The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while idling or while driving, the message "Hybrid Warning System - Check Brake - Stop Driving Immediately" was intermittently displayed. The contact stated that while driving and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended, causing the braking distance to become extended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be diagnosed because the message was no longer displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
2012 Kia Optima Hybrid electrical problems
20 complaints (18% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 103,000. 2 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 20
- of this car's complaints
- 18%
- typical mileage
- 103,000
- crashes
- 2
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Propulsion system: traction battery2
- 12v/24v/48v battery1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Kia Optima Hybrid electrical problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid electrical
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Pedestrian alert sounds
the federal safety agency received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, the federal safety agency opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified the federal safety agency he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by the federal safety agency regarding the subject matter of the petition.
DP22005
Non-crash Vehicle Fires
During this Preliminary Evaluation (PE), the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) assessed the scope, frequency and potential safety-related consequences of non-crash vehicle fires caused by both engine failures and failures of other vehicle systems/components in model year (MY) 2011-2014 Kia Optima, MY 2011-2014 Kia Sorento and MY 2010-2015 Kia Soul vehicles equipped with Theta II, Gamma, Nu and Lambda II engines (approximately 1.7 million vehicles). ODI also reviewed field and other data on other Kia vehicles (approximately 3.6 million additional vehicles) equipped with the same engines used in the above-mentioned vehicles.As a result of this PE, Kia has issued the federal safety agency Recalls 20V‑750 and 21V‑844 to address potential engine failures and fires in certain Kia vehicles equipped with various engine types.Additional information on these and other related recall actions is available in the downloadable version of this resume available at addition, ODI has upgraded this PE to an Engineering Analysis (EA) 21-003 which will focus on potential recall scope concerns and recall remedy concerns related to the engine failure-related recalls mentioned above and conducted previously.See the EA21-003 Opening Resume available at for more information.Also available in the downloadable version of this resume is a list of the reference numbers for the 444 ODI reports, or Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs), cited above which ODI received through mid-November 2021.Note that the Manufacturer reports cited above are customer complaints received through March 2019.
PE19004
Non-crash Vehicle Fires
In a letter dated June 11, 2018, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) petitioned the federal safety agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into non-collision related fires on model year (MY) 2011-2014 Kia Optima and Sorento, and Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe vehicles. In a letter dated July 24, 2018, CAS requested that MY 2010-2015 Kia Soul vehicles be added to the petition. CAS stated that there is a higher number of complaints to the federal safety agency regarding non-crash fires on these vehicles compared to other similar vehicles. The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) had already opened Recall Queries (RQ17-003 and RQ17-004) on all Kia and Hyundai vehicles equipped with Theta II engines for engine failures that may cause stalling and fires.The queries cover most of the petition subject Optima, Sorento, Sonata, and Santa Fe vehicles but not any of the subject Soul vehicles.On August 21, 2018, ODI opened a Defect Petition (DP18-003) to evaluate whether to grant or deny the CAS petition. ODI sent Information Request letters to Kia and Hyundai (September and October 2018) requesting information on all engine and non-engine related fires in the petition vehicles.ODI performed extensive analysis on the information obtained from Kia and Hyundai. During the DP18-003 analysis, Kia and Hyundai each initiated three additional safety recalls related to engine compartment fires on certain petitioned and non-petitioned vehicles (nearly 740,000 total vehicles: Recalls 18V‑907, 18V‑934, 19V‑101, 19V‑063, 19V‑120, and 19V‑204). Based on ODI?s review of the applicable materials, including responses to Information Requests sent to multiple manufacturers, Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ), and Early Warning Data, the federal safety agency decided to grant the petition.The CAS petition was granted on March 29, 2019. Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) have been opened to assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety-related consequences of alleged defects relating to non-collision vehicle fires in the 2011-2014 Kia Optima and Sorento, 2011-2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe, and 2010-2015 Kia Soul.Attached is a list of the reference numbers for the 404 VOQs cited above.
