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

Metal contamination found on vvt solenoid of 2020 kia Optima 2. 4l gdi engine. Firestone autocare confirmed metal debris in oiling system. Vehicle exhibits symptoms identical to prior theta ii bearing recall sc172/sc200/sc227 but not covered under recall range.

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I have had 2 incidents of engine ceasure in my 2013 kia Optima sx w/ limited package. Once it ceased on the freeway causing me to have a minor collision with the offramp guide rail and just recenting on 10/18/2025 it happened again on the 405 with loud knocking sounds engine light flashing and no real engine power after ceasing. My engine was previously repaired under warranty with case number xxx which should have extended the warranty along with the existing recall for the gdi engine. I need help to get kia to repair/replace under warranty as my engine is covered in the theta ii class action settlement. Kia repeatedly tries to Dodge responsibility for repairing my car under warranty. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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My car has been burning oil rapidly. I’ve contacted kia over this issue and I have had several times where I have had to continually add oil. There is no leak. This is a known issue with Kia Motors across mechanics nationwide and there should be a recall issued. This has been at several shops and over the last few years. This motor should not be consuming 4 quarts of oil within 1000 miles after an oil change.

The engine went.

Driving car on the highway then the car started smoking and shut down completely. It would not turn on or anything. It smell burnt.

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My engine failed in my 2015 kia Optima. I took it to the kia dealership in my city, and was advised to provide documentation of oil changes. In which I did, and was told that coverage for the engine recall was denied due to one gap where I went roughly 15,000 miles without an oil change. When asked when this gap was, they stated in 2021, and I asked how can I get documentation of that if I don’t have the receipt from that long ago. They stated that they need documentation to be able to approve the engine to be covered under the recall. It has been advised that kia would have to prove exceptional neglect, in which one gap from 2021 is not exceptional neglect. I called the kia. Customer service complaint line and filed a complaint with a case number, and was told that there’s nothing they can do without that documentation from that one gap. In which I asked to escalate this to a manager or supervisor and was told I could not do that. When I called the kia dealership to see options, all they kept doing was trying to persuade me to just buy a new car asking don’t you just want a new car. I am without a vehicle and I have two kids that I need to help get to and from school doctors appointments as well as after school activities. I do not believe that a one gap should disqualify you from coverage of an engine under the recall.

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I’ve had my car for 6 months and it constantly burns oil I’ve had 4 oil changes because it is completely disappearing but my mechanics can not find any leaks. Then I changed all my spark plugs and two were completely burnt and they were changed a month ago and now one of them went again and this time is completely covered in oil.

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Dear NHTSA, I am writing to formally report a serious safety incident involving my 2016 kia Optima hybrid, which caught fire and was completely destroyed on October 5, 2025. Incident summary: while driving on a highway at approximately 65 mph, I noticed that the vehicle was not entering hybrid mode, which is abnormal for its typical operation. I reduced my speed to 45 mph, then down to 35 mph as I began to observe smoke coming from the vehicle. At no point did the vehicle show signs of overheating, and there was no check engine light until shortly before I was able to safely pull over. Within moments of stopping the vehicle and exiting with my passenger, the vehicle was engulfed in flames and ultimately burned to the ground. Fortunately, both occupants escaped unharmed. The vehicle has been inspected by my insurance provider; however, I have been waiting over two weeks for kia to inspect the vehicle or provide any official response regarding a possible cause. This delay is concerning, especially given the severity of the incident and the potential safety risk to other drivers. Vehicle details: make/model: 2016 kia Optima hybrid VIN: [xxx] mileage: 54,300 date of fire: October 5, 2025 location: us-60 noncard & mp-118 morristown, az I am reporting this incident in hopes that NHTSA will investigate whether this is an isolated case or potentially part of a larger safety defect within this vehicle model or hybrid system. The lack of adequate warning and the total loss due to fire raises serious safety concerns. Please let me know if any additional information or documentation is required to support an investigation. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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While driving my 2015 kia Optima I was getting ready to turn in to my residence. My car completely shut off but my lights had got dimmed. So I had it towed to the kia dealership then proceeded to tell me it has three recalls on it. Then a customer service representative said that I would have to pay $200,and something dollars to have my car diagnostic done. Whoever I replied even with these recalls I have to pay for diagnostic test to be done she replies yes,but I’m thinking they are just trying to make money off customers.

