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2012 Kia Optima transmission complaints

Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 54, newest first, as owners wrote them.

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

Filed Oct 20, 2021 · Electrical, Transmission · MI

Every time i stop at a light my car starts to shake and vibrate. Now the check engine is on and my car is making weird noises, going at higher speeds

Filed Sep 22, 2021 · Transmission · PA

My wife had been complaining that while driving 2011 optima hybrid at highway speeds the car would suddenly lose power and slow to 30 or 40 mph while the pedal is floored. Took it to the dealer who said we needed a new battery which did not solve the problem. 2nd time came with a warning on the dash to check hybrid system, back at the dealer they said it appears to be some special fuse in the trunk ($300)…problem sill persist however this time the car completely shut down on the road, dash was lit up like a Christmas tree. Had to get it towed. Now dealer says its the HPCU and that’s going to run almost $6000. Dealer was willing to install a used one i got on EBay, they charged $1300 for the install they tell me the problem still exists.

Filed May 14, 2021 · Acceleration, Transmission · 129,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact stated that while driving on the highway, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 45 MPH. There was white smoke beginning to come from underneath the hood of the vehicle and the exhaust. The contact stated that it had gotten to the point where they would have to add oil to their vehicle every 100 miles. The check oil warning light would illuminate intermittently. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer (valley hi kia 14644 valley center dr, victorville, ca 92395; 877‑305‑9865). The vehicle had too high levels of the oil. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who changed the oil and changed the crank sensor. The contact was told that rod barring material was found in their oil. The vehicle had not been repaired and the failures persist today. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 129,000.

Filed May 8, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 99,075 miles · TX

Tha car shut down in the middle of the road would not start all lights came on and could not steer gave the car gas on gas pedal nor could I brake to get out of the road. Has been towed to demontrond kia to see if under warranty for repairs almost lost my life on highway

Filed Mar 28, 2021 · Transmission · 57,029 miles · TX

Kia optima ex 2012 with 57000 miles transmission is stuck on r (reverse) and it doesn't release even with the shift lock release engaged. The backup camera is on, brake is very stiff, the car ignition can be on/off but don't starts the engine. Dash and shifter indicator shows r and it does not change to any other status. Vehicle is inoperable.

Filed Mar 14, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 82,000 miles · CA

While driving my 2012 kia optima hybrid on the farthest left lane of the freeway, a warning message popped up on my dash board that was something similar to "saftley pull over and do not drive vehicle." I began to change lanes to be able to exit the freeway and as I was approaching the edits stop light the moving hehicle seemed to lack much power. I was lucky enough to have the car roll far enough on momentum to get me out of the way of a very busy road. It was a miracle that the car rolled to the spot it did because that happened to be the only place the shoulder could fit my car. I had it sent to kia dealership and it took them almost an entire week to finally have an idea of what the problem could be. Engine seized as the major problem and offered to replace it for above $8000! The car isn't even worth that much! Come to realize there was a recall on my engine so I am now waiting until kia tech support reaches out to my mechanic for the approval or denial. I bought this used car about 30 days from today's date with 80k miles

Filed Mar 2, 2021 · Electrical, Steering · 52,313 miles · FL

I was in the parent pick up line to pick up my daughter and I placed my shift in park however my car continued to drive forward and shift gear was stuck. Steering wheel became stiff and I kept foot on brake to slowing maneuver car to a parking spot. Once in parking spot car would not turn off and even though car was in park on the shift gear the drive mode was illuminated. The car finally turned off for a few seconds and than restarted by itself and repeated to do so. I was finally able to move gear shift after accessing the shift gear release lock however the shift gear remained in drive mode. Then engine just completely stopped turning on. Car would not turn, not drivable and had to have it towed for repair.

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 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 20, 2021 · Transmission · 73,948 miles · MO

April 2018 was driving heard loud nose from engine, hybrid system came on , hybrid system warning turn off engine. Engine locked up.towed home.pulled oil pan. Brass bearings bottom of pan.crankshaft and piston rod bearnig were in pieces. Had engine rebuilt. May 2018. Filled 2 complaints then. Only 73,000 miles.company's getting away for insufficient engines. Tried to sell car. But not going to give away.I don't want it. I think I deserve compensation.

