Problems with 2001 Kia Optima EQUIPMENT

When i first brought the car and drove it, the lights became dim in the inside and the headlights. the radio turned off and on, took it to dealer 4-5 times for problem and they could find nothing wrong. the car doesn't pick up spend when going over hills not even little ones. the gas needle does not read full even when the tank is practically overflowing with gas. reading a full tank of gas happens every once in a while. check engine light comes on . have taken to shop and was told that my spend sensor is going out and that is why the car is going from 1st to 3rd gear and skips 2nd altogether i've only had the car for one year the warrinty is gone and i was never offered the extended warrinty and really didn't think of it since the car was only 4 yr old. back brakes have also gone out at least i think so they started grinding with no warning 2 days ago i'm going to have them checked this weekend. air (never used befoe this summer)doesn't get cold like it should. door lock making a crazy sound on drivers side, believe the motor is going out on power locks they also tend to not want to unlock sometimes. atenna broke.air bag light came on and won't turn off. also how can i find out if any recall items have been fixed on my car or not or if they still need to be replaced. *jb

Since purchasing my 2001 kia optima, i have had nothing but difficulty. i purchased an extended warranty at the dealership i purchased it from in case i needed repairs. i got my money's worth. but the problems i had are common problems with the vehicle, locks not working, windows not rolling up, paint peeling off, transmission problems, check engine light constantly on, decreased acceleration, heat surges when gas pedal released and pressed and the list goes on. it is not hard to find other kia owners with the same problems. the repair that bothers me the most is the complete transmission it needs. there is 41,000 miles on the vehicle. common problems that are widely known and should be repaired at an authorized dealer at kia motor company's expense. *tr

My wife & i own a 2001 kia optima with power locks. twice the power locks have failed. the first time, the locks failed in that they would unlock by remote and immediately lock back preventing access to the vehicle. by key, one door would open while the other had to be opened faster than the car could re-lock itself. the second time it failed concerned me greatly. the dealer, paramount kia of hickory, had repaired the lock parts and said he had seen this before & that it was no big deal. a few months later, the locks failed again trapping me in the passenger side of the car. despite any effort on my part, there were only two ways out of the car: climbing over the seats to another door or by having my wife manually unlock the left front door with her key while outside of the vehicle and the while she held the key in the unlock position, she had to open the door. as soon as she released her grip on the key, the door would lock again. obviously this was a major safety risk & i would not have brought this to your attention had it not happened twice to the same car. i can see the potential for a faulty part and would hate to see someone trapped in an accident. thank you for your time. my contact information appears below. lee traxler 103 lovers lane morganton, nc 28655 828-437-1360 *la

My son hit a truck from behind at 35mph. he was driving my 2001 kia optima. the seatbelts did not lock when hit the brakes and the air bags did not deploy. my son (driver) hit the steering wheel and windshield. the passenger in our car hit the windshield. the police report indicates this information and i have pictures of the inside and outside of the car. the car was totaled.

I don't have the exact dates of these repairs as my car is at the dealership right now being looked at again and i am going to get a history when i pick up the car, here are the issues i've had since spring/summer of last year. we have lost time, money, wages and possible employment because of these problems! 1. air conditioner seemed very cool, but not cold. checked two or three times, each time service dept. said it was fine. 2. car died and wouldn't restart without a jump 3 times. called towing twice. service could not "recreate the problem." third time they replaced the battery. seemed to fix the problem temporarily. fourth time (current) car had to have the headlights replaced once a month, windshield wipers, door locks locked and unlocked on their own when entering/exiting the car, windows rolled up/down slowly, blower on air went up and down with engine speed, lights behind console go out and come on periodically, clock loses time, headlights dim when using power, radio flashes on and off. today total system failure, all electrical systems went down while driving. towed car to dealership. have to pay out of pocket rental fees. still waiting on result. 3. loud rattling underneath car periodically. 4. whistling in engine 5. check engine light came on periodically. 6. antenna broke and then fell off. 7. suspension very poor. 8. when purchasing car, dealer stated air bag recall had been fixed on car. when looking online, found another recall on the car, called kia and they said the air bag repair had not been made. i've only had this car for 17 months and have had nothing but problems. currently in contact with lemon law laywers in indiana to get total refund for car. only physical problem right driver door panel from small non-fault accident, no internal damage.

I have took my car in numerous time for the squeking brakes. also, the thermostat has been replaced for the 4th time. i have had my car since nov of 2001. since then i have had it in the dealer ship about 10 times. i have taken it to 2 different dealers. the brakes they just blow out and say it is mettalic dust. that i need to clear them out when the car is washed. the squeak still comes back. they have also told me it is the humidity doing this. the thermostat has been replaced for the 4th time today. also, i have had problems with my locks and enigne light coming on all the time. i have had problems with the air bag light also. the car has been nothing but problems. i have notified the kia consumer customer services no help at all. my complaints go back about 1 yr. it all started in jan of 2002

I purchased my brand new car on august 31,2001. i started having electrical problems 9 months after i bought it. i now have a list of problems from electrical to check engine light, fuel sensors, 2 new batteries etc. i have a long long list of repairs that nobody can seem to fix. i am told the problem has been fixed and then my check engine light comes back on and i am told there are additional problems. meanwhile, i have been stranded on the highway due to these problems, i have had to be towed out of my own driveway to due the electrical problems. i have tried numerous times to tell kia corporation that i do not feel safe driving this vehicle any longer and nobody is listening. the general manager of the dealership i bought the vehicle from even agrees and feels this car to be very unsafe and dangerous to drive. i have tried to talk to joe petazoni(spelling) who is supposed to be a kia representative that would decide what to do, he has been no help at all. i feel that kia corporation should buy back my vehicle because of all the unsafe issues i have had. i feel i bought a lemon and if i can't get anywhere with the company, i will be forced to contact the states attorney's office regarding this lemon of a vehicle!!!!! i have left messages for debbie wojciechowskii and she will not return my calls. i have told the people at 800-333-4-kia how unsafe i feel and nobody puts that information into the system. *la

A/c system takes 15 minutes to start blowing cold air and even then air is not as cold as it should be. i haven taken to two kia dealerships and both of them say they can find nothing wrong.*ak

Vehicle transmission slips while driving.*mr the air condition, auto check light and automatic door locks do not remain unlocked trapping the driver.*ts *jb