Issue started 2 months ago. noticed that vehicle acceleration is sluggish. sometimes i have to take foot off the acceleration pedal then depress it again in order for vehicle to accelerate. acceleration is unreliable and dangerous. electronic stability sensor also started lighting up and cruise control became inoperable. also noticed that my tail lights lit up on its own (and did not turn off) while vehicle is parked and fob not near vehicle, draining the battery. police came by in the middle of the night to report that my tail lights were on. tail light did not turn off when pressing the fob unlock/lock button. had to restart the engine, drive around the block then turn off engine before the tail lights came off... but it turned back on again on its own that same night (in the middle of the night) and had to repeat the process. my battery was drained and had to replace it 3 days ago. i thought it was a battery problem (and was informed by dealer that it was probably a battery related issue) but problem persisted. read reviews and this seems to be a running complaint with issues on brake pedal stopper or brake sensor stopper. will bring vehicle to dealer in the morning.
Vehicle's abs brake activate randomly illuminating the abs brake signal on dashboard,while in motion and without touching the brakes. this causes the vehicle to decelerate and has made the vehicle come to a near complete stop. even if the gas pedal is pressed to accelerate the vehicle will not increase speed, only decrease. the issue happens 8/10 times while making turns and approx 5/10 while driving straight on freeway . this happened on 11/08/2019 in the evening, i immediately took my vehicle back to kia and they claimed to have driven my car for 20 miles and didn't see or experience any issues. my car is a 2012 and only has 58, 388 miles. i demanded they keep looking but they caught an attitude like i made the scenario up and any stated that i should drive the car with their mechanic as they "cannot replicate my driving", like i'm driving in the [xxx] indy 500. since it is now sunday, and the dealer is closed it will be sitting in their service center monday morning! parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
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.
The gas peddle stops working and the vehicle decelerates as you are in motion. after stepping on the peddle a few times it begins to accelerate again.
Takata recall, i was driving my vehicle and when i went to speed up the engine seized, causing me to pull over in the break down lane on the highway and turn the vehicle off completely and when i tried to turn the vehicle back on it would not fully turn back on, all the lights in the vehicle started flickering, i tried jumping my car and it did not work i had to get it towed to the nearest kia dealer
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.
I was driving on the highway and while doing 70 mph the vehicle suddenly decelerated and and could not accelerate. my traction control light came on and off. a couple of miles it did it again. i then placed my foot under the brake pedal and my car drove fine. after inspecting my car i noticed that the brake stopper was worn. i did some research and found out that while you are accelerating and the brake stopper is bad, it can cause your car to go into a safety mode because it thinks you are braking and accelerating at the same time. this affects the power and can cause a rear end collision.
On january 24, 2019, my car had to be towed to shakers kia in watertown ct again. i had been in ct visiting family when i got stuck there due to car issues. i dropped my car off december 7, 2018 for an engine replacement due to a recall and i got it back december 31, 2018. i drove my car home to nc on january 4, 2019 and came back 2 weeks later for my son's surgery scheduled for january 23. on january 22, three weeks after i got my car back, my check engine light came on and my car went into limp mode while driving and had to be towed to shakers kia. they texted me at 9:08am january 23 with a link to a video saying my car was ready. i picked it up around 5pm after my son's surgery. i didn't have the car 4 hours when it did the same thing again and had to be towed. shakers told me that i was gonna be responsible for replacing my throttle body because i still have old components from my old engine and my throttle body was part of that. i didn't understand how i have old components if my engine was replaced, so i called kia headquarters. shakers replaced my throttle body, no cost to me. well, when i picked my car up on january 30, i asked about the fuel leak recall and if my car was inspected as kia told shakers to check mines even though my vin number wasn't included because my car needed to be checked because my engine was replaced due to the recall. i was told by the technician hector that my car was fine and it didn't need to be inspected because he was very confident in his work. he stated that people were having engine fires because mechanics don't know what they're doing and are installing the engines wrong. my car doesn't run the same after having my engine replaced. it runs and idles rough. i put in numerous calls to kia about issues with my car and i'm told over and over again that my case manager will call me but it's been weeks and she hasn't called yet.
