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2012 Kia Optima engine complaints

Page 6 of 15: complaints 131 to 160 of 418, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2012 Kia Optima engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Feb 27, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 109,000 miles · GA

Car will not get out of immobilization phase, with either key fob will not unlock to use push to start. Issue is waste gate activator failure or needs adjustment.

Filed Feb 26, 2021 · Engine · 162,000 miles · MO

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, there was a loud knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle stalled and would not restart. The contact exit the vehicle and saw metal parts and oil leaking from the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed to his residence and then to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the failure that the bearing rod went through the engine. The engine was replaced however, after several thousand miles the failure recurred with the new engine. The contact the called the cable dahmer kia of lee's summit (400 ne colbern rd, lee's summit, mo 64086, (816) 207-6200) and was informed of the federal safety agency campaign number: 20v750000 (engine). The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer for the engine replacement but was informed that they were unable to replace the engine under the recall because the vehicle was over 150,000 miles. The contact notified the manufacturer of the failure and the manufacturer agreed that the vehicle was not eligible for the free repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 162,000.

Filed Feb 26, 2021 · Engine · 170,000 miles · GA

Driving at 70 MPH the engine just died, no warnings lights, starter and battery are fine. Per mechanic the engine assembly failed

Filed Feb 23, 2021 · Engine · FL

Jun 01,2018 manufacturer recall numbersc165a the federal safety agency recall number18v363 recall statusrecall incomplete summary kia motors has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in all 2010-2013 my forte and forte koup , all 2011-2013 my optima, all 2011-2012 optima hybrid, and all 2011-2012 my sedona vehicles. The airbag control unit ("acu") detects crash severity and commands deployment of the advanced airbags and seatbelt pretensioners when necessary. The acu contains a certain application-specific integrated circuit ("asic") that may be susceptible to electrical overstress ("eos") during certain frontal crash events. The condition is limited to frontal airbags and seat belt pretensioners in certain frontal crash events. Safety risk if the asic becomes damaged, the frontal airbags and seatbelt pretensioners may not deploy in certain frontal crashes where deployment may be necessary, thereby increasing the risk of injury. Remedy kia has advised its authorized dealers to install a wire harness kit between the acu connector and vehicle harness connector in your vehicle. The work will be performed at kia's expense at no cost to you. The actual time required to perform the repair will take approximately one (1) hour. However, your vehicle may be needed longer; therefore, we recommend scheduling a service appointment to minimize any inconvenience. (refer to sc165a.) manufacturer's notes sc165a

Filed Feb 17, 2021 · Engine · 46,000 miles · GA

Per the federal safety agency recall 20v750, a kia dealer service department informed me today (2/17/2021) that they are unable to make appointments to service this recall due to a 'nationwide computer outage'. How can they be allowed to issue a major recall and then not be prepared to make appointments to service the vehicles?

Filed Feb 13, 2021 · Engine · 100,000 miles · IL

I'd had no mechanical issues w/ my vehicle, whatsoever & all routine maintenance is done on time. While driving on the highway one day & suddenly all the warning lights came on & lots of smoke coming from under the hood. Pulled to the side of the road, had it towed to the nearest kia dealership. After a few days, it was explained to me, by the service team that my engine was shot, but I wasn't given an explanation as to why. There were no recalls at that time on the hybrid vehicles; however, I just got a recall letter for my optima hybrid, dated 1/27/2021 that described the very thing that I experienced with my car. This prompted me to visit this website to explain my issue.

Filed Feb 11, 2021 · Engine · CO

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact had initially taken her vehicle to arapahoe kia (9701 e arapahoe rd, centennial, co 80112) for an oil change and had also informed them that her vehicle had been consuming excessive amounts of oil. The dealer informed her that there had been a recall, the federal safety agency campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling) placed on her year model vehicle however, kia could not repair the vehicle unless the engine was knocking. A week later, the contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle began to stall with the check engine warning light illuminated. The next day, the contact had the vehicle towed back to the dealer and was informed that her vehicle was safe to drive and that the check engine light had been cleared. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that a case would be opened. The contact then received a text from the dealer mechanic that stated that the engine was faulty however, they were unsuccessful with diagnosing the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Feb 5, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · NY

My check engine light is blinking; faulty acceleration on highway and going upgrade (uphill), vehicle jerking on local roadways; auto zone says its a faulty knock sensor. It could possibly be an issue with the engine but I'm not sure.

Filed Feb 4, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · 178,000 miles · OH

Car will not start up. When turning key I hear clicking noise from under the god from fuse box and thinking it's starter relay but I replaced it and still nothing eventually by keep trying turning key to start for 18 minutes it starts up finally. No clue what it could be. Maybe starter solenoid

Filed Jan 30, 2021 · Engine, Transmission · 113,000 miles · GA

Vehicle shut down with low power at 50 MPH with all lights working. Computer has car shut down and can not start.

