Had some noise coming from the front of the car, had my mechanic look at it, he said we needed a control arm. When he took off the cover to replace the control arm, he found the sub frame had rotten and was cracking. As I looked online, I saw that KIA had a recall for this issue. When I contacted KIA, their response was "as my car is not under warranty, they are not required to repair the car" The car in question has 70, 558 miles on it. We are the 2nd owner.
2004 Kia Optima: ball joint or control arm failure
6 of the 225 complaints about the 2004 Kia Optima describe ball joint or control arm failure.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- typical mileage
- 68,954
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
Ball joint or control arm failure by model year
What owners say
The passenger wheel came off the car as my son was backing out of a parking space at a grocery store. I bought this car new. That part of the car had never been worked on. The car had to be towed to a garage for repair. Kia used glue on life a support nut on a ball joint, where they should have used a cotter pin. I have bought four (4) kias. These cars are still in the family. The kia I drive daily is identical (except being automatic) to the one that the wheel came off.
As described by others driver side lower ball joint on '04 kia optima broke with 1 sheared bolt and 1 bolt just falling out (rusted with no clean areas) the ball joint had 1 part of the sheared bolt remaining and 1 rusted threaded hole. Dealer offered no help other than to indicate that this was not related to the subframe recall of last august ('09).
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 kia optima. While driving 20 MPH out of a parking lot, the front passenger side lower ball joint and axle detached from the vehicle. The contact controlled the vehicle until it came to a stop twelve feet from the incident. Her insurance company provided roadside assistance and the vehicle was towed to a collision shop. Prior to the failure, the contact informed the dealer of a grinding noise she heard. They stated that they were too busy to check the vehicle, but three hours later the axle and lower ball joints failed. The failure mileage was 68,954.
Rt ball joint/axle broke while driving on 10 oct 08. My vehicle is a 2004 kia optima.
Vehicle was involved in a single car accident impacting a fixed median curb. The car was towed to a repair shop identified by my insurance company. The tow truck driver remarked that the front suspension appeared to have bolts missing. This was independently verified by the body shop. In their damage assessment, they found that the lower control arm to ball joint bolts were missing and the 2 holes were rounded out in a way that would be consistent with the bolts falling out. The bolts falling out caused the left front suspension to collapse thereby causing the accident. A complaint was filed with kia motors america. They required the insurance company or myself to provide all of the evidence to show that their car was at fault. After submitting the repair estimate and pictures from both the scene and from the repair shop, kia motors america and their legal department determined that they are not at fault. The repair shop manager could not believe that they would make a determination without ever looking at the car. According to jennifer at kia, the complaint is closed and I have no further recourse other that to contact a lawyer. The vehicle has not been repaired as it will be shown as a claim against my insurance policy and then cause my rates to increase. I fear that this problem may be present on other 2004 kia optimas or other models that both kia and hyundai makes. *jb updated 01/11/06.
Related recalls
Suspension: front
- What is wrong
- Kia motors corporation (kmc) is recalling 36,538 model year 2001-2004 optima vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia. Road salt applied in these states during the winter months may result in progressive, internal corrosion of the front subframe. Over time, such subframe corrosion near the connection to the lower control arm can lead to wheel misalignment and/or other noticeable stress in steering, or accelerated abnormal tire wear.
- Risk
- Corrosion of the front subframe could lead to separation, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Kmc will notify owners and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. The safety recall began on june 15, 2009. Owners may contact kia's consumer assistance center at 1‑800‑333‑4542.
Recall number 09V183000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2004 Kia Optima ball joint
Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 2004 Kia Optima?
6 of 225 owner complaints about the 2004 Kia Optima (3%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 2001.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2004 Kia Optima?
There is 1 recall and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2004 Kia Optima
Door locks 83Airbag light 18Check engine light 8Grinding brakes 7Fuel pump 6Headlights 6Stalling 6
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