I was driving up the [XXX] north and where [XXX] merges to [XXX] I'm going 65mph on the far left side, and my dash starts beeping and reads WARNING STOP VEHICLE CHECK BRAKES. MY brakes go out, pedal to the floor sounding like grinding gears and doing some major damage, my acceleration stopped working. The [XXX] is merging on the left side so i had to avoid major traffic. I am a driver with skill as i dodge slowed and stopped vehicles, and get to the shoulder before [XXX]. I call for roadside assistance because kia says its free and its not. I was looking around the engine to see what the heck and unplugged the hybrid fuse and battery from back and suddenly it worked again and drive it home and right before I park I made a right turn, and it started beeping again, and this time it stayed this way. I almost lost my life, and I did lose my job because of it. GLENDALE'S CARSPRO KIA SERVICE DEPARTMENT IS THE WORST DEPARTMENT EVER!, they would not help me get a tow, I paid for the tow. THEY CHARGED CLOSE TO 5 GRAND FOR A REPAIR, Hydraulic brake booster module, AND A COUPLE HUNDRED FOR THERE HIGHEST SERVICE OPTION (Changing fluids, wipers, wash, detail, etc) this was a huge mistake and took nearly two months! My car had dust on it THEY DID NOT EVEN CHECK THE PRESSURE I HAD IN MY ALL 4 TIRES (EMPTIED UNTIL 25PSI) I started the vehicle and it started to hiccup as I idle I asked for the manager (a tall husky middle eastern guy with long hair and glasses). He replied "DOES YOUR CAR HAVE A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON" I said "no" he said "comeback when it does." I have received paper work from KIA corp stating that i could be reimbursed. I sent that document in and never herd from them again. I call customer service i even went to the Service dept and THEY ERASED MY SERVICE RECORD! Finally happened, with my car still Hiccuping, Rare ShutoffAlarm. I exit fw on green Light, made left; Alarm, No brakes, No gas, Hit curb, Near PEDESTRIANS, Trans Leaks, Part Recalled, No Results, New problem! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FR
2013 Kia Optima electrical complaints
Page 3 of 6: complaints 41 to 70 of 147, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I am concerned about my 2013 Kia Optima SX smoking at a mechanic shop. Mechanics identified smoke from the ABS Control Module or HECU. This raises serious safety concerns. I urge thorough investigation and prompt resolution. Clear communication is expected throughout the process to ensure vehicle safety and reliability.
the engine stop ruanning i got the code P1B96, P1B74, POA4C
My vehicles check engine light came on and I started feeling a lack of power in my car. Sluggish to accelerate. When the car was plugged in and diagnosed, it came up as the knock sensors. We had those replaced and the car ran fine for a few days but then it died out of nowhere. Check engine light came on again and it came up as knock sensors again. We had those replaced again and also had an oil change. Again… it was fine for a few days than started to knock… as I was driving the vehicle is completely seized on me. I almost went off a bridge because it didn’t allow me to press the breaks or anything. Brough it to the shop and they are saying the knock sensor popped up again but the engine is seized/blown. I was told this was not the first vehicle with my year make and model to do this and in this order.
In touch with 2 local dealers, one so far does not have the replacement part to resolve the recall on the hydraulic electronic control unit, one has yet to call me back to schedule for service. I am experiencing a burning/melting smell through my vents when the vehicle is not in motion.
