2016 Kia Optima complaints

Every window regulator is broken, 2 of them in the middle of the highway and the other 2 when I parked the car.

My car has been consuming oil and has locked up and will not operate. This issue has been reported to the manufacturer by several other customers, and my car is not a part of the recent recalls. This issue could have caused me serious harm, had I been on a highway, or busy intersection. My car engine now doesn't work.

My 2016 Kia Optima has been consuming oil every 1.5months. I have multiple times had to replace my oil because my oil light kept coming on. I’ve checked it every single time and it is barely anything there. I have my breaks mess up and not work as properly with my safety and others being comprised. I have brought this up to my Kia dealership but they have just brushed it off and charged me for an oil change. I have seen and heard many cases like mine and it has happened worse to them to the point where the car stops in the middle of the highway. My car has been checked by others and they have all noticed the same thing - the oil levels extremely low only after 1 and a half months or way prior to when my next oil change should be made. Having this happen is expensive and life threatening when the brakes don’t work as they should or when my could possibly bust. I have received no help and would like to make this known .

Oil started leaking from the car and checking underneath it looked as though it was leaking from the plug so i replaced the plug, which did not fix the issue, and accidentally forgot to put the gasket back on. took it to the local shop was given a gasket and an oil change. the car started leaking oil worse than before so i took the car back. The oil pan had a little over an inch long crack on the corner/edge where the oil pan plug is. Mechanic told me he’d never seen or heard of a steel oil pan cracking before. $400 for a new oil pan made from below par steel.

This 2.4ltr engine burns 1 quart per 1000 miles! 53769 miles, Kia claims not under warranty and wants over 600 dollars for an engine flush! KIA OF PORT CHARLOTTE FL. They filled my oil too much! It is at least a half a quart above full! They also filled the Kia with 5-30, I do understand that from book and temp. Ranges. Found PCV valve partially defective and replaced that... Can you help me understand why I have no warranty under 54,000 miles and why engine is not covered under 100,000 miles? Also, is this defect acceptable to the NTSB? It has caused multiple accidents due too engine failure and seizing Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Both rear windows, independently and at different times, have needed to have the gear inside the door panel that rolls the windows up and down replaced due to spontaneous stripping and total failure. The dealer has replaced the offending parts, which are sold only as part of a much larger / very large component panel, i.e. it is not possible to replace only the small plastic stripped-out gear. My safety was at risk both times because the window would not go up, resulting in my inability to lock and secure my car. If I had small children who ride in the back seat (I don't, but surely others who have this car do), I would not be able to secure their safety inside the vehicle. The problem has been inspected, confirmed, and repaired by the dealer. It is a known recurring problem by the manufacturer Kia, but they refuse to issue a recall. The first time it happened the car was still under warranty so there was no charge to me. With the second window the car was no longer under warranty and I had to pay the full cost of the repair. There were no warnings of pending failure; the windows were rolled down and just failed to roll up. I wish to state for the record that although this is a 2016 model and therefore is now 7 years old (in 2023), it has only 14,000 actual miles on it, i.e. I drive the car only around town for errands, etc. From 2017 (when we purchased the car) through mid-2020, I drove it 18 miles per week to my part-time job very near my home. I retired in mid-2020 and dri

Knock sensors

Crack in dash along outline of airbag. Burns oil so it has to be refilled monthly Now mechanic says compression and combustion are problems Can’t get into Kia until February when warranty will probably be expired

My high beams and low beams are starting to shut off randomly. When it happens, my dash shows that i am trying to turn my headlights from auto to another setting, which is not the case. It has happened at night and that poses a danger because i cant see the road and people cant see my car. I have not had it looked at yet. I do see multiple complaints online for multiple different kia models and years. There is no recall and i do not see a TSB.

I have already had to have motor and transmission replaced once under warranty. The replaced transmission was worse than the original problem. The original problem was hard shifting. Now I have intermittent hard shifting, occasional lunging forward, occasional shuddering while pressing accelerator, and feeling like there is hesitation to change gears. I have not taken it back to the dealer yet. I always get the excuse that they cant replicate the problem. It took me 2-3 years to get it acknowledged the first time.

