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

Bearing wear resulted in the engine seizing.

See all problems of the 2012 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2014 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2013 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2015 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2019 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

Car burns oil at significant rate which ruins the engine.

See all problems of the 2020 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

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.

Without warning my car went into “limp mode” while driving on the highway almost causing a collision as I was forced to pull off the road on the highway. Flashing engine light car would not accelerate and was shaking dramatically. Was forced to wait for a tow on a busy highway. P1326 code. Rod knock. A known issue for the theta ii engine. Many recalls have been made for this exact engine for these exact problems but for some reason the 2020 kia Optima is not included even though it is the same engine covered by lifetime warranty from the 2019 models due to these recalls and know issues. There’s plenty of recorded cases all over the web and is a wide concern for many affected kia drivers. Kia does not offer the same krds update to 2020 kia drivers as they do to earlier models even with the same engine failure issues so we don’t even get the benefit of possible early detection. Car is well maintained and inspected at a local american tire depot and I am still forced to deal with unwarranted engine failure on a known defective engine solely because kia will not offer help for affected customers. The 2020 kia Optima equipped with the theta ii 2. 4l engine is not safe and is a known defective product. Action and accountability are needed.

My 2018 kia Optima has a cracked oil pan, which caused an excessive oil leak —up to 5 quarts in a matter of hours. This eventually led to my engine going out.

See all problems of the 2018 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

Car suddenly stopped working; it was struggling to stay on. Mechanic stated cylinder is not functioning at full force.

The contact owned a 2013 kia Optima. The contact's son was driving at 35 mph when smoke was emitting from under the hood. The contact's son pulled over to the side of the road and immediately exited the vehicle. The contact's son opened the hood, and smoke was emitting from the engine. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact's son did not sustain any injuries. The police or fire department was not called. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that an electrical fire had started in the engine and damaged the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the fire. The contact stated that the engine was replaced in 2018 or 2019 due to an unknown recall. The contact did not notify her insurance company. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.

Engine is knocking that happened when I took my car 3 times to emission test and my car didn't pass after that I took it to my mechanic for the diagnostic and he told me you have to take it to kia dealer but I was shocked the way how they treated me and they completely refuse to replace my engine they came up with too many excuses and I have recall repair active I have right to fix my car but they didn't with bad attitude.

See all problems of the 2016 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

The engine is starting to fail causing issues such as being able to accelerate. When driving on the freeway it caused a safety issue it began slowing down on the interstate. The vehicle has been inspected by mechanics. No warnings prior to problem. They appeared day before due for an oil change. The car also burns oil really fast sometimes causing car to smoke. I have a gdi turbo engine and have been told that the engine I have has been recalled a few times on different models cars.

Driving home from an oil change. All of a sudden all power was lost. Luckily a wide spot in the road was right there. Car would not start back up. Checked oil- it was good. Had car trailered to a mechanic. He took off oil filter and cut it in half- was full of metal shavings. Said needs new engine. We trailered the car back home, where it currently sits. If the wide spot in the road wasn’t there, they’re likely would have been an accident being this was right on a sharp corner.

The contact owns a 2016 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 45 mph, there was a misfire coming from the engine, and the vehicle was shaking. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure due to piston rings failure, causing coolant intrusion into the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the ignition coil, cylinder #1, and spark plugs were replaced. The dealer was contacted, but had not diagnosed or repaired the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Car began hesitating and stalling, particularly from a stop. Engine light came on. Took the car to the kia dealership for diagnosis. Was told by svc coordinator that the diagnosis indicated a bad knock sensor. The technician replaced the knock sensor, then test drove the car. It failed immediately. I was told that it would likely need engine replacement. After a few days, svc coordinator called and said that kia recommended replacing the knock sensor (again) and perform a tuneup. They declined to replace the engine. The car runs in "limp home mode" (kia's terminology), hesitates and stalls so as to make it very unsafe to operate. The engine on this car was replaced about two years ago for excessive oil consumption. There cannot be more than 30k miles on the new engine. Kia stated that there is a lifetime warranty on the replaced engines, but are apparently not going to honor the warranty. Car is serviced regularly and is in otherwise excellent condition.

See all problems of the 2017 Kia Motor Optima 🔎.

My motor bearing is knocking very loud I was refused service upon arrival dealer was making my service very complicated asking me to go dig up old receipts and various other things that was not actually caused for and I was at risk by driving the car there until it shut off due to engine failures when the car has fire risk and could possibly explode and they have confirmed it’s the engine but have not done any maintenance to my engine the check engine light flashes heavy non stop as well was even denied a loaner car still until today.

Engine began jumping during driving and loss power. No dashboard illumination warning lights and the temperature gage showed normal operating temperature. Car was not accelerating properly. Had to maneuver carefully to prevent being ran over. Engine light illuminated showing misfire. Replaced ignition coil pack and spark plugs. Driving again, car stalled. No dashboard warning lights. No high temperature on gauge. Narrowly missed being hit by a semi as there was absolutely no warning and we were on an interstate bypass ramp with nowhere to pull over!! towed car to dealership for diagnosis. Results: engine blown, turbos gone, and the catalytic converter is holding oil. Dealer is stating this is not covered under the extended warranty from kia as its not connector rod bearing issues and that the piston rings failed. However, they stated the turbos got "too hot" and they failed. The gauges have never shown that the car was running hot. I have a sworn statement from my mechanic stating this is absurd and a valiant attempt to not pay for what would be the second warranty replacement of my engine. The piston rings failed as a result of the connector rod bearing failure. The "too hot" temperature that damaged the turbos was likely caused by the same bearing issue. The heat from the bearings unseated the piston rings and allowed the engine to dump its oil causing the engine to fail. I highly recommend that you open an investigation into these issues. The car not accelerating and losing power at interstate speeds is a very serious and dangerous issue.

