded to a rear ending collision and the engine had oil in it.

The contact owns a 2013 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving 75 mph, the vehicle lost motive power. The accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle eventually stalled on the side of the road. The key, battery, oil, and engine warning lights were illuminated. There was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 23v652000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the engine had seized. The engine failed to turn over. The mechanic had previously performed a routine oil change. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with low voltage. The spark plugs were checked, there were no oil leaks, and the vehicle was diagnosed with catastrophic engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 111,862.

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1) motor failed on interstate and car towed to automotive shop. Currently still at the shop with hope to tow to kia to address issue. 2)my teenage daughter and her friend were placed in a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation due to what appears to be a catostrophic vehicle failure. While driving our 2013 kia Optima whith approximately 160,000 miles, the vehicle suddenly lost power while our daughter was traveling a major highway. The car quit responding to the gas pedal and she was forced to pull over on the side of the highway and was stranded in traffic with no safe way to move the vehicle. When she attempted to restart the car the engine light began flashing (it did not do so before hand), the car was shaking and undriveable. This was not a minor inconvenience, it was a serious safety hazard. A young driver was left sitting on the shoulder of a high-speed roadway with cars and trucks passing at highway speeds up to 80 mph. Had another driver drifted or had she not been able to reach the shoulder in time, this situation could have easily resulted in a major crash or fatality(-ies). The vehicle would not restart properly and had to be towed. Prior to this incident, there were no obvious warning sings of an imminent catastrophic failure. The mechanic's invoice of his diagnostics is attached. Vehicles should not fail in a way that suddenly leaves drivers stranded in active highway traffic with no warning. This type of failure creates an extremely dangerous situation not just for the driver but for everyone on the road. I strongly urge the NHTSA to review whether this model vehicle has known engine or safety defects that can lead to sudden engine failure or loss of power while driving. No parent should have to get a phone call that their child is stranded on the side of a major highway because their car suddenly died without warning. I am requesting this vehicle incident be documented and investigared as a potential safety defect.

Engine oil light doesn’t work. Oil light flashed a couple of times in separate instances. Checking oil dip stick which smells like burning oil and dip stick hardly showed any oil left.

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On Friday, February 27, 2026. This vehicle is being driven and vehicle seized and disabled on the road. In the middle of rush hour, traffic in a dangerous spot, local police had to be called out to assist, as no location was identified for a tow truck to be able to pick it up. . . The police had to dispatch their own tow service. After being towed from location where a car was disabled, mechanic looked at vehicle identifying there was no oil in the car. However on, September 9, 2025 an oil change was performed on the vehicle at 139,969 the car seized at 143,369. . That is approximately 3,399 miles driven from the time of the oil change up until the time it seized. . . There was no indicator lights that ever identified that an oil change was needed or low on oil on the vehicle prior to the car disabling. .

The contact owns a 2020 kia Optima. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at a full stop, the red oil warning light illuminated; however, after driving off, the warning light disappeared. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with an oil pump failure caused by low oil pressure while the vehicle was stationary, and the rpm was low. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 167,000.

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Issue: my 2014 kia Optima has repeatedly experienced overheating, flashing check?engine light, and loss of coolant. The dealership has misdiagnosed the issue multiple times and returned the vehicle to me in unsafe condition. Safety concern: the vehicle overheats while driving, the check?engine light flashes, and the engine loses power. This creates a serious risk of engine failure while on the road. I am concerned about potential engine damage, stalling, or fire risk due to overheating.

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While driving down the highway, my engine completely turned off. I was able to get to a safe location. When I tried turning the car back on, it would not turn back on. I took it to kia, and they said I was covered under warranty due to their settlement. However, due to the salvage title of the car, they will not replace the engine, even though that is what their recall settlement covers.

Engine light start blinking out of no where and speed started to reduce while on the highway. My fix finder gave me code p1326.

2016 kia Optima engine locked up, vehicle stalled on interstate,heard a rod bearing sound, left me in limp mode trying to get out the way of 18 wheelers traveling behind me. Towed into kia dealership which confirmed the engine locked up which has a recall #pi1802b ksds, but denied to cover it because I didn't have this recall done. I also called kia customer service, they denied me too and just gave me a case #[xxx]. I explained to them that I never received notice of this recall. So how could I prepare for something like this to happen while traveling from texas to louisiana to visit my grand kids. The dealership gave me a quote of $9735 for parts and labor, which I don't have, I am still making payments on this vehicle. Now I am stuck in louisiana with my vehicle, also it's going to cost me even more to have it towed back to texas. Please help me understand why the dealership won't stand behind a safety recall or what one person I spoke with called a campaign recall, which ever! that I never received notice about this recall. I hope the "president" or the "president of the company" will step up and help, after all we as citizens don't have a problem spending our hard working money on purchasing these vehicles from the dealerships, to have things like this to happen out of our control. Thanks for at least listening. God bless. . . Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Engine failure while driving on freeway. Almost hit by semi truck. Towed to dealership. Engine check light flashing complete loss of power. Kia refusing engine replacement under settlement.

