Problems with 2012 Kia Optima ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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???

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 nhtsa has not taken any action as per kia optima well known defects.

Idk who is going to read this but hopefully someone can tell me a little something about my kia op.hybrid! about 2 months ago, a truck hit my car and my abs light came on. my car was taken to hubcity hagerstown md they fixed the body repairs, then they took it to kia hagerstown md to get the abs system fixed (which my warranty company had to pay for it). about a week ago i took it to kia letting one of the service managers know it's having some push back when i'm driving that it wasn't having before he accident such as on the highway it will feel like it doesn't want to go. i'll be going a certain speed for a while, it'll give push back rev all the way up to 5rpm acts like it doesn't want to keep going then it goes back down to a lower number and acts fine. then a few times now i'll be at a stop light or stop sign i'll press on the gas it didn't go i'll let go of the gas it revs up, jerks and goes by itself!!!!!! almost making me hit the vehicles in front of me. he drove my car felt how it was driving and said certain things could have been from the car accident and to bring it back asap. i was driving on the highway on the 14th of this month i was driving about 65 70 it was actin a little jerky and wasn't going anymore then the dashboard light came on again and said hybrid system warning do not drive and the car literally wouldn't let's me go anymore. i got stuck middle of the highway and fredrick md highway patrol had to assist me. out of all the troubles i had almost hitting a few cars in front of me (which wouldn't of been my fault each time it's happened) and my car just turning off in the middle of the highway has been the worst since i've had it. mind you this is all within a 2-3 month time frame and my car wasn't like this before. june 14th was the day my car got hit since then has been hell with this car

My 2012 kia optima on multiple occasions has shut off while the vehicle was in motion. while driving, as i decrease my speed, suddenly the car will experience jerking and then suddenly shut off. this has occur while driving on the freeway and traffic has slowed down to 10 mph or less and while approaching a light or crossing and intersection and traffic is slowing down. while the car is at steady speed, at 20 - 40 mph the car jerks as i'm trying to maintain with the flow of traffic. my car has had routine maintenance and mechanics have been unable to identify or remedy the issue. my last two incidents were 8/21/19 freeway while in the fast lane next to the carpool lane and now 8/29 on city street. i also experienced this on march 3,2019 (had a fuel pump replacement which still did not remedy the issue)

Brake light switch malfunctioning. brake light on all the time rendering cruise control and electronic stability control inoperable. loss of power in engine as it thinks brakes are applied making it dangerous to drive. root cause is brake pedal stopper (kia part 32876-36000) developing a puncture hole over time making the brake switch believe brakes are applied. known issue on other kia models. believe the sorento already have a recall for something very similar.

Kia optima 2012 with 43000 miles horn doesn't work while steering wheel turned to the right. it works fine while steering straight/left but the moment turned right horn will only click/ no sound. i do have the airbag light on don't know if it is related. worst case is, i have my state inspection due and with the srs light and no horn, it will definitely fail. i guess that's what i get for owning a kia .

My starter would not turn over to start my car after driving it. when i got to my destination i couldn't restart the car and there was smoke coming from under the hood. i had 2 starters put in thinking that was the issue and after the 2nd starter was installed the car still had smoke. the electrical wires were burnt and burning and the car still will not start.

I have a 2012 kia optima hybrid. drove great at first now the car is off and on.. while driving the car lunges often and as others have said there is a delay 2 second from pressing the gas to the car actually accelerating. the car also loses power when driving on the highway. i've noticed the engine will not charge the hybrid battery when it is getting low and the car become immobilized unable to accelerate. i have had dash lights only appear once and when the car was taken to the dealership they were unable to find the cause. this issue is extremely dangerous to myself and others. attached are a few pictures you can see the hybrid battery had 1 bar it appears to be charging but then goes to 0 bars because the battery is trying to power the car while only the engine should.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning and all the warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. the contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and powered off the engine. the vehicle was restarted and able to drive normally. a mile down the road, the failure recurred. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was included in nhtsa campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling). the manufacturer was not notified of the failures. the approximate failure mileage was 185,000.

