Transmission has a hard pull when it down shifts from third gear to second gear and a harder pull on first gear this is a automatic transmission. In regular gears going in drive would actually do fine I noticed a week later when I was out driving for about an hour that the car would not go past second gear so I pulled off the road and had my car towed. The vehicle has never had any dashboard lights come on currently my car is in limp mode and will only go in reverse takes a few seconds to initiate an engage to go into first gear.dealership does not really want to look at the vehicle if it does not have a check engine light code I have no idea what is wrong with this transmission I have 168,000 miles. It should give you some type of warning that something is going on with your transmission but it does not even light up on your dashboard if you go to press the pedal to accelerate it does not want to accelerate I just recently had my catalytic converter changed out so I know it is not that the gears on the transmission will not go past second gear now it is in what they consider limp mode or default mode someone really needs to look at the transmission on all the 2012 kia optimas I have been seeing a lot of issues with these cars the lights that are considered as the low beams are not very bright either I just recently had those changed and new ones put in they do not give you enough light if you're driving at night this is a safety hazard
2012 Kia Optima lights complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 32 of 32, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Lowbeams seem weak/dim. Research showed via kia"2011-2013 my optima/optima hybrid headlamp assembly new vehicle limited warranty extension" that the reflector in the low beam headlamp housing may deteriorate over time, resulting in a gradual dimming of the low beam headlamp. Unfortunately, it only pertains to vehicles manufactured in korea. My vehicle was assembled in georgia, but I believe the headlight housing is the same for both locations. Bottom line, my low beams have the same issue and driving at night is unsafe due to the limited visibility. I personally completed the procedure's inspection as outlined in the tsb (attached) and determined my vehicle has this problem, but since mine was assembled in georgia they won't replace at no cost to me.
My gear shift is stuck in drive I can not put it in park if I turn my car off it won't crank back up please help I don't know what to do an this is my everyday car
Driver side door doesn't close all the way head light bulbs melting to headlight harness smoking
I have reason to believe that my car has been hacked due to an incident that occurred approximately one week after being aggressively followed by a mysterious black nissan SUV with pitch-black tinted windows at my work location. During the incident in question, I was on the phone with 911, with the bluetooth of my car and phone on and connected, calling about a red car that appeared to be following me. I drove around my block and lost the red car but when I returned back to the street where I live, I slowed down as I noticed a slow-moving black SUV with pitch-black dark tinted windows (reminding me of the black nissan SUV that I encountered a week prior at work). I remember its headlights being off. This time, I was in close proximity to the black SUV- it was on my left side driving the opposite direction and it also appeared to slowed down and got parallel to my vehicle). When my car and the black SUV where almost next to each other, all the interior lights of my vehicle turned on and I heard a sound that sounded like all the doors unlocked. As a petite female who was driving alone at 10pm or later that night on an empty back street, I got terrified and quickly pushed on the gas to get away from the black SUV. With all the interior lights on while trying to drive at night, I had no visibility whatsoever, so I kept pushing the light switch by the driver's side, but no matter how many times I moved the switch, the interior lights did not turn off. After driving, I estimate, 1000+ feet, the interior lights turned off and I regained visibility. At that point I could see my apartment was coming up so I quickly drove into the gated parking area of my apartment complex. As I recall the incident, the light switch was on "door" when I was attempting to turn it off while driving. This incident reveals security/safety vulnerabilities in my vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact stated that the low beam headlights were inoperable. The vehicle was driven with the high beam headlights to compensate for the failure. The vehicle was taken to lee johnson kia (11845 north east 85th street kirkland, wa 98033, (425)827-0521, to be inspected. The low beam bulbs were replaced however, the failure persisted. The contact was informed that the headlight housings needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was then informed that the vehicle was not covered under the extended warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact stated that the rear brake lamps illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was turned off however, the brake lamps remained illuminated with the ESC warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the only way to turn the brake lamps off, was to disconnect the battery. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The dealer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
On feb18 2020 head lights again stopped working new bulbs were put in oem replacements light go off when ever they want this is extremely dangerous if your a rural roads interior light stay on or go off on there own but mostly it's the head light that work when they want to this issue happens when driving and when stationary kia has to do something to repair the problem this isn't a wear and tear people's this is subpar craftsmanship on a safety issue and I'm afraid someone will die. I have read other complaints where the car owners payed 400.00 to replace the wiring and bulbs only to have it happen again. My other issue is that kia used a plastic star locking bearing in the steering column that broke and I had to fix at my expense mechanic said it's a problem with the cars. When driving the car making a turn you would feel the grinding in the steering wheel and hear clicking. This was on regular city paved streets.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima hybrid. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced electrical failure and unintended acceleration. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated and decelerated independently. The contact stated that there was an intermittent failure with headlamps. The contact also stated that the vehicle lunged forward while driving. The vehicle was taken to power kia dealer, (3705 market st ne, salem, or 97301, (503) 585-7333) and was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the unintended acceleration recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer and informed that the headlamps light switch caused the battery to drain. The battery was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the same dealer four times. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 77,874.