The contact owns a 2015 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood, and the engine overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road and add coolant to the coolant reservoir. The vehicle slowly started and was driven to the destination. The contact stated that the engine was overheating if driven for more than 10 minutes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the vehicle was experiencing excessive coolant consumption, and coolant was added as needed. The mechanic determined that the failure might be related to the engine. The vehicle failed to start and was undrivable. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 124,000.

The contact owns a 2016 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the vehicle stalled with the check engine light illuminated. The brake pedal was depressed, and the steering wheel seized. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the highway and contacted the highway patrol for assistance. The contact associated NHTSA campaign number: 18v907000 (fuel system, gasoline, engine); with the failure; however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000.

The car seized operating, shut down with zero warnings. It has been a reliable car and maintained. We towed to a mechanic who said it was engine failure. Thankfully we had just exited off highway and on a side street when it became inoperable or it would have been detrimental.

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The contact owns a 2016 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the knock sensor needed to be installed prior to the failure for the engine replacement to be covered under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 143,000.

The contact owns a 2017 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 67 mph, the vehicle experienced a loss of drive power, and the vehicle went into limp mode. The check engine and hev warning lights were intermittently illuminated. The contact entered the vehicle settings, and the ecu message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had occurred three times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

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Odometer fraud. The contact owns a 2008 kia Optima. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle's transmission failure. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after purchasing the vehicle. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 198,000. It was later discovered that the mileage on the title was 217,000.

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My car suddenly caught fire in my driveway tonight 2/6/26 roughly around 9:40 pm. Fire department has been dispatched to come out and investigate if the fire has been properly extinguished and it does warrant any further safety hazards until kia can be notified and resolve this issue.

Unknown.

•I’m not sure what failed, the car was parked. And yes it’s available for inspection. •I had just parked the car coming from work and at the time. If I was in the car any longer than 5 more minutes it possibly could’ve been catastrophic. • all I know as of right now is that 5 days ago, it was escalated and I received a case number and a case manager 3 days ago. •the car has not been inspected •not that I’ve noticed, the engine light was on a week before the accident occurred, after getting off of work and the car system said to check my breaks. I had someone take me home since my car was undrivable. And the next morning I was going to have it towed but everything was working properly. The engine light was gone.

I was driving in the highway doing about 80mph passing a semi truck when all of a sudden my vehicle went from 80 down to 50 mph and I was jerked forward. I thought I was rear ended but when I looked in my rear view mirror no cars were behind me. I looked down and noticed my engine light, battery light and oil light were on and turned down my music and could hear my engine was no longer running. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic and I was able to coast to the side of the highway and turn the car off. If someone would have been behind me I am confident I would have been hit. The problem has since been confirmed by a dealership and info has been sent to kia. The dealership was unable to provide me with a loaner car as "they had none available" so I contacted kia corporate and they are telling me my only option is that I have to come out of pocket for a rental and they will reimburse 40$ per day. I don't think especially since I had to pay for 2 nights in a hotel as I was stranded, a few hundred dollars for a tow that I should have to pay anything as the issue with what happened to my car is the fault of kia at the time of manufacturing. At this time I have been without a vehicle for 1 week. I was told by the dealership today that they sent all of the required info over to kia to get word on whether the lifetime extended warranty would pay for my car to be repaired. The previous owner before me did have the kscs update performed as mandated by kia. My problem is I am already out almost 1000$ and now they are telling me I have to pay for a rental also, they will not help me except for reimbursement which doesn't even cover half the cost of a rental per day. I am not a rich person and I cannot afford that. Everything I've read and been told indicates that a loaner or rental car is to be provided me especially if it is due to a safety concern/recall issue. I've spoken with several kia representatives and I get nowhere. I am upset.

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These cars have a known issue for burning oil the motor thats in my car was recalled for same issue but they are not trying fix my car under that recall of the bad motor that they did recall.

Valve cover leaking and oil dripping oil on exhaust at 114k miles. Risk of engine fire.