--- **summary of complaint – 2017 kia Optima** my 2017 kia Optima (VIN: [xxx] ) experienced sudden engine failure due to a damaged piston. There were no warning signs—no knock codes or dashboard alerts—prior to the malfunction. Despite regular maintenance and timely oil changes, kia denied warranty coverage, leaving me with significant repair costs. This issue appears consistent with reported engine problems in similar kia models and could represent a broader manufacturing defect. I'm submitting this report in hopes of prompting an investigation into a potential safety hazard. A recall may be necessary to prevent similar failures and protect information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My 2018 kia Optima went into limp mode while exiting the freeway. I had it scanned and received a p1326 code, which is directly tied to the known engine knock sensor / bearing wear issue in kia models. The engine light came on and the car lost power suddenly. This created a very unsafe situation. I contacted kia, and they confirmed that my VIN is not included in the engine recall (ksds campaign), even though my symptoms exactly match the covered vehicles. I am now stuck with an undriveable car and no recall coverage, even though I’m facing the same failure risk. I believe this VIN should be included, and that this is a clear safety issue. I am requesting the NHTSA to investigate and push kia to expand coverage to include more affected vehicles.

The contact owns a 2013 kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the engine seized with no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

I am the owner of a 2019 kia Optima fe with the 2. 4l gdi engine (theta ii). Despite following a consistent maintenance schedule with synthetic oil changes every 4,000 to 6,000 miles, the vehicle is experiencing premature engine failure. Specifically, the engine has internal valve damage, and the shop diagnosed the issue as failure of an internal valve component. The vehicle also has a leaking axle inner boot, but the major concern is the engine. Kia has refused warranty coverage, goodwill assistance, or recall support despite this engine being part of a long-standing pattern of issues documented across many kia and Hyundai vehicles with the theta ii platform. I still owe approximately $10,000 on this vehicle, and now face a potential $5,000+ repair due to a known manufacturing defect. Kia consumer affairs and the dealership both declined assistance, claiming my warranty has expired, even though this engine has been involved in class action lawsuits, extended warranties, and tsbs related to premature wear, oil consumption, and mechanical failure. I am submitting this complaint to formally report the issue and to urge the NHTSA to continue investigating kia’s 2. 4l theta ii engine failures, as they represent a potential safety and financial risk to consumers. Many drivers are left stranded or in serious debt due to an engine defect they could not have prevented.

Burning oil, not wanting to accelerate properly on the freeway, kia has engine in previous years having the same issue, and these 2020 and they are not trying to fix them.

While driving, the engine suddenly shut off without warning. The car coasted to a stop and would not restart. When attempting to start it again, the starter smoked, and the engine would not crank or turn over. This is a serious safety hazard as the engine failure occurred with no warning and matches the symptoms of the known kia theta ii engine recall for bearing and seizure issues. My VIN is not currently listed as part of the recall, but it experienced the exact same failure. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate and pressure kia to include my VIN in the recall campaign, as this is a sudden engine seizure defect that could cause a crash if it happens at speed.

Code p1326, faulty knock sensor on 2. 4gdi.

I’m experiencing severe oil consumption and spark plug fouling, which are known problems with the gdi engine. This is affecting driveability and may indicate piston ring or valve seal failure.

My car lost power on [xxx]. . Called a tow truck to come and pick it up. Cone to found out my engine was blown. Taking it to a kia dealership on 09/12/2025 to get a diagnostic test done on it. I have all my paperwork. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The car stalled out.

My kia Optima fe 2017 has been consuming a lot of motor oil it takes a quart every 2 to 3 weeks and of if I drive it more than average it needs motor oil sooner.

Hello, I have been a kia owner for a very long time. I am dissatisfied with the corporation regarding my current experience. My vehicle qualified for the engine recall. Over several months I have been bringing my car into kia valley regarding concerns of the performance of my car which is connected with the recall. Every time I have brought in my car , the code has not popped up yet. I followed up with a phone call to kia customer service. Over the phone I was told that the code needs to be popped up. In order for that to happen, that would require my car to seize or the engine catch on fire. The fact that this company is willing to put lives at risk, is alarming. A few weeks ago at 10:00pm at night my car seized on the on ramp of freeway. Took car to dealer. I was informed the code did not pop up and the kia dealer filled my car with more oil. A week later, my engine completely seized and oil was everywhere. I was in fear of my engine catching on fire. I got out of my car and called a tow truck. I was informed by the service dealership that the code popped up. Meaning I now qualify for a new engine. The following day I received a phone call that corporate is kicking it back and demanding an abundance of receipts. Receipts dating back even several years, to try to prove its neglect on my end, for the company to avoid cost. When clearly this is due to the recall per the service dealer. I recently went to the dealer to bring several receipts showing the care for my kia. It is still not good enough for corporate. Receipts even included documentation from other mechanic businesses that did not want to work on my car because their finding with my engine appeared to be linked to the recall. They told me it was unsafe to drive and take it to the dealer. Over the past 8 months because kia corporate has made it difficult. I am seeking help.

The engine seized and is out of commission on 7/16/25.

Purchased 2015 kia Optima lx 4 cylinder. Had the car for 7 months. Driving home car stalled driving into our driveway. When restarted the engine there was a loud noise tapping. Oil light came on. Checked oil it was on empty. No oil light has come on ever before the car stalled. Regular oil changes . Researched the over 900 complaints. Same thing that has happened to everyone else. Thankfully this didn't happen on the drive home in traffic.

Engine issue, it’s knocking loud and misfires. Engine light flashing and car went into limp mode , will not go over 60 mph . I have changed the spark plugs, knock sensor, and had an oil change nothing has fixed my issue.