car stopped mid freeway 3 times engine light turned on engine started smoking took too dealer per the recall notice and they took 3 months could not fix and wanted to charge me 600 for changing a battery but car still will not run so they want payment for a car I must tow and has had over 5 recall notices ..at this point the car is unsafe I need remedy
I bought my 2013 Kia optima ex from a private seller about half a year ago. I've had a few problems here and there that we're easily diagnosed and fixed. The radiator, alternator, starter, battery, serpentine belt, headlights, tail lights, licence plate light, tires, cabin air filter, and keyless start key fob have all been replaced. I just recently got my key fob(OEM) programmed by a licensed mechanic. The next day the car was perfectly fine. Ran smoothly and had no problems at all. I parked it and went to bed. Next day I get up early and start the car to warm up before I take my kids to the bus stop for school. It was between 5-7 minutes later and I went outside to the car and smelled an overwhelmingly strong plastic/chemical burning type smell coming from the car. I got in and saw that the air conditioning was on low and i turned it off, thinking the smell was because it was cold and the air needed to be off to stop the smell... I drove my son to the bus stop one block away and there was no dash light on but the smell was still there so I turned the car off and we got out of the car. After the bus got my son, I got in the car and could still smell the burning smell but tried to start it to take it home and the dash lights came on like normal then all turned off except the check engine light, oil light, battery light, key light, eps light. The car made one click noise under the hood and did not start or make any noises indicating an attempt to start. The key light the turned off but the oil, battery, engine lights remained. I turned the car back off and downloaded an app called justask to ask a mechanic about the problem and he said to call the master lube where I had gotten an oil change a few weeks prior and ask them what to do because of the oil light being on and the possibility that they overfilled it which could cause problems.i called. the oil was fine, no leaks, he has no idea why it isn't starting. So I call the mechanic. No idea what is wrong still....
My 2013 kia optima has a safety hazard recall and I want to know why is kia dragging its feet on a possible fire hazard on a hecu fuse.....seems like a simple fix... But I am [xxx] old and cannot drive my car and must park it outside in this cold weather.....please ntsb look into what is taking so long for a simple fuse replacement.....thank you information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
The car dealership i bought my kia from is fully aware of this safety recall, Should he have sold me the car with out telling me? Can I take this car back and get my money back?
On or around Oct.15th 2023, My abs light, engine light, and all these other lights came on. So i got it home i got a recall notice in the mail that day saying to park my car away from structures and other vehicles. So i had it towed to a kia dealer here in town. they had it for a week. they said they performed a diagnostic on it and replaced the recall part to come get it. So i go get it i drive off got a mile down the road and all the lights came on and said pull over and shut car off. So there iam on the side of the road calling a tow truck to tow my car back to the dealer. if they would have drove the car after fixing it they would experianced the all the lights lighting up on my dash. Now that want to tell me there is no remedy to the recall fix and that i need a new electric battery and it is going to cost me $12,000. This is my only means of transportation. Can someone stop messing around and take this seriously, now the kia dealer is paying for a tow to tow my safety hazard car back to my house. Now it does not run ... It ran when it got towed there.
in the middle of october around the 15th 2023 (HECU) hYDRAULIC electrical control unit light, the ABS light, the ENGIN light, and a couple of other unknown lights up and than my car tell me to pull over and shut down. you will have to tow it for inspection upon request due to all the warning light. my car had 117,000 document miles on it when i bought it, it now has 128,000. I paid cash for this car and it was my only means for my daughter and i to get to school work and with her dad in the hospital slowly still not out of the woods recovering throat cancer surgery patient. (ALL DOCUMENTED) on legal true facts statements dated sealed and signed documents for every statement stating true facts of this information that i am representing to you on December 1st 2023 My Neighbors, animals, property and family are at safety risk with the cars capability's to just combust SITTING OR DRIVING. Kia Corp. and Kia of Tucson both via verbal telephonic told me there is not a part to fix the recall just yet.. I do have a open case with NHTS. There were no prior warnings.
Nine recalls from kia and very dangerous. Right when I think kia cant get any more dangerous with 2013 kia optima and being unlucky enough to own the white pearl model with paint that is down to the metal, last recall airbags, seatbelts ect. This letter takes the cake. Our records show your vechicle is affected with part we do not have yet but “ park your vechicle outdoors and away from structurs and other vechicles car engine can catch fire driving or parked. Shoot forget about us it goes on to say if you burning melting smell while driving pull over and remove key exit car to safe location..well kia thanks for the heads-up hope we make it out of car and wow you will send letter when part comes in..terrifying letter but, love that you care more about parking away from strutures, other vechicles outdoors until you can get the part. Bad enough paint is all over the road chipping off. Guessing don't have to worry about that right now knowing I can catch on fire even when it is parked. Nothing telling us not to drive just make sure if we catch fire to get out! You were clear about protecting structures and other vehicles. Worst company and dangerous company. Tell your neighbors coworkers friends do not buy a kia. Until new ceo and accoutability this company cares little about life or loss. Many of us are joining class action suit. The federal safety agency gov do your job how are you letting this company be so careless are you not paying attention to the 1000 of complaints and fear on this model and company? Eventually, this will all blow up and life will be lost more than should be already.