The engine is a problem and all I’m ever told us “ this vehicle is know to have engine problems. This is dangerous to have in the road. Kia is aware of this. Why sale the vehicle knowing this and not disclosing this info to the consumer upon purchase. There is no truth in lending. It’s plain sight robbery. What if I’m far from home and stranded because vehicle set fire or broke down in hazardous condition weather. I constantly needing oil changes because of this engine. The dealership is aware. They tell me to trade it in or get rid of it because it’s going to go for a fact. I’ve never missed oil changes. I put oil every time the oil indicator light comes on. Now for the 3rd time the check engine light is on. 2 times for misfire code. The vehicle engine holds sludge no matter how much you get oil changes. The mechanic told me this year make and model is known for this very fact. I want my money back. Kelly blue book don’t give enough. I was scammed into this car but I managed to pay it off. A car the sales person scammed me and wouldn’t take the vehicle back. I complained to the general manager. They always act like he wasn’t available. They kept claiming new ones started. After almost a year of those games I had to move and the case never got solved. But even when I complained their maintenance person stole my rims. They told me prove it. Just all bad experience. I just want my money. Even if they gave me another engine. It’s still going to be the same problem. A bad engine. 2016 kia Optima’s should not have been continuously sold with them knowing it has bad engines. Even the headlights don’t work. Very dim. Car smells like burning fumes when driving. Please please help. This isn’t fair lending practice. People trust them and they are dishonest sellers.

The engine stalled without warning while I was pulling out of my driveway into the street, creating an unsafe condition due to sudden loss of power. After waiting briefly, the vehicle restarted and was moved back into the driveway. It was towed the following day due to loss of confidence in safe operation. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure consistent with known defects affecting kia Optima vehicles equipped with theta ii engines. Kia denied coverage under the extended engine warranty / class action settlement solely because the ksds (pi1802 ecu update) had not been installed prior to the failure. As the second owner, I was never notified of this update before the incident and had no opportunity to complete it. This failure was sudden, unanticipated, and safety-related. I am submitting this complaint to document an engine stall and loss of power condition posing a safety risk.

The contact owns a 2015 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to coast to the side of the road. The check engine warning light and several other warning lights were illuminated. The contact raised the hood, and there was a burning odor coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed to the place of employment. A mobile mechanic arrived at the place of employment and used a handheld code reader to diagnose the vehicle, but no dtc was retrieved, and no cause for the failure was determined. The starter was replaced; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact stated that the vehicle was purchased six months prior to the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

After getting the vehicle back from the auto shop for repair in the fuel injector because my car wasn't starting after I purchase it from a third party. Anyways after I got the vehicle back my temperature gauge was sky rocket getting high and higher and my temperature blinker with the red light on the dashboard with the boiling hot water icon temperature and I took it in the shop and it stated on the invoice.

I've had car for not very long and rid bearings now all of a sudden went out and engine is bad at this point and don't understand why my vehicle wouldn't be included in all the different recalls for 2015 Optima because it's one of the years of theta 2 engine being recalled and mine says 0 recalls why is that?.

The vehicle experienced a sudden engine failure one day after undergoing a manufacturer emissions/service campaign at an authorized dealership. Prior to service, the vehicle operated normally with no warning lights, knocking, or drivability issues. After the failure, the dealership denied coverage and declined to inspect the engine oil. The vehicle was towed for an independent inspection, which found metal shavings in the engine oil, indicating internal mechanical engine failure. The sudden failure created a safety risk due to unexpected loss of engine function. The issue has been confirmed by an independent service center and the vehicle remains available for inspection. No warning lamps or symptoms were present prior to the failure.

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The contact owns a 2020 kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was sputtering and vibrating abnormally while starting. There were no warning lights illuminated. The failure was intermittent but became a recurring failure. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic out of fear of the vehicle stalling on the highway. Prior to the engine failure, the contact became aware that there were oil spots where the vehicle was parked. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the mechanic sealed two holes in the oil pan and replaced the spark plugs that were fouled by engine oil. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the same mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the spark plugs were covered in oil again. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to a dealer to check for engine failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and an oil consumption test was performed; however, the vehicle failed the oil consumption test. The dealer had not yet diagnosed the vehicle, but suggested that the engine needed to be disassembled to check for engine wear. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 91,185.

The vehicle is consuming excessive amounts of oil. The dipstick was completely dry before 5000 miles were up. I had to add some oil to the engine to avoid engine failure. I have reported this to jim ellis dealership in kennesaw GA but I was told to drive the vehicle until it knocks or the knock sensor goes.

Engine seized and won’t turn at all.

I was sold an unsafe vehicle at j and j auto house 6446 wilshire bl la,CA 90022. Dealer withheld condition of car . Had car three months and was stranded on highway. Car was towed to kia dealer and diagnosed with complete engine failure. Dealer will not honor limited warranty, shady sales practices withheld recall info during sale, won’t allow his mechanic to look at car, dodged calls, denied request to return car for refund.

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The contact owns a 2013 kia Optima. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled but restarted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to TSB: pi2002 / pi2002a. The contact discovered there was an issue with the damage to the connecting rod bearing. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the battery needed to be replaced. There was an abnormal sound when the vehicle was started. The contact stated that there were metal shavings in the oil and the control valve. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where a broken valve and lifter were found, and the dealer determined that the engine needed to be disassembled. The dealer stated that there were metal shavings in the oil and the control valve. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no repair under recall for the failure. Additionally, the manufacturer requested the oil change records. The failure mileage was approximately 200,776.