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.
'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
I first noticed a problem with my vehicle when the cruise control would randomly disengage while going down the interstate. then a couple of weeks later i was making a left turn across a two lanes of traffic on a city street. when i first pushed the accelerator the car started to go and then suddenly i lost all acceleration. i let my foot off the accelerator and then pushed back down and was able to go. this was a very dangerous situation as i was stuck in the middle of two lanes of traffic for several extra seconds longer than necessary. a similar situation happened a couple of more time and when i parked the vehicle at home i noticed that brake light was staying on after i got out of the car. i took the car to the local kia dealership and they replaced the brake sensor which fixed all of the above problems. i would like to not that hyundai issued a recall on the nearly identical sonata for this same issue and did so years ago and yet nothing for the optima.
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
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving downhill with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle abruptly accelerated. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the contact was able to engage the emergency brake, but the vehicle decelerated and returned to normal after the accelerator pedal was applied with caution. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or local mechanic for diagnostic testing. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 23,538. updated 10/25/17*lj consumer stated: while driving down hill, with brake pedal depressed, getting ready to stop at stop sign, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly to a speed of 30 to 35 mph. i did not engage the emergency brake. i did shift the vehicle from drive to neutral. engine continued to race uncontrollably. i tapped the accelerator pedal with my foot at which time the engine returned to normal. this was the third time this type of incident had occured. i did take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic test on aug.11,2017. no problems were found. updated 10/3/18*jb
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle would surge and then slow down. the failure recurred numerous times without warning. the vehicle was taken to an unknown independent mechanic, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. the vehicle was not repaired. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer. the vin was included in nhtsa campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling). the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 115,000.
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.
On april 5th 2017, my kia optima started to make a horrible sound. i was on hwy 26 headed into portland or. going through the tunnel, as i was going into the tunnel the horrible knocking noise started. there was cars in front of me and cars behind me. this was at 4:30 am.. all the lights on the dash came on, i had no brakes, no steering and no way to accelerate. drifted to the side and had it towed.
Vehicle loses acceleration when driving, have to let go of gas pedal and push again to gain acceleration again
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
When cranking up car engine makes loud noise, then if driving at a normal speed the car slows down on it own,also the dash board lights goes from bright to dim to almost no dash board lights at all, driving
I was driving home from gulf shores, al to atlanta, ga. i stopped at a rest area. when i started my car back up there was kind of a buzzing noise as i accelerated, but it would stop once i reached cruising speed. after about 15 miles down the road from the rest area, my gas pedal just stopped working. the car coasted until it lost speed and then just turned off. after i was eventually towed to the nearest kia dealership, i was told that the engine had died and i would need to have a new one installed. *tr
Cruise control "cancel" button needs repeated pushing to activate. a single push of the cancel button actually seems to accelerate the car. *tr
I noticed on monday that the car seemed to be struggling with acceleration. it seemed to be slow and sluggish. i drove the car home not exceeding 40 mph. next morning when starting the vehicle the dashboard is lit up with an indication of engine malfunction. i only had to drive the car a mile so i continued on to work but i had no power at all. the car was struggling to make it up a small hill and i had no speed on level ground. i am afraid to drive the vehicle at this point. i have scheduled an appointment but the next question is how much is this going to cost? wow i have only owned camry's for the past 15 years and thought i would try a kia. they look nice. not sure i will keep this vehicle much longer. *tr
While driving my 2012 kia optima sx t gdi i lost accelerations on the highway. i was driving at 55 mph because the car wouldn't accelerate, but it did decrease in speed to a dangerous 20 mph. i tried to use my paddle shifters in hopes that would work, to no avail. i depressed the gas pedal to the floor and the speed did not change. i eventually reached a safe place and shut the car off, waited several minutes and attempted re-starting the car. the car sputtered and paused before eventually starting, then allowed me to drive approximately 100 yards before having the same decreased speed situation again. i was fortunate to drive home at 45 mph and avoid being run off the rode or rear ended by another vehicle or worse . . . a truck. the next morning i took the car to the dealership and after a diagnostic was informed that the fuel pressure sensor needed to be replaced. not such bad news but i was shocked