The 2016 Optima SX Ltd is consuming oil, but no leak can be found by the mechanics. It is available for inspection upon request. Had the motor seized, I would have been stranded on the side of the road. I have all the CarFax Service records. It is serviced IAW Mfg recommendations. The oil light flickers and turns off at starting. A service engine in 30 days light came on. Took it to change the oil and there was NO oil in the vehicle. The oil and filter were changed, the engine cleaned and no leak could be detected. One week later the engine oil light flickered on and the oil was checked. It had consumed 1.5 quarts of oil in one week. There are zero oil stains in my driveway where the vehicle is parked every single day. This problem has been reported on multiple complaints NHTSA ID#s 11539081, 11538898, 11538679, 11538029...since August 1. Kia should issue a recall or investigate why the vehicles are consuming so much oil that leads to engine damage/failure with occupants stranded on the side of the road. Why is the oil light just flickering on and then off and not staying on if the oil is low? Please help.

The contact's son owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while his son was driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. Several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that his son was able to pull into the driveway. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an unknown dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated; however, the dealer informed the contact that the failure could be related to the engine rod bearing. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

My daughter was driving on the interstate and her car lost power while driving. This is a major safety issue. A car losing power in the middle of 80 or higher mph traffic could result in fatalities.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The engine consumed 5 quarts of oil for every 5,000 to 7,000 miles driven. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle accelerated quickly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for an oil change, and the dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil and that there were no leaks found. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

There's an oil consumption problem... I'm burning through a quart of oil about every 300 miles. there are no leaks. Just burning the oil way too fast... There's been numerous people with this problem and no one has issued a recall... The car started doing this at around 60,000 miles. there's still plenty of life on this engine. It should in no way be burning this much oil... We need help. I was told it's part of an investigation already... We need this to be labeled a recall... This is not normal and thousands of people are having this problem with this model 2016 Kia Optima LX

2016 KIA Optima is burning excessive oil. Current mileage ~85K, under power train warranty. The KSDS S/W upgrade has been done. Took car to KIA dealership. Tested twice and confirmed 1/2 quart and 3/4 qt burned in 1000 miles. Limit for service was >1 qt in 1000 miles, so no action taken. Question #1. How/where was this limit established? Clearly hear a knocking sound and blue smoke out the tailpipe upon starting. A copy of video showing the tailpipe smoking was submitted to KIA. The internet references a class-action suit for this problem and NUMEROUS complaints. Question #2: Why has NO recall been initiated for this problem across numerous models and several years, anyone with a 4-cyl GDI engine? Maintenance interval is 7500 miles for each synthetic oil change. This means I will put in more than 5.5 quarts of oil between oil changes??? And this is NOT a problem??? Question #3: Why is this NOT an EPA pollution issue? Finally, the KIA dealership told me to come back in, if the problem exceeds the >1 qt per 1000 mile limit. I asked and there is NO extension of the 100K power train warranty, (in 15K miles) so after 100K, any engine repair/replacement would be at my cost. At 85K, my resale value has plummented and 2-3 nonKIA dealerships that I have spoken to about a trade-in are NOT interested in this car as a trade-in. Question #4: HOW does this NOT qualify as a RECALL? -1) Class action lawsuit on record? -2) Known problem over several years/models with the 4-cyl engine? -3) Eng

My complaint is regarding the rear windshield, which came with the vehicle when I purchased it new in 2016 from a Kia dealership (Santa Fe Kia, Santa Fe, New Mexico). The Optima has never been in an accident. Over the last several years, the rear windshield has become increasingly blurry making it difficult to see traffic behind me. This situation is worse particularly at night. The blurriness is both from the outside looking in and inside looking out. I have called several Kia dealers and they claim that they are not aware of the problem, and have told me that the windshield is not warranted.

5/9/23 appointment for 4 recalls -completed 2 and ask if we could bring back next day to finish and we said no because granddaughter in school so service manager said important to get it back in and finish and sent granddaughter home with car 5 days later while driving car caught on fire and lost brakes and transmission and swerved into vacant parking lot smoke and flames coming into car and girls had to jump while car was still moving both girls checked on sight for smoke inhalation. 15 year old had to go to emergency room for road rash and nerve issues. we have documents ,911 tapes, videos, text ,,,witnesses, pictures. very negligent on service dept. for sending car out without completing issues. we came ready to leave it but they sent it out.