2012 kia optima with 43000 miles # airbag warning light stays on and checking different seating position/ restarting the ignition the warning light still stays on. # steering wheel feels sticky while driving straight, which needs immediate correction by moving left /right. if not it keeps going towards one direction constantly. dealership recommended to get the wheel alignment done, but no improvement as per steering wheel even after getting alignment done.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving approximately 70 mph, the steering wheel shook and the check engine, low battery, oil, and electric power system warning indicators illuminated all at once. the vehicle lost all power and was coasted to the side of the road. the contact waited approximately four minutes and attempted to start the vehicle; however, it cranked, but did not start. the vehicle was left on the side of the road. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 112,000.

As i was driving with absolutely no warning at the time or prior to the car stopped accelerating completely and will not start back up. when plugged up yo cables lights and all indicators come on but the car never starts and there is no noise coming from the engine . i was just leaving my driveway on a regular side street proceeding foward at maybe 15mph

Side mirror stopped working driver side. the motor from power fold mirror keeps running non stop making the grinding noise and also causing the battery to drain.

Vehical has had problems starting in cold weather for 3years now. we've taken the vehical to a kia dealership numerous times only to be told they don't know what's wrong with it or (it would do it for us/ well it started for us). most recently the vehical was at the dealer ship for 10 days while we were vacationing and they returned the vehical only for it to not start the following morning. it's a push to start and as a safety feature the brake pedal must be pressed in order to start the car. when the problem first started there would be a light on the dash that would indicate there was not key witch was not the case. you could have the key phob in the car and still wouldn't start. this was only on cold days. it would start just fine unless it was below 20 degrees. more recently the car will show no indicator on the dash and won't start if the temperature is below 30-35 degrees. above that everything works fine. we changed keys and replaced batteries in keys and moved them all over the car but nothing would get the car to start until the temperature rose above freezing. most recently this morning i went outside to start the car (around 30 degrees and rising) as i pressed the brake and hit the start button i heard sparks and a loud poping noise followed by hissing and sizzling the vehical then began to fill with smoke. i exited the vehical and took a few steps back. about 10 seconds after initially hitting the start button the car then started with me standing about 20ft away while still smoking. i never saw flames but could smell an electrical fire and was waiting for the car to burst into flames from the amount of smoke that was coming from it. majority of the smoke seemed to becoming from driver seat area (underdash and along driver side quarter panel). after a few minutes the smoke died down and the event seemed to be over. i haven't touched the vehicalsincemornin

Brake switch recalled on 2011 models, but my 2012 will not start mostly when it gets cold outside, brake pedal stiffens and wont decompress for engine to start, push buttn wont start car brake lights dont work. vehicle will leave stranded without warning. it will work and then not work, intermitten.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. the contact took the vehicle to don franklin somerset kia (60 highway 2227, somerset, ky 42503, (606) 679-1177) to be repaired per nhtsa campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling). after the repair, the vehicle stalled multiple times while driving various speeds and all the instrument panel indicators illuminated. the vehicle was towed back to the same dealer where the alternator, battery fuse, and battery were replaced; however, the failures persisted. the vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

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.

My car just turned off with several flashing lights while driving. i tried to start the car and nothing but a slight tick. i returned to the car with jumper cables to see if it was the battery and before i tried the jumper cables i tried one more time to start and the engineer caught on fire. the car did not turn over or seemed to be running.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. the contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated while driving. the contact also stated that the buttons on the steering wheel failed to function. the vehicle was taken to kia of cerritos (located at 18201 studebaker rd, cerritos, ca 90703, (562) 860-2424) where it was diagnosed that the air bag switch needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was included in nhtsa campaign number: 18v363000 (air bags). the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 79,000.