Issue started 2 months ago. Noticed that vehicle acceleration is sluggish. Sometimes I have to take foot off the acceleration pedal then depress it again in order for vehicle to accelerate. Acceleration is unreliable and dangerous. Electronic stability sensor also started lighting up and cruise control became inoperable. Also noticed that my tail lights lit up on its own (and did not turn off) while vehicle is parked and fob not near vehicle, draining the battery. Police came by in the middle of the night to report that my tail lights were on. Tail light did not turn off when pressing the fob unlock/lock button. Had to restart the engine, drive around the block then turn off engine before the tail lights came off... But it turned back on again on its own that same night (in the middle of the night) and had to repeat the process. My battery was drained and had to replace it 3 days ago. I thought it was a battery problem (and was informed by dealer that it was probably a battery related issue) but problem persisted. Read reviews and this seems to be a running complaint with issues on brake pedal stopper or brake sensor stopper. Will bring vehicle to dealer in the morning.
My airbag light turned on and stays on while driving. My interior 3way switch light randomly turns on and stays on while driving and won't shut off until the car is off.
2012 kia optima ex with 48000 miles now driver-side headlight stopped working, so as of now I am driving with passenger sidelight in combination with parking lights. Buying kia optima is the biggest mistake I have ever done, it seems every month something goes wrong with this vehicle. Surprisingly the federal safety agency has not taken any action as per kia optima well known defects.
About 4 years ago the headlights on my 2012 kia optima sx starting getting dim. I took it in to the dealer and they replaced bulbs which made no difference. I took it in again about 2 years ago because it was becoming difficult to see at night. They couldn't figure out the problem. They had my car overnight so the service tech drove it that evening to see how bad it was. He told me that he turned up a dark road, turned the car around, flipped the high beams on so he could find his way back to the dealership. He told me that it scared the you-know-what out of him and he was sorry but all he could do is replace the entire headlight assemblies and it would cost me $2500.00! I went online to see if others were having this problem and I see hundreds of complaints about this problem. I no longer drive the car at night and have to rely on my husband for transportation after dark. I might try to trade the car in for something with real headlights but I'm afraid that I won't be able to trade it in this condition. I did find a tbs #ele181 that says it's part of a warranty extention wty014 that replaces the headlights for this very condition on my car model and year but when I called the dealership they said it only applies to korean made vehicles. Mine is an american made kia that, obviously, has the same issue. Why wouldn't all kia optimas with this extremely hazardous problem be eligible for this warranty extension? Help! I'm at my wits end!
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. While driving with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle decelerated on its own. When the accelerator pedal was released and depressed again, the vehicle would accelerate normally. In addition, when accelerating from a stop, the vehicle started to rattle, the oil warning indicator flickered, and the rear brake lights would remain illuminated when the vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was taken to atlanta west kia (located at 1301 thornton rd, lithia spring, ga 30122, (678) 715-5399) where it was diagnosed that the high pressure fuel pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notifed. The approximate failure mileage was 166,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact stated that the headlights failed to illuminate and there was extremely poor visibility. Also, the oil light randomly illuminated several times. The dealer (ossett kia south, 2680 mt moriah rd, memphis, tn 38115, (901) 328-8173) was unable to determine the cause of the failures. The contact replaced the headlight assemblies more than five times, but the visibility was still poor. The contact also noticed an abnormal odor in the vehicle. The dealer indicated that without the check engine indicator illuminated, they would not replace the catalytic converter. The contact stated that the warranty expired without the part being replaced. The fan also failed to function, but the failure was not remedied. The dealer also performed a repair per an unknown recall regarding the steering; however, the remedy failed to provide a solution for the steering coupler and the steering wheel was no longer straight. Also, the sun roof and moon roof glass had a crack going down to the driver's side of the vehicle where it met the windshield. There was also an abnormal noise progressing due to the failures. The manufacturer and dealer were notified of the steering failure, headlight failure, and moisture in the rear camera. The failure mileage was not available.
Front low beams very dim, can barely see at night. Have to use high beams in order to see, which is dangerous to on-coming traffic. I have read on various forums that this is a well known issue due to a defect and that the cost is upwards of $2k to fix when this is a hazard and should be covered due to manufacturers defect.
Original hid headlights became dim to the point it failed a virginia state safety inspection. Dealer service department states the reflective material in the headlight housing has diminished.
The low beam headlights are dim and make it difficult to drive safely at night.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. While driving various speeds at night, the low beam headlights failed to illuminate brightly. The illumination prevented the contact from viewing the road while driving. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or independent mechanic to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 122,597.
I first noticed a problem with my vehicle when the cruise control would randomly disengage while going down the interstate. Then a couple of weeks later I was making a left turn across a two lanes of traffic on a city street. When I first pushed the accelerator the car started to go and then suddenly I lost all acceleration. I let my foot off the accelerator and then pushed back down and was able to go. This was a very dangerous situation as I was stuck in the middle of two lanes of traffic for several extra seconds longer than necessary. A similar situation happened a couple of more time and when I parked the vehicle at home I noticed that brake light was staying on after I got out of the car. I took the car to the local kia dealership and they replaced the brake sensor which fixed all of the above problems. I would like to not that hyundai issued a recall on the nearly identical sonata for this same issue and did so years ago and yet nothing for the optima.
Exiting hwy 71 east bound to woodward decreasing speed the vehicle in front of me had a car cut in front of her. I had a safe distance and slammed my brakes. My brakes did not grab as usual my car did not stop and I hit the vehicle in front of me. I truly believe my brake system failed. I will take my car into kia when I get it back.
The interior overhead lights periodically come on and go off while operating our 2012 optima. This occurs with the switch in both on and off position and the lightbulbs tend to become overheated.they do not respond to manual operation, but go off on their own and this malfunction repeats several times in a ten minute drive. Best-case scenario results in the bulbs burning out prematurely, but I believe there is a real chance of a more serious short-circuit and potential interior fire.
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