Steering wheel locked causing vehicle to hit curb and damage wheel well. veh possibly will need new rim.
I have had the steering go out multiple times - reported it to kia where i lease from and a local shop. just happened again today (11/25/19) - it has happened at least 3 times in the last year - i have had it towed to the place i leased from as well. also, twice now - while driving the engine shuts off. very scary. as i stated, i have taken in and the kia dealerships say that they cannot not get it to duplicate, they treat me as i am making up. now reading that it does happen to others, i think this is an issue. i will not lease or buy another kia
Steering wheel when turned to the right is very loose to the left very tight. occassionally it locks completely causing vehicle to either be unable to turn or merge lanes, or even more dangerously causes the car to veer to the right with no ability to move it. this happens when the vehicle is on the highway typically at speeds or 55 or higher. the tightness/looseness usually happens at any speed or type of roadway.
I was changing out the front brake pads and i noticed on the driver side the boot around the axel had cracked and the grease had leaked out.
On the evening of may 17, i needed a jump after work. i went home, turned off my car but was unable to start it again so i replaced the battery. i thought i had fixed the problem until the next day when i was driving 65mph on a local interstate with my daughter in the car, all my dash lights came on, i lost navigation & radio and my power steering locked up. i went to turn on my hazards and those did not work either. i checked my mirrors to make sure no one was going to hit me and i was able to get off the highway and pull onto the shoulder. i was extremely fearful as i had minimal steering capability & was unable to notify other motorists of my disabled vehicle as my hazard lights were not functioning. i was able to get it towed to a dealership where i was told i needed a new alternator for my 3 year old car. while my mileage was at 66,500 miles, i definitely had not anticipated need to replace that part of a while. despite that, i was more upset that i lost function of my car and was not able to warn other cars with working hazard lights.
Steering wheel locks while driving. initially happened 1 year ago while driving. had to use severe force to turn the wheel. i took the car to the kia dealership, who said they did see something on diagnostics; however, they could not duplicate the problem, so they could not fix the car. they kept & drove the car. they checked the coupling unit & contacted kia hotline but still could not find the problem, so they returned the car to me. on april 14th, while backing out of my parking space, the wheel again locked up. i jiggled the wheel and it released, so i pulled out & proceeded to drive. i reached the end of my street & wanted to turn & could not move the wheel. luckily, i was still in my development with a 25mph zone, so i turned off the car. when i started it again, i could move the wheel, so i returned it to parking spot & had it towed into the dealership on april 15th. the dealer had the car for 8 days, drove it for 340 miles & still could not duplicate the issue, so they could not fix the problem. they returned the car to me & said if they cannot duplicate the issue, they cannot fix it. so i am now driving a car in fear that this will happen again & possibly when on a highway & at higher speed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 kia optima. while driving 15 mph, the steering wheel became loose and the traction control and power steering warning indicators illuminated. the contact also mentioned that when turning left or right, a clicking noise was detected. in addition, the steering wheel would only allow the contact to turn approximately one inch to the left or right, and the steering wheel eventually seized. the vehicle was taken to south shore kia (1128 sunrise hwy, copiague, ny 11726, (631) 991-3910) where the contact was informed that the computer needed to be reset. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failures. the failure mileage was 2,843.
Multiable occasions of power steering loss at low speeds (15mph or less). the power steering unit appears to stop working which results in the inability to turn the wheel. i have driven cars without power steering and this condition with the kia optima results in a near complete lack of steering, not just difficulty turning. the condition appears to be preceded with a sticking or clicking condition that increases in frequency until the system fails. turning off the car then restarting it appears to clear the issue and steering returns to normal for a decreasing period of time between each episode. the car has spent over two weeks at the local kia service department without them being able to recreate the issue.