Clockspring failure causes on-steering wheel controls to fail. kia service did not find any service codes produced when the steering wheel volume control switches, cruise control switches and cellphone switches displayed intermittent functionality. failure of the switches generally displayed upon initial start of the car after sitting overnight or at the end of a work day. temperatures were consistently over 100 degrees f. during an approximate 1 hr 15 min surface street and freeway commute (each way),switches would function after a few minutes driving, but then fail again. correct functionality was inconsistent. and did not persist. car was taken in several times for these issues but no codes were produced. service rep suggested that the clockspring may be involved, but recommended only the replacement of the faulty switches. volume and cruise control switches replaced, but again showed intermittent failures that would not produce codes. finally, the replacement volume switches and the cellphone switches completely failed; again, no codes were produced. kia service noted that the clockspring is integral to the correct functioning of the steering wheel airbag system along with all the steering wheel switches. kia service now confirms that a faulty clockspring shorted out the steering wheel switches; a new clockspring, volume controls and cellphone controls are being installed. again, prior to the repair, no codes were generated for kia service to observe. prior to releasing the car, the switches were checked for correct function, but failed. at that point, the clockspring replacement was initiated. note: kia service also performed the recall work on the acu wiring harness during this service incident.

Kia optima 2012 lx complaint..i like to start off saying that the right passenger side up front stop working. all of a sudden, it will not whine down or up sometimes. it is an issue and more. the car sounds like when i crank up, it is a weird noise when warming up stand still. that goes for the window and car overall stand still. it has become an burden for the window can not go down.

In november 2017 i continuously took my vehicle back and forth to the dealership due to my vehicle not started, and/or needing a jump. jim marsh kia had me replace my battery after 6 weeks of complaints and complications. only for a week later to have me and my kids life at risk, heading south bound on i-15 my car flashed a warning sign stating do not start engine hybrid battery undetected and shut off while a semi truck was behind us. by the grace of god i was going down hill so i swerved to the side of the dessert and road to spare our lives. just to have kia tell me 4-5 different excuses as to why my engine failed.

'takata recall' i'm currently buying a kia optima 2012 and everything was working fine and had maintenance up to date at kia of orange. then i did full service which i payed 600$ or so and after the car started giving me problems, i went to my friends house and my boyfriend got off to get tools from the house it took him ten minutes to come back. the car was on and i was windows up and ac on when he came out he saw fire under the front left light. it got on fire and we were scare for our life's and we manage to run around and find anything that will help we had water and it wouldn't turn off, we didn't know it was electrical so it was melting plastic until we manage to find a fire extinguisher while i was calling 911 we thought the car was going to blow up. second of all we fix it insurance cover. we call kia they told us our insurance had to pay it. so we did next i took it to get maintenance update and oil change, we took for a drive to chino hills california and then the car turn off by it self on the freeway i was 65 speed limit and my steering wheel got hard and all the lights were on. i could of lost my life. i manage to move it slowly to the side and it was on fire when i open the hood something was burning again. a sheriff help us turn it off with his fire extinguisher. the engine had blew up a wrot blew maybe because of no oil or idk i'm not mechanic that's why i take it to kia. i believe they didn't do their job right and my insurance doesn't wanna cover it, now i'm careless and i have a daughter to feed and i need help to get this out there if anybody has the same issue please make this go viral. highway 91 east

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. when the contact's wife started the vehicle, the "hybrid system warning safety stop and do not drive" message appeared on the instrument panel. also, when the accelerator pedal was depressed, an abnormal noise was heard and the vehicle would not accelerate more than 10 mph. the vehicle was taken to san francisco honda new & used sales (1595 van ness ave, san francisco, ca 94109, (415) 687-0174) to be diagnosed, but the failure could not be duplicated. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 89,979. *as

When in motion there is a knocking noise in steering wheel that sounds like something broken inside. also motor for right passenger windows on both front and back seat do not work and from driver's panel.

Driving on interstate 84 w. car suddenly caught on fire october 20, 2017. passenger saw smoke from front seat. driver pulled-over. we got out of car. saw fire underneath. moved away, car gradually became engulfed in flames. filed report in connecticut. incident number 17-0000359 sandy hook fd fire department responded. 61,852 miles

Due to a recall, i had my engine replaced by kia patterson in july of 2017. about a week or so after getting it back, the airbag light came on and the horn does not work. naturally, i contacted kia patterson regarding the matter and was told that it had nothing to do with the engine replacement. i'm now being told that it may be a defective airbag or clockspring, both of which are expensive repairs. i have found that several kia vehicles have suffered the same fate with no resolution. my car does not fall into the previously recalled models yet it seems to have the same problems. my level of frustration is so high at this point and i don't feel safe driving with these problems. unfortunately, i will have to do so until i am able to save enough money to have it fixed. shame on you kia!!!