My car is a total lost. Car caught fire while I was driving with my 2 Daughters. Brakes went out had to jump out of car.
When going over bumpy roads, turning right or leaning on the driver side door the car thinks it’s open and lights come on
While driving the EPS light comes on and after that the dash board stops working to wear you're not able to see the speed limit anymore. It also declines the car of any speed. And if you put it in park it won't allow you to shift out of that gear. Dealership said its the HECU.
1. Vehicle refuse to start had to have it towed to a shop to have a new battery placed in 2. Replacement of battery caused a short in stereo system resulting in the replacement with a new stereo system 3. Engine began to knock 12/19/22 took car to Car-Mart was given a list of mechanics to call made an appointment with Dominion in Farmington Arkansas for the morning of December 21st 4. Car decelerated and check engine light came on just before Exit 70 on I-49 near Johnson Mill Boulevard pulled over to the side of the interstate was able to move the vehicle forward to Exit 70 at 20 miles per hour to get off the interstate and park at Casey's General Store on Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale 5. Car was towed to Dominion Auto in Farmington Arkansas 6. I was not informed of any recall on my vehicle or any dangers impose to me or my family including my two small children upon purchase of the vehicle or registration of the vehicle or within 90 days of registration 7. Came to this website to post a complaint and found out I not only have one recall but two that I was unaware of
I have been having electrical/lighting issues for about a year. It initially started with the inside lights intermittently flashing when opening the door or attempting to use the interior lights; however sometimes the automatic interior lights did not come on at all when set to automatically turn on when a door opened, but now the lights don’t come on at all when opening the door. I have also had some headlight and dashboard lights going on and off while driving. I have experienced this on at least 3 occasions since last June or July. I have done some of my own testing by switching the lights to different functions, on and off, etc. Because it has only happened 3 times I’m not sure exactly what the issue is and scared that at some point, they won’t work at all. This is very concerning and obviously a safety issue. In addition, just recently my interior speaker system began having issues when using the hands free call option. With every call I make or take while using the hands free option, the call goes in and out constantly and consistently. It doesn’t happen to those on the other end of the line. It does this every time for about the past month. The speakers work fine when listening to the radio. My phone works perfectly through the regular calling option or on the speaker option but that is not ideal while driving. As new issues continue to pop up, increase, progressively get worse, I’m concerned there could be other current or future electrical problems in the engine or in regular safe functioning of the car leading to melting, fire, or a malfunction while driving, causing catastrophic results.
Started with oil light flashing, then the other lights came on. Started losing speed, then lost all power to the engine, will not start back up with the engine, when trying to start it, the engine started smoking.
The vehicle’s headlights have been extremely dimmed for years and my wife has just “dealt with it”. We’ve had all the bulbs replaced and the issue persisted. Given recent medical conditions paired with this technical oversight, this could lead to severe injury or death if not resolved. Let me also add that the headlights no longer turn on as of this morning and Kia refuses to acknowledge or claim responsibility for this because “the issue stems from identical vehicles manufactured in South Korea and not Georgia” … even though the symptoms very identically line up to TSB Number: WTY014.
I was driving on the highway, and knocking noise came out form the engine. The engine began to lose power, and I had to immediately to pull over the car. This car has a theta II engine, and had gone bad due excessive connecting rod bearing damage. I brought the car to a dealership, and confirmed this is the case. The engine only has 77k on it, and will need replacement. These engines are not safe, and should be replaced by dealerships.
The issue is with the front turn signal harness. After, changing the right side turn signal bulb twice I brought my Kia to West Hills Kia in Bremerton, WA…The technician informed me that the front turn signal harness was not the correct harness for this type of vehicle. The service person at West Hills suggested that I contact Kia Corporation. I had emailed Vice President Mr. Shamit Choksey, Kia corporation for the above issue.
Unknown, car was fine then stopped out of no where yesterday, I was scheduled with Kia dealership to have recalled fixed next month but they called and canceled my recall this is now the 2nd attempt and they still have yet to fix recall and now car isn’t working properly!