Car has been consuming too much oil and burning spark plugs all the time since car was at 80k miles. Car was covered under a bumper to bumper 100k mile warranty. Now at 136k, dealership is now doing oil consumption test, but even if we fail this test, new engine will not be installed. Dealership is saying they “got in trouble” for replacing too many engines and now an inspector has to come out to inspect the engine, which is only once every 2 weeks. Kia will not pay for rental car and car has to stay on lot until inspected, and will only pay for rental car after inspector looks at car. We were also told that unless the car throws a knock sensor code, throws a rod, or locks up, engine will not be replaced and we will have to pay for all repairs. We are the sole owners of the car, and all updates/recalls have been done at dealership. Dealership even told us to “run the car with no oil, let the engine lock up, and then replace the oil before bringing it to dealership” and that doing this will ensure a replacement engine. We also have the lifetime warranty on the engine, but Kia will not honor it unless we throw a knock code, throw a piston/rod, or engine locks up. This is a HUGE safety hazard not only for us driving, but for others on the road as well. We add no less than 2 quarts of oil per week and change at least one spark plug a month.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to 5 MPH. The contact depressed the accelerator and the vehicle started to vibrate but failed to respond as needed. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to her residence at 5 MPH. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times and the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer replaced the spark plugs and the battery. The vehicle was repaired; however, the dealer informed the contact that any repairs related to the recall would only be performed if the engine failed. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

Headlights will randomly turn off when driving. I then have to quickly turn the headlight switch from auto to off to on to get them to come back on. There are numerous complaints online regarding this very same problem with Kia Optimas and other Kia vehicles. This is extremely dangerous.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the check engine warning light started flashing. The contact stated that smoke was coming from underneath the hood and an abnormal knocking sound was coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that he pulled over, stopped, and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact had previously had a software upgrade for the knock sensor performed; however, the dealer stated that the engine had already suffered engine block damage and the vehicle did not qualify for an engine replacement. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 138,769.

Excessive oil consumption, 1.5 quarts or more per ever 1,000 miles.

A straight line crack about 4 inches long appeared suddenly on my dash. The crack is directly over the dash mounted airbag. The car has been parked in my garage since I bought it new in 2016. In addition, my work location has an employee garage so it is hardly parked out in direct sun. It is in mint condition. I took the vehicle to the local KIA dealer and they said it was not covered by the warranty. My concern is that the crack may impede the deployment of the airbag in a critical situation. I feel it should be investigated because there are a lot of exact same complains on the internet concerning a crack at the same location.

Window regulator replacement

The headlights failed and yes it can be inspected . The headlights while my 16 year old daughter was driving at night. She could not see the road there were no streetlights. She had to hit her brakes turn the car off and restart and the lights came back on . This put her life in danger I cannot believe there are no recalls . We have called numerous mechanics to fix and they have not heard of the problem. I do not trust Kia to fix this . She could have died . Before this happened the dash showed the lights changing themselves from auto to on to off . This also happened to me while driving at night . We now do not drive this car at night out of fear .

I was driving and the car’s electrical completely cut out and locked my steering wheel up and ran us off the road and we hit a big rock on the driver side and then the power kicked back on and the steering yanked super hard to the right about 4 times and caught a fallen tree on the right side then completely died with me and my young kids . Took it to Kia to be serviced and got it back and it started to do it again

2016 Kia Optima engine failed on freeway, ECU triggered limp mode had to get towed into dealer. Now dealer verifies engine failure issues but insists on having us drive it 1000 miles then come in to have engine oil consumption measured and do the same again for a total of 3000 miles before they honor engine replacement. Or engine completely fails within the 3000 miles. Car already shows heavy oil consumption, very dirty oil before mileage due to be changed, loss of MPG at least 5 miles per gallon after ECU upgraded. Car is sluggish and hesitates on acceleration, engine knocking noise. Bearing clearance test passes at this time. I feel I am driving a ticking time bomb getting ready to leave me somewhere stranded.