that the price quoted to me, by the service manager, is $900.00. unbelievable!!! i searched all over the internet and found all the parts that are related to this type issue and nothing, not one part, cost $900.00. the proposed cost to repair my car is greater than the car payment. as a matter of fact, it cost more than the car payment for my wife's ml500. i have visited kia forums that speak to problems with the kia and it seems that a manufacturer is in order. incidentally, the part is no longer covered by the warranty because i recently passed the 60,000 mile mark. i feel like i am being ripped off to have the car repaired for what will be less than an hour of work to replaced a minor part, that incidentally has a cost of $900.00. i will be willing to provide any other additional information related to my experience with my 2012 kia optima. i should be purchased and audi. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. the contact stated that when applying the brakes, the vehicle would surge forward and the engine rpms increased to 6000. the contact stated that the floor mat was not source of the surging. the contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer or mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. the contact did not contact the manufacturer. the failure mileage was 4,800. updated 06/18/13*lj updated 06/21/2013 *js
Gas pedal would not work. avis puts rubber floor mats over cloth floor mats that have hooks embedded in time to hold the factory floor mats in place. i did not know they had did this. over the course of several hours of driving the rubber floor mat slid forward under the gas pedal rendering it inoperable; i coasted over to side of road and discovered the problem, pulled the rubber floormat back towards the front seat and it happened a 2nd time a few hours later where i lost complete use of the gas pedal so i put the rubber mats in the trunk. i reported this to avis. an avis rep says this is a standard corporate policy so they can save wear on the cloth rug style floor mats. i asked them to reexamine their corporate policy. i hope your agency can review this practice and make a recommendation to avis. with all the issue surrounding car accelerator pedals and after market floor mats jamming them it seems they have taken leave of common sense. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving approximately 5 mph with the economy mode activated, there was a delayed response upon engaging the accelerator pedal. the vehicle was able to continue in operation. the failure recurred on two different occasions. the contact eventually deactivated the economy mode. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer however, the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. the vehicle remained at the dealer for further investigation. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 200.
Was sitting at light and went to take off car felt like it didn't want to shift into gear and had a loud rough grinding noise, all lights on the dashboard came one. brake light, check engine light, coolant, etc and none of the gauges were working. i stopped at the store and went to leave the car would start up but wouldn't go into gear, it was stuck in park. i had to get it towed to the dealership to have it looked at. i had just had this same problem 1 week ago where all the lights were on and the gauges weren't working and the dealership had supposedly replaced the fuse panel box but that apparently didn't fix the problem. i think that it's a computer or engine issue. *tr
For 3 to 5 seconds, no response from engine at idle when accelerator depressed and the car is stopped (e.g., for traffic signal). then, without warning, the engine went from idle (about 800 rpm) to rapid (surging) acceleration, often with screeching tires. this occurred each time i started from a stopped position during a 493-mile trip. there was no problem after i reached my target driving speed. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. the contact stated that the floor mat on the driver side of the vehicle bunched up around the brake pedal and made it hard for the contact to apply the brakes. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was given winter floor mats with teeth to help the floor mat grip the floor of the vehicle. the contact stated the standard floor mats were not safe because they would move around too easily. the failure mileage was 250 and the current mileage was 2,000. updated 9/10/12 *cn the dealer installed a set of all-weather mats, which have teeth which grip the floor more firmly. updated 09/24/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 kia optima. while driving approximately 5 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated independently and crashed into the median. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician advised that the front passenger side tire and axle would have to be replaced. the failure recurred four times. the fourth time the failure recurred, the contact crashed into another vehicle. the contact sustained injuries to his right knee. the front passenger sustained injuries to the neck, back and right arm. the rear passenger sustained injuries to the right leg. the passengers were transported to the hospital via ambulance. the driver sought medical attention on his own after the crash. the police reported to the scene and a report was filed. the vehicle was towed to the dealer. the vehicle was taken to an auto body shop for the body damage repair. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and assigned an engineer to review the information related to the crash. an engineer did not inspect the vehicle. the manufacturer refused to repair the vehicle because they stated there were no defects within the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 11,000.