Filed Jan 4, 2021 · Lights, Transmission · 168,000 miles · TX

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

Filed Oct 2, 2020 · Airbags, Lights · GA

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

Filed Sep 14, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 107,000 miles · WA

Transmission issues: between 2nd and 3rd gear. Would lag then jerk the car with some torque once it caught 3rd gear. Had to get 2 replacement transmissions because of this issue. Also engine seizer issue, my engine started to seize when I was going 45 miles an hour with alot of traffic behind me. Then all of a sudden it started making loud thunking noices then a very loud grinding noise and then I was stuck on a road not being able to get above 22 miles and hour, there was no shoulder to pull over. And I was stuck trying to go uphill and all these cars behind me. I ended up having to stop the car and leave it in the middle of a 2 lane road on a hill with the emergancy break on. Kia knew it was another seized engine which I thought it was my transmission again which I had brought in because this 3rd transmission was having the skilling issues around 20-25miles and hour, but after they knew I wasnt going to buy another kia again they wouldnt fix my trans that should probably be recalled anyways. But they thought it was another optima seized engine, and even though all optimas are recalled for this exact same issue, they say that mine isnt covered becasue its a hybrid and has a motor in the car also so its different set up. But theres are others online with this kia optima 2011-2013 hybrid engine seizer just like all the other optimas. And I think the hybrids should be included in the recall. As we are having the same issues. This was a very dangerous issue

Filed Jun 11, 2020 · Engine, Transmission · 82,000 miles · IN

There is metal in the bottom of the engine, there is no sludge build up and the engine has less than 90,000 miles on it.

Filed Mar 8, 2020 · Transmission · 61,200 miles · FL

I stopped the car and tried to put the shift lever to park, the car indicated that it was still in drive. The car was stuck in drive even though the shift lever was in the park position. I turned the vehicle off. I tried to restart but it would not because the car thought the transmission was in drive. I could not move the shift lever from park without use the shift unlock. Upon investigation I found that the transmission shift cable came detached from the shifter lever. It appears that a plastic retainer disintegrated.

Filed Feb 3, 2020 · Seats, Transmission · 125,000 miles · KS

The car will not accelerate at a safe time frame. For example if I need to cross a busy street. I have to wait until there are absolutely no cars coming because when I accelerate my engine revs but doesn't move. I've been almost rear ended several times because the transmission will not go into gear. The engine will hit 8 or 9 thousand RPM then the transmission decides to catch and throw my head into the seat. Which if there is a car in front of me I have to be careful not to rear end them because of the sudden acceleration.

Filed Dec 16, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 99,000 miles · ME

I was on the interstate traveling at approx 70 MPH changed lanes and when I went to accelerate the vehicle stalled lost power I coasted to the breakdown lane and attempted to start the vehicle. It would not start. I had aaa tow it to a hardings garage in fairfield. The technician said this morning the vehicle started but stalled as soon as he tried to move it. He told me that there was a kia recall 17v224000 that applied to the engine so I got aaa to tow the vehicle to charlies kia in augusta, me. They tell me that there is no recall on my VIN. Why would I have the same stalling as indicated in the recall if my VIN does not apply???

Filed Nov 29, 2019 · Steering, Suspension · 137,456 miles · OH

Steering column coupler

Filed Oct 31, 2019 · Transmission · 121,000 miles · NC

Car engine died and lost power on highway putting me at risk of getting into an accident. I had to pull over on shoulder quickly and then blew out a tire a I ran over a unavoidable object on the side of the road.

Filed Oct 11, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 82,000 miles · CA

Kia has now settled their class action suit for all the other vehicles, yet the hybrids are still being left out of any recalls. There is plenty of evidence in the complaints here that something is wrong. I sunk $7000 that I didn't have to spare into getting a new engine put in this car. Only to have the transmission blow right after I got the car back from kia after waiting 6 months for an engine. The transmission cost another $5000, and it took them three transmissions to install a non-faulty transmission. I almost lost my job because I couldn't reliably get to work on time, if at all. Kia themselves have said that the engines weren't manufactured correctly and that labor being done in kia dealerships wasn't being done correctly. Hybrid engines should absolutely not be blowing rods at 60000 miles, or 80000 miles, and not even 100000 miles. Kia is knowingly delaying any sort of recall and forcing people to go into further debt or lose jobs.

Filed Oct 11, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 99,198 miles · WV

Failure date: 06/25/2019 my 2012 kia optima engine shut off while I was driving and luckily I didnt get into accident and was able pull off the road to wait for a tow truck. This is very scary and dangerous. I had it towed to an auto repair garage they changed out the started and changed out the battery it just made a clicking sound but wouldn't start. I started reading on line that this exact situation has happened to other kia optima vehicles. My vehicle has 99189 miles so it falls within the power train warranty of 100,000 miles