I purchased the 2017 Optima hybrid from huntington beach Hyundai on [xxx]. I made sure to double check with the dealer if the engine and hybrid battery were in good condition, in which the salesman reassured me everything is good. The car was driving okay for a while, and I had oil change and tires/alignment changed recently. Just barely 4 months in after I owned the car, the incident happened on the night of [xxx]. I was driving on the highway near the getty going roughly 70 mph up the mountain roads while all of a sudden the "check hybrid system" warning came on in the car. The car immediately went into limp mode, and I did everything I could to slow the car to a complete stop, and stop on the freeway shoulder safely. It was a traumatizing experience to me, as this is a major safety issue with the vehicle, and other cars were travelling really fast in la mountain areas. I had the car towed to a auto repair shop the next day, the mechanics did a deep inspection and informed me the hybrid inverter has failed. I paid $2,177 to replace the hybrid inverter with the mechanic. The mechanic also informed me while they were test driving they heard a knocking sound from the engine. I did a look up and found out there is a class settlement and safety campaigns on the engine for 2017 Optima hybrid due to the faulty factory rod bearings, and the 150k miles extended warranty from kia should apply to replace my faulty engine free of charge. I will be getting my car towed to car pros kia in huntington beach on October 15th, 2025, and request the dealer to replace my engine per kia's extended warranty. I am filing the complaint because the car is having problems after problems in barely 4 months of ownership, in which I believe I have purchased a lemon, or huntington beach Hyundai knowingly hid the facts the components were faulty. I have also filed a case with kia corporate. Attached is the repair invoice for the hybrid inverter. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6.

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The contact owns a 2017 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the check engine and oil warning lights illuminated and then turned off independently. The contact slowed down, and after arriving at the destination, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The contact was advised by the mechanic that there was potential engine failure and was referred to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, and the contact was made aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 21v844000 (engine); however, the ksds software update was not performed prior to the engine failure, which disqualified the vehicle from the engine replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and advised the contact that the vehicle did not qualify for the engine replacement. The failure mileage was approximately 64,500.

9/25/2025 - our vehicle suddenly stopped in the middle of a busy roadway creating a hazard. We had it towed to [xxx] kia of greenville. 9/26/2025 we were advised that the engine had seized with no symptoms and no warning lights. The technician said that it would be covered under the vehicles extended warranty due to the known defect/class action on the theta ii gdi engine documented here: [xxx] 10/2/2025 we were advised the car would not be covered under the warranty due to some conflict on a carfax report. According to carfax, the vehicle has 82k with 15 maintenance records. This was not a case of neglect by the owner, it is a known defect that kia is not willing to fix. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2015 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not able to restart. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.

Engine seized and stopped working. While I could not find any recall information based on the VIN, it is a 2018 kia which was subject to the kia engine settlement (in Hyundai and kia engine litigation , no. 8:17?cv?00838?jls?jde and flaherty v. Hyundai motor company, et al. , no. 18?cv?02223 (c. D. Cal. )). Was never notified of such settlement as the VIN would have triggered this notification by kia but they obviously did not list this in the recall.

On Sunday, September 21st, 2025, my 2013 kia Optima ex suffered sudden catastrophic engine failure while driving on the highway. The check engine light was flashing, the car misfired badly, lost complete power, and became unsafe to operate. The vehicle was then towed to wagner kia of shrewsbury, MA. On Monday, September 22nd, kia diagnosed the engine with holes in the intake valves (cylinder 3) and multiple misfire codes (p2191, p0272, p0301, p0304, p0172, p0303). The dealership documented that major engine repairs would be required, including two intake valves, two exhaust valves, valve cover gaskets, hraf bolts, two ignition coils, and a valve job. This sudden engine failure created an immediate safety risk of stalling or losing power while in motion, which could have led to an accident. Despite kia’s history of theta ii engine recalls and settlements, my VIN is not included, leaving this major engine defect unaddressed. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate and consider expanding kia’s existing engine recalls to cover this engine failure, as it represents a serious safety issue consistent with kia’s documented engine problems.