Filed Jan 28, 2021 · Engine · 63,000 miles · NY · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, when the vehicle began to hesitate and the he heard an abnormal noise. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact he was able to park on the side of the road and notice smoke exit the hood. The contact stated a police officer was nearby and parked behind his vehicle. The contact stated the fire extinguished on it's own before the fire department arrived to the location. A police and fire report was not filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to local dealer northtown kia ( 3900 sheridan dr, amherst, ny 14226: (716) 217-2390) and diagnosed the failure was caused due to a oil leak. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v907000 (fuel system, gasoline, engine), however the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

Filed Jan 26, 2021 · Engine · 168,897 miles · TX

Will driving down the highway, my car suddenly stops accelerating and all my dashboard light come on with cars at my tail. Scary ordeal but luckily I was able to pull over.

Filed Jan 16, 2021 · Engine · 95,485 miles · CA

The kia gave no warning about the car having issues about the engine when I was driving home from work it gave me the error hybrid battery not charging to pull over and stop driving when I had it checked I was told it was not the hybrid that it could be something else the car turns on put wont move even if I put it in drive or in reverse it won't move no check engine light but the hybrid batter not charging and the specialist I had come check the car told me its not the hybrid battery he changed the battery to see it would work but the car still won't move.

Filed Jan 15, 2021 · Engine · 105,000 miles · NJ

The engine blew. The car only has about 105,000 miles. I was researching that this particular vehicle has a defect from the factory and I believe that my car falls under those defected cars.

Filed Jan 13, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 190,000 miles · MN

Car will not get out of immobilization phase, with either key fob will not unlock to use push to start. Also common issue is waste gate activator failure, caused us to almost crash dealer said it is a exstremly common issue but kia won't issue recal.

Filed Jan 9, 2021 · Engine · 112,000 miles · GA

Driving at the speed of 55 MPH on two lane road coming down a mountain and kia optima sx 2.0l turbo started losing power then at 45 engine shut down. Coasted to shoulder of the road and will not start. Towed to home then towed again to shop waiting on repairs. Kia says no recall and not part of the 618000 kia optima sx turbo 2.0l recall

Filed Jan 9, 2021 · Engine · 137,525 miles · IL

I was driving my car on the expressway and all of a sudden it started making a knocking sound. When I was getting off my exist I notice the car was not allowing me to start it up and move. I knew it wasn't my battery because I just got I knew one, but I notice how my engine light would come on. So I was stuck in the middle of the street with no way to move my car out of the intersection. I heard their was a recall on my car so I'm checking to see why I haven't heard any information from kia.

Filed Jan 4, 2021 · Engine · 170,000 miles · GA

At first it started with my engine oil burning quick, and having to do an oil change every 15 days. Now it started doing the engine knocking noise when I drove it 20 miles away from my house in the middle of a busy city street. It had to be towed to my house and I am unable to drive it now. I haven't drove it since the beginning of december because I'm still waiting to go to the dealership for my appointment next week.

Filed Dec 28, 2020 · Engine · 155,437 miles · NC

As my stepdaughter was driving home from work on a highway, a loud knock noise came from the engine compartment. At which time she was scared to drive it anymore, so she parked alongside road and waited for someone to come get her. The car was then trailered to the house and then to the kia dealership. When the car was started to load onto the trailer, there were no warning lights of any kind on the dash but there was an obvious noise that something wasn't right with the car. Unloading it at the dealership, the noise began to get louder and again, no lights of any kind came up as a warning. Before taking it to the dealership we called kia and spoke with robert on 12/9/2020. Robert said there were no recalls on this car and they would not honor the current recall that is all over the papers and news stations. I asked if there were any other recalls on this car and he said no. Today when the dealership called to let us know that the cars engine needs replaced because of the rod bearings, again we asked if there were any open recalls on this car. We were again told no. After viewing your website, we have learned that there is, in fact an open recall for the airbag. I know the airbag has nothing todo with the engine, but considering kia was not honest about that recall it would lead someone to believe that they aren't being honest about anything else. I opened a case with kia and that number is 13909518. We aren't asking for anything but the right thing to be done. We just purchased this car 3 weeks before this happened. We were already struggling to purchase her a car and will now have to somehow find a way to purchase another one. Please help us!

Filed Dec 21, 2020 · Engine · 82,581 miles · FL

Engine is making knocking sound

Filed Dec 14, 2020 · Engine · 107,940 miles · CA

I was driving to work one morning just got on the freeway and my kia optima with 107k miles decided to shut off out of knowhere. I decided to check the oil and noticed it was pretty much empty when it shouldnt have been. I check it regularly and keep it in good shape also had it changed a month or so back. I had it towed to my mechanic because it would not start at all. It took them 2 weeks and various test including a compression test and installing new spark plugs. After almost 700$ spent they got it running for 15mins and the car shutoff again. They told me it needs a whole new engine...so after I get it towed all the way back home I hear that kia has a massive settlement going on for thier engines failing. Not sure if I will get a recall but I have my fingers crossed. I hope that anyone has this problem can find a way to solve this. Not to mention I just payed it off and it forced me to purchase another vehicle.

