2015 Kia Optima: pulls to one side

Filed May 28, 2018 · Steering · 8,000 miles · CA

At highway speed the car seems to wander both left and right and when attempting to correct the steering wheel will "stick" and requires abnormal amount of effort to get it to respond to driver input. Once it responds it over corrects slightly which causes to car to weave (within it's lane). The car now requires constant driver input to keep the car within it's lane. We bought the car new in late 2016 and don't drive it a lot as it now has only 11,000 miles and this problem has gotten progressively worse since about 5,000 miles.

Filed May 3, 2018 · Steering · CA

The vehicle was purchased new in 2015, the steering box on this vehicle was replaced in november 2016 under warranty as the steering wheel would have a hesitation (felt like a brief sticking) regardless of driving conditions but more dangerous at highway speeds. Now may 2018 I am having to have it replaced again as the steering is very loose and wanders for no reason, again, regardless of driving conditions but more unpredictable at highway speeds and requires a great deal of concentration to keep the vehicle in the lane. The vehicle is 36 months old with 78000 miles and is having the 3rd steering box installed. The technician has deemed my vehicle unsafe to drive and stated that the tech support from kia acted as though they weren't surprised. I do not feel comfortable driving this car knowing that this mechanism is failing at an unsafe rate. Kia knows of this problem and apparently feels fine with it though they deem the car unsafe to drive due to a part that they knowingly are installing in these vehicles. A brief search on the internet (god love the internet) will reveal that this is a problem that many people are having. Please look into this, these vehicles are unpredictable on the road and by their own admission unsafe. My case number with kia for this problem is 12711641

Filed Nov 30, 2016 · Steering · 56,100 miles · VA · crash

Coming off an off ramp on greenbriar south in chesapeak virginia, I heard a cracking noise from under the car. There was nothing in the road nor was there any pot holes. The vehicle then started pulling to the right and when I started pulling the steering wheel to the left I continued to drift right. I then landed into a guard rail at approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour. There was a witness behind me that can attest to this incident. The tie rod end had broken clean in half as if it was cut with a pair of siccors which caused me to lose all steering capability then ultimately caused me to collide with the guard rail. Basically destroying my front end and the front right side of the vehicle and the drivers air bag was deployed. I was making a slight right hand curved turn on an off ramp. Off highway 64.

Filed Aug 13, 2015 · Steering · 80 miles · MD

When driving the vehicle would pull to the right or pull to the left. Then when I drove on the highway at faster speeds I had to keep both hands on the steering wheel to keep control of the car. I had to constantly fight with the steering to keep the car going straight. There were times when the car would just veer to the left and after pulling it back straight it would go left again. You never knew which direction the car would go. It is a constant battle with the steering.

Filed Feb 11, 2015 · Steering · 750 miles · NV

This is a know problem , but steering control is really bad. As I am going down the road,(worse as speed increases) the car wanders left to right with no middle ground. So it is not an alignment issue as I am all over and not just pulling to one side. I have to keep arms locked on steering wheel to try to keep going straight and still just isn't enough. Dealer says that's what kias do.this is a serious concern , as serious accidents will cone from this and the maker does nothing about it. Looking in rear or side view mirror for a second and I can be on the verge of the lane next to me. What worries me most is I see this has been an issue for many previous model years and no one has done a thing about it. I love the kia optima but had I known about this problem I would have never purchased..my fault for lack of research, however you would think the manufacturer would fix an issue that's been around for quite some time. This has to be fixed already.