The contact owns a 2015 kia Optima. The contact stated that while his son was driving at 60 mph, the instrument panel was entirely illuminated, and he pulled over. There was smoke inside the cabin. The occupants were able to exit the vehicle. An independent mechanic opened the hood and noticed a fire. They were able to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the drive belt had failed and had broken. There was friction from the drive belt, which caused the fire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who opened a claim. The manufacturer had called the contact, but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 114,000.

My engine recently sustained damage. Although my vehicle’s VIN is listed in the affected recall range, I never received any safety recall notification. I purchased the car in January 2024 while the ksds recall was still active, yet no one informed me of the recall at the time of sale and I have received no updates since.

I was driving and my car stopped running took it to the dealership find out. It has a recall never got a recall letter because I wasn’t the first owner and now they refuse to fix my car.

Car would convulse and shake very wildly metal parts spread around engine. It has very rough idle. 4th cylinder went out and car only has about 99060 miles. The valve went out. My safety was very bad as car was not driving safely and shaking like a person having a seizeure each time it would stop. Vehicle has been inspected by a kia dealer. This problem I had seems to get an issue many other people with kia Optima have.

The contact owned a 2014 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact was flagged down by a nearby driver. The contact was informed that fire was coming from underneath the hood. In addition, the contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The contact and the contact's dog exited the vehicle. No injuries were sustained. The fire department and police were called to the scene. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The fire report was unavailable. The vehicle had not been inspected. The contact had received a recall notification NHTSA campaign number: 21v331000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

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Bearing wear resulted in the engine seizing.

Engine seized after kia recall repairs – safety defect recurrence I own a kia vehicle (VIN: 5xxgn4a72dg236883) with a rebuilt title. Kia performed engine recall work on my vehicle at fowler kia in longmont, colorado. The service advisor stated the recall was to “protect the engine from seizing. ” after driving around 18,000 miles since the recall service, the engine seized suddenly while operating. Kia customer affairs has denied warranty coverage because of the salvage title, but this does not change the fact that the defect is safety-related and persisted after recall work. This creates a serious safety concern because: the engine failure happened without warning, kia performed the recall on this exact safety defect, and now they are denying any further responsibility. I request that NHTSA investigate kia’s handling of safety recalls on vehicles with rebuilt titles.

Engine blew up. Was burning oil since I got it, only had it for 6k miles. It started knocking at some point so I stopped driving it and was gonna take it to the dealership n get it repaired since tbat shouldve been fixed by sc147 but the engine blew on the way to the dealership. It happened on a very main road, and I couldnt get my car fully out of the way of traffic due to it making an abrupt stop shortly after the engine blew up. We had to call a towtruck and a police officer due to how busy the road was, and there was a good fresh 5 quarts of oil spilt all over the ground, on a main road. The dealership is saying they're trying to deny my warranty since the engine passed their test & I do my own oil changes but I have perfect documentation of each oil change, including date, miles, oil weight & volume, even the amount the car burnt in that period. I called kia consumer affairs, they said I dont even have a warranty because I didnt get the knock detection sensor upgrade done, and they wont do sc147 past engine failure. The dealership said themselves my engine is shot.

The contact owned a 2014 kia Optima. The contact stated that after her daughter had parked the vehicle and shut off the engine, a fire had started under the hood as she exited. No warning lights illuminated. There was no odor or strange sound during the failure. The local fire department had arrived on scene to extinguish the fire. The local fire department deemed that the cause of the fire was started with the hecu. It was unknown if a police report was filed. The vehicle was left at the contact's relative's residence, where it remains for further investigation. The vehicle was deemed a total loss since it was consumed by the fire. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was sought. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.

The contact owns a 2013 kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 70-75 mph, the contact accelerated to 80 mph to pass another vehicle; however, after releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The battery and the low oil pressure warning lights and two other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 123,000.