When the fuel smell occurred i contacted my dealer and was told about a recall i have been complaining about the smell before i received my second recall paper the car was smoking and stopped working eventually and i've been without a car and unable to use my vehicle while having to maintain payments on it im am not sure why i have to pay for a problem that was spotted early on but due to neglect and unclear solutions i have wasted money on rentals and been left with no answers my check engine light was flashing i was unable to get a inspection sticker and was told it was due to the gas smell
I started driving and the car just stopped working in the middle of the street. Many lights on the engine came on. I had to push the car into a street and it could've been so dangerous if I was on the busy road instead of a side street. We had the car towed and taken to a mechanic. We got the call and it turns out certain wires started leaking and it could've started an engine fire. No lights were on before until immediately it stopped working.
I purchased my vechile Dec 28 2021, after driving it exactly one month, as I was driving on the high way my vechile shut off it was the scariest thing that has happened to me the car couldn't brake turn on nor accelerate I had to pull over on the break from being in the middle lane i had to be cautious due to vechile passing fast. Once the car stopped. Had to pay for towing due a state police showing up regardless if I had it on my insurance. I lost my good paying job due to this due to working 45 min away. I had my recall appointment for March 10th already scheduled before hand and my car was parked for a Lil over a month then towed to the dealer. It's been 2 months and yet no vechile nor a temp vechile provided from the dealer told me there's nothing they can do. I called 3 days ago and they keep telling me nothing has been done yet anther month my vechile has to be there. It's crazy that the repairs has nothing to do with me nor my fault and I had to loose a 30 dollar paying job backed me up on rent car payment and everything else and still no consideration.
Was driving on a busy street. Went to accelerate, car wasn’t getting gas. Brakes seized and steering wheel seized. Had to drift off the road since the whole car died.
Kia has replaced the Hybrid battery, which said that would fix the warning light "Hybrid System Failure - Do Not Drive" and the light came on again. This is the second battery that I have replaced. The safety issue caused the car to lose power in the middle of an intersection on the way and barely had enough power to park the car safely.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at 40 - 45 mph, the "Safely Stop And Do Not Drive" warning message was displayed and the vehicle lost motive power. Additionally, a burning odor was detected. This was the third recurring failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with electrical system failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.
"Hybrid System Warning Safely stop and Do not Drive" has appeared multiple times. First time, brake fluid was flushed and car appeared to operate normally afterwards. 3 months later, now, happened twice within two weeks. Apparently, a very common issue. The car shuts down and I am forced to coast/pullover/stop without any power from the engine and was fortunate this did not occur in an intersection. Others have noted the occurrence on the freeway. Like other, when I took the car in, no error codes were seen as the warning light had turned off so the mechanics do not know what the issue is. How does Kia not know what the issue is when the car could shut down, become inoperable suddenly? Once the warning light comes on, the brakes semi-lock and one is luck enough to get to safety, to pull over... Does someone have to be injured or worse for KIA to do something or for the federal safety agency TO DO SOMETHING?? 1) https://www.optimaforums.com/threads/2013-optima-hybrid-hybrid-system-warning-check-brake-message.170498/ 2) https://www.kiaownersclub.co.uk/threads/how-to-fix-check-hybrid-system-warning-unable-to-charge.45921/ 3) https://www.reddit.com/r/kia/comments/lk6wvt/2013_kia_optima_hybrid_system_warning_i_dont_know/ 4) http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2012/kia/optima_hybrid/engine/problem.aspx 5) https://www.carproblemzoo.com/kiamotor/optimahybrid/equipment-problems.php 6) https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/kia-optima.html?page=5 7) https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-c23349_ds1010763
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would shut off without warning. The contact would be able to restart the vehicle soon after the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where they replaced the spark plugs and cleaned the fuel injectors. Upon driving the vehicle home at 50 MPH, the contact's wife stated that the vehicle shut off again without warning. Despite the failure, his wife was able to restart the vehicle and drive home without incident. The next day, the contact called the dealer to notify them of the failure and they informed him that it may take some time to repair the vehicle due to the cleaning of the fuel injectors. The contact stated that the failure persisted despite the repair. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
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