Brake pedal releasing as i am pushing down on it coming to a stop. hard to get the car to come to a stop at times. car is missing on acceleration. camera does not work 80-90% of the time. a/c stops working when sitting still or parked.

The engine seized while driving on the highway. this has als resulted in the climate control system including the defrosters and radio to malfunction

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while the vehicle was stationary, the computer did not recognize that the vehicle was in the park position. a beeping noise sounded and the error message displayed on the instrument panel. a series of unknown kia dealers were notified and stated that the failure could not be duplicated. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. the vin was invalid. the failure mileage was 44,000.

I was notified by kia earlier this year that my vehicle was involved in a recall because the engine could seize causing a safety issue. on 6/12/17 i took my optima to camelback kia for recall work and inspection. on 8/1/2017 as i was driving northbound on az sr51, my engine stalled while moving about 40 mph in rush hour traffic. i then pulled over to restart my vehicle, a short time later i noticed smoke coming from under the hood. i was told by kia upon their inspection that the starter is where the fire originated due to the seized engine. the vehicle burned and is now a total loss. this caused a 3 lane closure on the freeway at 5pm as well as a crash due to spectators.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle experienced a complete loss of engine power. the contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road and attempted to restart the vehicle. during each attempt, the contact noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. the vehicle was towed to car lock kia (located at 4301 greensboro ave, tuscaloosa, al) where it was diagnosed that the engine assembly, battery, and starter were defective and needed to replaced. the vehicle was repaired. upon doing research, the contact found that the vehicle was included in nhtsa campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling). the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 104,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving at an unknown speed, the contact noticed black smoke coming from the tail pipe. the vehicle was taken to value kia (6915 essington ave, philadelphia, pa 19153, 215-937-1000) where it was diagnosed that the cooling and electrical systems failed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 55,630.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving 25 mph, the vehicle stalled and all the instrument panel indicators illuminated. the vehicle was unable to restart. the vehicle was towed to a dealer, but was not diagnosed. the manufacturer was aware of the failure and stated that a recall would be issued. the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 17v224000 (engine). the failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

Open car door and noticed a burning smell of electrical, smoke coming from door sill.by the time i got cover off smoke and flame coming from the lettering that lights up when door opens. the car was parked in garage.

My car started smelling like burning plastic and then it completed shut off. thankfully i was already in a turning lane when this happened. i only had 60k miles on the car at that time. seemed like after my engine was replaced my windows stopped rolling up. then my fuel pump went out. i noticed that it felt like someone was pressing on my brake as i was trying to go and then my traction control light would come on. we fixed this. now it not even a year later and its doing it all over again. this is not safe as people are behind me when this happens.

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.

My vehicle was in motion, when it all of a sudden stopped and the gauges began to act up. i then checked under the hood as smoke was detected my turbo seemed to be very hot and bright red. the engine became locked and the vehicle never started ever since.

Engine locked up had a warranty they fixed it and after i got my car back the the horn didn't work or any of my controls on the steering wheel worked i notified them and they did nothing to fix it. when i turn the car over to kia dealership everything was working and after they put the new engine in everything went wrong the abs system went out the horn stop working the turbo in the car wasn't any good my airbag and engine was on and still is and i notified them again even took it to management and they did nothing about it. i'm not a satisfied customer at all can u guys please help me. i'm a hard working man have a family and just trying to have a car that we can enjoy.

