2011 Kia Optima: jerking or lurching

Filed Feb 9, 2026 · Engine · KY

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.

Filed Aug 4, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · TX

Safety: It appears the vehicle in question has had Engine, Electrical, and Driveability issues within less than 8,000 miles of it being on the road the First record of this vehicle show's one owner, purchased not from a Kia Dealership but a third party. The Carfax history showed there has been a driveability issue an ECM Module has been replaced twice? less than 30,000 miles? It's Believed that the warranty or millage has been used as a reason to deny repair and or Because as the Recall on the engine states it is undetermined as to what is causing a malfunction but it has or will result in fire. This becomes a liability for those who offer works on the vehicle. Something within the vehicle is without warning causing the vehicle to randomly fail while descending from 65-85 miles an hour. There are also sudden jerks that randomly accrue. rendering the car hard to maintain direction. Imagin a first-time driver attempting to handle this on a busy Highway in Texas - The day we acquired the car we took it to KIA to do a full inspection - oil change, etc- The report given was that there are no problems identified but a computer module may need to be changed. We also asked that they give us an appraisal it was at that point they said that the car had a salvage title. Which the seller who sold it us ARELLANO AUTO SALES sail the title was clean. Last year a recall on the engine was issued. the insurance company determined the vehicle a total loss since how the car was branded a lost because it appears Kia refused to Fix the car, While everyone else says they can't recreate the issue for fear of liability. So here are with a car that has an undetermined engine issue that causes other electronics to malfunction. The vehicle has been seen at KIA dealerships according to the carfax. It's been seen. By two other service facilities and all have come up with something that may needed to be service while nothing has fixed the car

Filed Jan 18, 2021 · Engine, Steering · 201,006 miles · TX

I had purchased this car on thursday january 14, 2021the car started jerking and turn it off and one turned back on I took it back to the dealership and they told told me it's not their problem in a very rude way. So I asked them can I have the owners number and they told me that they can't give it to me and if I keep asking they're going to call the police on me. So I took the car to kia to see what they can do for the car about the recall and they told me they if the part is covered but I looked online and it is on recall.

Filed May 15, 2020 · Engine · 170,000 miles · SC

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia optima. The contact stated after making a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle started to jerk. The vehicle stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they diagnosed the vehicle with complete engine failure. The contact spoke with stokes kia (202 s goose creek blvd, goose creek, sc 29445) where she was informed that the vehicle was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the remedy was a four step process. She was informed that a diagnostic test needed to be performed on vehicle to determine whether she would be eligible for an engine replacement under the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

Filed Dec 28, 2019 · Transmission · 103,700 miles · NJ

Recently when I hit about 103,000 miles my 2011 kia optima 2.0 turbo transmission has been acting strange. When driving for a little while and coming to a complete stop as I'm pulling off accelerating the car jerks make and won't accelerate past 40 MPH. After doing acouple research I was told it's the transmission temperature sensor. I. Believe this is a serious problem due to the fact as your pulling off after the complete stop it jerks so hard you jerk so hard with the car. Also if anybody is behind you and it does that sudden jurk it can cause an accident because the driver behind you isn't aware because it's not like your hitting the breaks. I also searched online that this model and year car has two open recalls for engine and transmission problems (unknown).

Filed Aug 21, 2019 · Engine · 173,534 miles · NY

Last month, I took my car in for a check engine light. The repair shop told me that there was no oil in my engine and it was bone dry. This was the reason for my check engine light. They said they do know why but it was possible that the last time I received an oil change they put in the wrong oil. They assured me and I made sure they put in the correct oil and the check engine light turned off. A month later I was on the highway and the engine jerked and it went down to 40. The car did not want to accelerate and was struggling. I checked it in there was no oil in the engine again. Being that I had no oil stains on my driveway I was convinced that it was not leaking and the oil was burning out.

Filed Jun 29, 2019 · Engine · 130,000 miles · MA

The vehicle was moving and started to shake and check engine started flicker and heard rattling. The car then started to slow down and jerking. I've read about several recalls invovling 2011-2015 kia's having engine recalls but my VIN has not had a recall for my car, which I am very upset because my impression of kia is reliable up to this point. I have kept up with all my maintenance such as regular oil changes and performing diagnostic test to ensure my vehicle is running smoothly and safely. I hope you guys can resolve this issue and make a recall for my engine faulty, which is estimated at 6k to fix.

Filed Jun 13, 2019 · Engine · 95,000 miles · IA

The coolant sensor in my car is reading that my coolant is -38 degrees. My transmission also shifts extremely hard to where you are jerked either forward or backwards. This happens when shifting to and from park and while driving.

Filed Feb 12, 2019 · Engine · 115,000 miles · FL · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia optima. While the contact's grandson was driving 40-45 MPH, the vehicle jerked and smoke emerged from the hood. The vehicle spontaneously caught fire and the check engine indicator illuminated. There were no injuries. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed under case number: 19-036086. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow facility. The contact called west palm beach kia (735 south military trail, west palm beach, fl 33415, (561) 433-1511) and was referred to the insurance company. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 115,000.

Filed Oct 14, 2018 · Fuel system · GA

Every time I stop to put gas in my car, it takes about 30 minutes or so before it starts again. While driving, the car has a jerking motion. Kia exchanged the carbon canister but it didn't fix the problem.

Filed Dec 14, 2017 · Steering · 78,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 kia optima. While driving 50 MPH, the steering wheel shook uncontrollably. The contact had to reduce the speed to maintain control of the vehicle. The vehicle made an abnormal noise during the failure. While driving over bumps, the steering column jerked uncontrollably. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 78,000.

Filed Feb 26, 2017 · Steering · 65,000 miles · TN

I bought a 2011 kia optima from a dealer an it has a clean car fax .it has under 70 ,000 miles .how is this possible I drove it once on a 4 lane hwy an the steering acts as if it getting stuck there is a jerk in it .now I am horrified of this vehicle 12,789 $later less than 1 wk old.what do I do now ? Plan my funeral over a ? Clean car fax plz tell call me