After picking up my 2013 kia Optima from a kia dealership for an engine recall repair, I was told that no issues were found with the vehicle. The following morning, while driving on the freeway, the vehicle suddenly stalled without warning and lost power in the middle of traffic. This created a dangerous situation, as the driver was left stranded in an active lane with vehicles traveling at high speeds. Prior to dropping off the car, multiple independent mechanics and a body shop had advised that the vehicle was unsafe to drive due to engine concerns. The dealer stated they could not reproduce the issue and cleared the car for use. However, within hours of getting the car back, the stall occurred. The vehicle is currently available for inspection. The problem has not yet been confirmed by the dealer, but the symptoms are consistent with known kia engine failures related to connecting-rod bearing wear. Before the stall, the check engine light had intermittently illuminated, but the dealer reported “no issues found. ” this failure put the driver and surrounding motorists at serious risk of a collision and highlights that the recall remedy may not have addressed the underlying safety defect.

The car just shut off.

The turbo system on the car burns oil at a rapid rate. Had to pay $4000 to replace and still continues to give me problems and check engine light. Violates lemon law. Had replaced in September but was giving me problems well before and finally took it to the dealer for repair.

Over the past couple years, the check engine light has came on and I immediately had a mechanic look at it. The first time they said it was my spark plugs and changed them. Then this year, a year later, the check engine light came on and it became hard to accelerate on my way to a mechanic. Once again, they said spark plugs, so they changed them and claimed that they didn't look to had been changed before. Now here I am a couple of months after that, my check engine light came back on and my car started making a funny noise on my way to work. I turned back around and went home since I was closer to home than work. It sounds like rocks popping when you start it or hit the gas. I had someone check the codes and it said engine 1 and 4 coils. All 4 coils and spark plugs were changed again. That did not fix it. The sound is still there and the engine light is now blinking. I have kept up with the oil changes and everything. There is no recall. I still owe on the car and it is not able to be driven.

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The contact owns a 2015 kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 mph, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed and determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to tow the vehicle to a local dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer but was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000.

Engine sludge and failure. Engine part failure p0010 began happening within 1 year of kia engine replacement. It is available for inspection. This creates a problem with acceleration in the vehicle, putting my family's and my safety at risk. This problem has been confirmed by the dealer. The check engine light is one. This part failure and engine sludge (despite consistent maintenance) has caused engine failure again, just 3 years after replacement.

Car burns oil at significant rate which ruins the engine.

All recalls were not done false input information they never fixed engine bearing recall I’m getting a consultant to handle all the false information being provided by kia federico in woodriver.

On August 25th around 7:00 pm, the vehicle suddenly caught fire while parked after a short test drive. The car had just been purchased a few days prior and was taken to a mechanic for a precautionary inspection. During the test drive, the mechanic parked the vehicle in a residential driveway. After backing in, smoke was observed coming from the engine bay. When the hood was lifted, the engine area was already on fire. The fire department was called immediately and was able to extinguish the flames before the fire spread to surrounding property. The fire completely destroyed the vehicle. The vehicle had no warning lights, unusual performance issues, or prior signs of trouble, and it appeared to be in good condition prior to the incident. This fire posed a serious safety hazard and could have resulted in injury or property damage. Component or system that failed: the engine area, likely associated with the hydraulic electronic control unit (hecu) fuse/fire risk. The vehicle may or may not be available for inspection, as it is severely burned. Safety risk: the fire posed a serious hazard to the mechanic, surrounding property, and anyone nearby. Rapid ignition could have caused injury or significant property damage. Problem confirmation: the fire was observed firsthand by the mechanic. The open recall related to the hecu fuse/fire risk indicates a known defect consistent with the incident. Inspections: the fire department responded and documented the incident. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer or insurance representatives, but the recall status is verifiable through official records. Warning signs: there were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure. This incident appears consistent with the conditions described in the open recall for the hecu fuse/fire risk, suggesting a possible link between the recall defect and the fire.

I was just driving then noticed lack of acceleration and the engine light flashing. Loosing acceleration mid driving posed a great safety risk because no other drivers would know the issue I was experiencing and risked causing an accident. The vehicle was taken for a fault code reading which indicated a knock sensor code, later it was inspected at the dealership who confirmed an ecu issue. The police or insurance have not inspected the vehicle for this particular issue.