The car will not start after a short trip to market, shop for <hour, come out to start car turn ignition, car will not turn over, all dashboard lights come on, i jiggle shift gear in park and then turn key in ignition again and it might start after a few or several attempts. this happens on consecutive days and then may skip several days before another occurrence. on three visits to the dealership and problem can't be duplicated although it happened in oct 2015, (41,575 mi) july 2016 two times, august 21,23, 26, 27,28, sept 11, 12, 20, most times it was stationary except for the july 26, 2016 when i was driving it lost momentum and i pulled off the road stopped turned it off and then it would not restart. dealership still could not duplicate the problem. has anyone else reported this problem with kia optima 2012? i'm afraid to even drive the car because i don't know when it will happen. i won't dare take the car on a trip i have asked kia customer service to authorize a loaner car for up to 30 days so they can take the car and check everyday until the problem is duplicated. kia will not provide a loaner car so that i have transportation and they can keep the car to determine the problem.

The care staled at low speed pulled over side of road and smoke was coming from engine, opened the hood and fire had started at front top of engine under the air cleaner, some ware, has not been determined what caused it.

Stopped at red light and car shut down. checked under hood which had smoke coming from it. ground wire was melted. officer was contacted and helped push car to safety. tow company was called and car was loaded we road with the tow truck driver. half way to destination, the car was smoking heavily. we pulled over and looked under the hood and there were flames. we used the fire extinguisher and the flames got worse. car burned with total loss. tow truck partially burned. ..updated 10/04/16 *bf *tr

2012 kia optima caught fire while driving 45 mph & was unable to accelerate/brake. recently was taken for service with no items that would cause the issue...updated 10/04/16 *bf *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving 65 mph, the vehicle stalled and the instrument panel failed. the vehicle failed to restart. the vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 44,935. updated 09/30/16*lj *cn

I have sent in complaints on my kia many of times and the one just came out about the latches, mine is not on the recall list. i have had the middle part of my glass crack the windshield that was and still under warranty and more but it seems i am being over looked on my car. i guess the only action to take is a class action lawsuit against kia america. when you have the proof they still do not believe you.

Another problem with my 2012 kia optima ex. i started my car two weeks ago fine and drove to the store 3.1 miles away. after getting back to my car i click push button to unlock the door on the car, nothing happen. i had to remove the key from the key switch i carry to get in. i pushed the break to start it but no start. words came up above the mileage telling me to insert key. when i bought the car i was told that in the glove box was a key charger and that was it. i got a person from the service department to come out to check it and he said it could be the battery in the key that might be dead. he replaced the battery in which they had one and it still would not start. he then said put the key in the charger, i did so and it started. this makes the second problem at this time that seems to be a electric problem with this car. any help or has anyone had this problem on a keyless switch?

Im having intermittent electrical and suspension problems along with sudden increases of power increase and decreases. i was driving to my local mall before my evening class and noticed my car radio and instrument cluster where not operating no lights but car was running fine. i hit the brakes while coming to a stop light in a busy intersection hit a small bump the car decided to accelerate and it felt as if the suspension was loose on the left front side i heard it rattle now this bump wasn't big by any means as i hit the break i could feel the brakes fight with the engine the brake pedal also shook at my feet. i quickly put the kia in neutral and shut the car off still at the light. put it in park and restarted my car all light and instrument cluster came on along with radio.my optima felt ok . but later i went to class got into my car and she wouldn't turn over i had to press on the gas to get it to start. i took it to the dealer they said they couldn't find anything besides my high temp fuel pump was giving low pressure codes. i only have 80k on this vehicle but kia said they will not cover it. this a serious safety issue why if my kids where in the car and i did get into a serious accident with them . this needs to be addressed. something needs to be done before there is a death no after the fact.

Airbag light is consistently on which means it won't deploy during an accident, buttons on steering wheel aren't working, and steering wheel heater isn't working. dealership claims clockspring is worn out. previous models of optimas have had same problem and eventually a recall was made. hopefully this gets resolves before a wreck happens and injury is caused by this airbag defect.

Just bought my car this year with 26350 miles on it. when it got to 30000 needed new tires. the car check engine light keeps coming on. i have took it to the shop and they turn it off. then when i drive it and it comes back on again. it has broke down on the road four times. twice i called road side help the other two times someone has helped me. it runs hot because it is bubbling if i drive for more then a hour. bought the car from power of bowser

Tl* the contacts owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the starter needed to replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 57,000.