DP18003
What 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated that while attempting to drive uphill and on gravel with the Electric Drive Mode activated, the vehicle failed to move forward. The contact pressed the button to deactivate the Electric Drive Mode, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact released the accelerator pedal until the vehicle responded as needed. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, where the contact was informed that no cause for the failure was found. Additionally, the contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic), and a recall repair appointment was scheduled with the dealer. The contact stated that while driving out of the driveway at 5 MPH, the message "Emergency - Pull Over - System Failure Warning" was displayed. The contact pulled back into the driveway and parked the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive and could not be driven to the dealer for the recall repair because the dealer was 2 hours away. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and denied towing assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima hybrid. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the vehicle shut-off with the hybrid system warning message displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to rick case kia located at 3190 satellite blvd nw, duluth, ga 30096, to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the hydraulic control system was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 154,440.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima hybrid. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle started to overheat. A warning light illuminated indicating that the hybrid battery power was low. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact coasted to the side of the road and the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to jts kia of columbia (230 killian commons parkway, columbia, sc 29203) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
Without warning the engine overheated while driving in the highway. The engine made a loud noise and began smoking ... The vehicle became immobilized I pulled off to the side of the road and opened the hood. There was so much smoke. The car turned on afterwards but the engine did not start. Within seconds the battery shutdown.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima hybrid. While driving various speeds, the contact heard a clicking noise coming from the steering wheel. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that a disk inside the steering wheel needed to be replaced. In addition, the air flap system sensor and check engine warning indicators illuminated. The contact called casey kia (located at 11999 jefferson ave, newport news, va 23606, (757) 347-8247) and a diagnostic appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.
The hybrid system broke down at 85k. Was replaced by kia after threatening legal action. At 103k. We never missed maintenance or a oil change. The engine through a rod on a 5 lane interstate doing 65mph, blowing and destroying the engine. Putting my family of 5 at serious risk. Kia wants 4500k or 8000k to replace the faulty engine. Optima engines were recalled for this exact reason. The optima hybrid engines were not recalled despite suffering the same failures as normal optima engines. Joining the class action.
I was involved in a high speed, rear end collision in which I was traveling at approx 55mph when another large vehicle changed lanes from right to left, right in front of me causing me to collide with them. The result was significant front end damage to my car and significant bodily injury to myself because of the failure of my brakes to adequately stop my car and the failure of the air bags to deploy resulting in my body and head rapidly flying forward into the steering wheel.
I was getting off the interstate on september 27, 2018 when my car died and I could not even put on my emergency lights cars behind me almost hit me. I had my car towed home and made a appointment with the kia dealer here in columbia, south carolina. After waiting for them to run a diagnostic test I was told by the service manager the engine failed and they would send paper work to see if the warranty would cover it. I have been without a car for a weeks now with no form of transportation nor assistance. I have been getting several different explanations about what was wrong with my vehicle. I cannot get a loner car until the company approves the engine under warranty. This has caused major stress and problems with my job. My car only has 68,000 miles and was in good condition until this problem . I had no warning other than the hybrid system failure notice that came on the dash and stated pull over do not drive and hybrid battery not charging. This has caused me undue stress and hardship and much difficulty getting to work.
Vehicle has 130,000 miles. While driving on a highway vehicle started to lose power when in cruise and motion is lost. Stepping on the gas does not get any acceleration. This occurred again on a highway and display gives me the hybrid error do not drive warning. This occurs when cruise is set and also not in cruise. I step on the gas and there is no acceleration. After shutting the vehicle off for a few seconds the car functions normally. I am also having back up camera issues which leads me to believe this may be an electrical issue. My display gives me the warning message about objects behind me but the image sometimes does not show. The image sometimes is there when I put the vehicle in reverse and sometimes not. These problems all started at the same time. Kia was contacted as we thought it may just be a computer upgrade. They told the dealer there are no upgrades. We also had a non dealer check the vehicle for error codes but there weren't any. The vehicle checked out fine.
Questions about the 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid electrical
Does the 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid have electrical problems?
Owners have filed 20 complaints about the electrical of the 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid, 18% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid electrical problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 103,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid electrical?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Kia Optima Hybrid have the most electrical problems?
The Kia Optima Hybrid model years with the most electrical complaints are 2013 (22 complaints), 2012 (20 complaints) and 2014 (11 complaints).
Other 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid problems
Engine 73Brakes 12Transmission 10Steering 9Acceleration 5Airbags 4Fuel system 4Body 3Wheels 2Lights 1Seat belts 1Suspension 1
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