Filed Dec 11, 2020 · Engine · 111,000 miles · GA · fire

Engine malfunctioned caught on fire and completely shut down.

Filed Dec 10, 2020 · Engine · 123,000 miles · MO · fire

The car had broke down on the side of the road and then caught fire totaling the vehicle while it was not in motion on a city street

Filed Dec 9, 2020 · Engine · WA

I was driving to pick my kids up when I slowed down to turn a corner the car started making a weird noise and kind of jerked some. I picked up 1 kid pulled out of the parking lot when the car jerked again and barely was moving, even though I was pressing on the gas. Then my display flashed hybrid system failure and I was able to drive another 200 yards to park safely and that was it. My husband went to pick it up later with a trailer and oil was pouring out of the under carriage although I didn't hit anything and there was no reason. This is the replacement motor in my car, in 2017 we had an engine failure as well due to some kind of bearings. I haven't taken it in yet, it's in my driveway waiting to see what the newest recall is. Seems to be a common failure with kia.

Filed Nov 27, 2020 · Engine · 115,000 miles · NV

The car started to stall and wouldn't go it began smoking and caught fire luckily I was driving right past purrfect auto and turned around and pulled inside the service area before the car was able to catch full fire. I thought maybe the car got hot and that's what I told purrefct auto because I was not sure so I thought that the car was running hot and that maybe it just got a little bit too hot and decided to catch on fire but the car was stalling before the fire and didn't want to go I took it to kia to have it repaired and they told me that I would have to pay out of pocket they said that the car needed a new engine after perfect auto basically took the whole engine out of the car to try to see why the car wasn't working right and they still couldn't figure it out I paid them $3,000 almost $4,000 and the car still wasn't working correctly so I when I took it to kia they denied me because they said my car was not in warranty and that I needed to buy a new engine.

Filed Nov 24, 2020 · Engine · 109,456 miles · IN

I was driving down the road and about 25 miles an hour accelerating when all of a sudden my vehicle just stalled out I was able to put it in neutral and coast to the nearest driveway entrance or I was safely able to stop the vehicle and put it in park attempted to start the vehiclei was driving down the road and about 25 miles an hour when all of a sudden my vehicle just stalled out I was able to put it in neutral and coast to the nearest driveway entrance or I was safely able to stop the vehicle and put it in park I attempted to restart my car and all I heard was a faint click of the starter the engine would not turn over I contacted my roadside assistance via my insurance company to request a tow truck about half an hour to 45 minutes later the tow truck showed up an my battery was almost completely dead the tow truck unloaded my car into my garage where I attempted to restart my car and all I hear is a faint click of the starter the engin will not turn over I did some research and some looking up and found that there is a massive recall by kia on multiple models of cars with the same engine. Mine is a 2012 kia optima lx 2.4l and I did find out that anything from 2011 up to a 2015 kia optima has engine recalls for the vehicle stalling out an the engine seizing up because of a manufacturing defects in the engine

Filed Nov 22, 2020 · Engine · 84,949 miles · IL

I was driving home from work on the highway, when I noticed my 2012 kia optima ex making a loud clicking/tapping noise coming from the engine suddenly the car turned off and I was able to pull over to the right lane. When I pulled over the car was off so I turned it on and continued to hear the loud clicking/tapping noise.

Filed Nov 16, 2020 · Engine · 136,000 miles · SC

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact stated that while driving he heard a loud popping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the engine seized while merging onto the highway. The contact pulled off onto the shoulder. The vehicle was towed to stokes kia (202 s. Goose creek blvd, goose creek, sc 29445, (843) 572-7300 to be diagnosed. The contact was informed the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 136,000.

Filed Nov 15, 2020 · Engine · 133,000 miles · MO

I just bought the this car a few months ago . The vehicle was in motion on a residential street. The car appeared as if it was trying to die the engine completely turned off without warning . I pulled over to a safe area turned the car off . I waited a few minutes before trying to restart . My car wouldn't start . After several mechanics looking at the car they believe it's the engine and told me the car had a recall. I called kia dealership I was told that the recall has been addressed on top of that the turbo is leaking fluids . This car is a mess.

Filed Oct 30, 2020 · Airbags, Engine · 103,535 miles · GA

I bought my car 3 months ago. Never had any issues, make sure I do my oil and all,no lights have come on on my dash board except the airbag light as of recently. I was driving it to pick up my son and my car started to slow down and I noticed my check engine light was on so I pulled over to the gas station and checked my oil. No issue I just got an oil change the week before. My engine is knocking now. With no warning or anything.

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