Filed Sep 17, 2019 · Acceleration, Engine · 79,985 miles · CA

I have a 2012 kia optima hybrid at 80,xxx, and have always kept up with the scheduled services/maintenance. I barely drive my car nowadays, and just ride my bicycle to take public transportation that is 1-mile away. My wife and I were driving on the freeway, going 65mph, 47-miles into our drive, our car started jerking. We have about 3-4 miles left to our destination. When you pressed on the gas, it sounded like it was just accelerating and not shifting to the next gear. There were no warning lights or notification as to why that was happening. We exited from the freeway and stopped at a local plaza to try and reset the car, and gave the car about 20-mins before driving again. When we tried driving about the last 10-mins, even at 20mph, it was still jerking and still sounded like it wasn't shifting to the next gear, and still no warning lights. We ended up towing our car back home because we didn't want to risk getting stuck on the freeway at 1-2am. Unfortunately, I am the 2nd owner, however, I do have extended warranty, so I hope this issue is not that serious. I will definitely contact kia and raise this concern because it is a safety hazard.

Filed May 10, 2019 · Transmission · 107,408 miles · KS

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle started hesitating and the rear brake lights were illuminated without the brake pedal being depressed. The vehicle was taken to local dealer shawnee mission kia (7951 shawnee mission pkwy, merriam, ks 66202, (913) 384-9100) where it was diagnosed that the shift solenoid needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 107,408.

Filed Oct 9, 2018 · Transmission · 81,300 miles · AL

Engine light came on while driving. When starting car, it's not starting as it should and staking lugging and sluggish while driving. Country road driving approximately 45 MPH..

Filed Jul 16, 2018 · Transmission · 128,000 miles · TN

While driving on many city streets 0-45mph and interstate 0-70mph service engine light comes on and goes off periodically. When the light is on, car shakes and sputters as transmission gears shift (not engne). Appears to be something to do with the transmission. Caught the light on and read code p0711. According to tsb 043 [rev ] /2/2013 this is an internal problem and must be corrected by a licensed mechanic.

Filed Jul 14, 2018 · Steering, Suspension · CA

Problems start in 2012 engine recall in 2017 was replace,steering recall in 2018 steering coupling was replace how ever my rack and pinion was affected and needs to be replace. We call them in 2012 regarding the steering wheel witch they didn't fix at that time which caused rack and pinion to wear out. We went to three different dealer ships regarding this car and nothing was done. This car is still giving us problems and we want the manufacture to either give us our money back or fix this problem this car is a hazard to our family, if something ist done some one is going to get hurt in this car!!! . This car stop on us in traffic someone could of gotten hurt ,aaa had to pull this car to the selma dealer ship at that time. On the freeway the steering wheel would pull side to side that's dangerous. From 2012 until now this car is still giving us problems. We have all the paper work that was done on this lemon.why don't someone help these consumers out here with these problem on the kia. I need help as asap. Sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *cc

Filed Jul 26, 2017 · Acceleration, Brakes · 77,000 miles · NJ

My kia optima ABS system will randomly make a crunch sound when I step on the brakes, and I lose some engine power immediately after to the point that my car will not accelerate past 40 MPH. It has happened several times on busy highways where I have to fear causing a major accident. Kia dealer cannot figure out the issue, they had my car for a day and repaired the steering column and sent me home, only for the problem to occur again the following week.

Filed Jul 26, 2017 · Transmission · 42,900 miles · AZ

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle went in and out of gear and finally lost all acceleration. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact had to pull over to the side of the road to a complete stop and then restarted the vehicle. The contact drove the vehicle to work and back home without any issues. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided case number: k32q8186. The approximate failure mileage was 42,900.

Filed Mar 15, 2017 · Engine, Transmission · 91,115 miles · AL

I was driving down the highway and my 2012 kia optima lost power with no warning signs. I had it towed to a mechanic only to find that the motor was locked up. Did I mention that I had just bought the car from boyles auto sales in jasper, alabama on february 3, 2017 and the car quit on february 26, 2017 not even 30 days since the purchase of my car. Unfortunely, since we paid cash for the car the dealer basicly told us he wouldn't do anything. So now I am without a vehicle and having to find more money to replace the motor in the car that this dealer sold me. After further research I have learned that kia has problems with the kia optima's for several years and the 2012 that I purchased is included. The mechanic told us that all the components of the car that should have oil, water, any type of fluid was fine but that something internal had stopped operating and caused the motor to lock up.

Filed Nov 22, 2016 · Steering, Transmission · TN

I took car in for the clicking noise in steering wheel. While car was up inair on stands. The rep stated their was a small leak coming from the turbo oil feed line. However it was not cover under warranty because its not the turbo. I told the it is if its feeding the oil. I did some research on the problem and found that it is a common issue with all of their cars and they are refusing to fix the issue. I told the rep that if the oil causes a burning smell it can cause a fire. I was told the manager would call me but now they are not taking my calls about replacing the line to the turbo.

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