3 of the 4 windows have had failures in the window regulators and the windows do not work.

The car was diagnosed with a knock sensor problem in the engine. At that time I was told it was a recall regarding that matter. 2 months ago I took it to Kia Mall of Georgia in Buford, GA. At that time they said they fixed the sensor within 3 hours. The car wasn’t accelerating past 50 mph, the engine light was on and in struggled going up hills. After I got the car back, the next 3 days the engine light came back on and the car starting doing the exact same thing again! I called and told them and they told me to bring it back to them. So I took it back to them. After my car being there for 2 1/2 almost 3 weeks they told me they would have to replace the engine with a new one. At this time no one offered to get me some type of loaner car. On the third week they claim they were still working on it but the mechanic didn’t show up for 2 days. He left on Friday June 30th, 2023 and didn’t come back until Monday July 3rd! When he left on Friday I was told by Andrew Aycock that the car would be ready that Saturday, July 1st 2023. No one called so I ended up calling them Saturday and I was told the mechanic didn’t come to work so the car would be finished on Monday July 3rd. Of course that was a lie as well. I asked about a loaner they said they would get me one, that they had to call Hertz rental. They called me back and told me they couldn’t provide me with a loaner. So I still NEVER got a loaner and they had my car right at a month!! They called me Friday July 7th and told me the c

In April, 2022, while driving on a major highway enroute to work, my 2016 Kia Optima started knocking and completely shutdown in the middle of high-speed traffic. I had the vehicle towed and was told that the recall for the engine knock sensor replacement hadn't ever been done which resulted in the engine to shutdown.

I have had zero, I mean zero issues with my Optima before today. I’ve maintained the vehicle since I purchased new in 2016 from Auffenberg Kia in Illinois. I had made it about halfway home when the vehicle started making a shuttering noise and began hard to drive. The first part of my drive was highway, no issues. The second part of my drive was country roads so a little slower speed when this began. The hard drive feeling went away briefly but was then followed by a flashing check engine light, still feeling okay to drive & maintaining a consistent speed. After I had slowed to go around corners is when it began again. I accelerated and the car accelerated as well but the rpms weren’t going over a thousand. Kept driving fine with no shuttering. Once I stopped at the stop sign and accelerated I couldn’t get over 30mph without the front end rattling and a faint squealing sound. I putted home and there it sits. A friend of mine is a mechanic and came with his diagnostic reader. Long story short, engine failure. I’m frustrated all over again because this seems to be an ongoing issue with the Optima’s with no resolution. I just hit 111k miles, which is not high miles for this to happen considering the vehicle is in good condition. Next is to get towed to the junk yard because it’s not worth putting a new engine in it & hopefully for a resolution from Kia.

Unknown. My oil light started to turn on while I was still 1200 miles before my next oil change. I check the level of my oil and it was completely empty.

The window regulator in all four windows gave out back to back with little use of windows to begin with. Apparently Kia knows of issue but won’t recall part.

On July 4th, my vehicle lost engine power and flashed a quick prompt of "engine warning" before turning off completely, smoke from under the hood which resulted in a fire. I was able to extinguish it fortunately. I have since discovered there are three open recalls, which I received no notification about. I frequently check for recalls and all sites say there are none.

I have to put 4 quarts of motor oil in every 2 weeks (approximately 600 miles) no black spots at all on the concrete drive at all. So it’s definitely burning it.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the sunroof fractured without impact. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the sunroof needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact learned of a lawsuit regarding the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

This will be the second time this has happened to my vehicle my vehicle just randomly stopped while driving and will not start back up. It keeps showing on the dashboard “check hybrid system stop car and turn off engine” this happen 4 years ago and then a safety recall came out for it to get fixed this should have been fixed from the safety recall and never happened again unfortunately it happened again. The dealership is booked with appointments so my car will not get fixed for about a month or two. It is very dangerous for the car to just caught off in the middle of the road.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing an abnormal oil consumption. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was diagnosed as an engine combustion failure. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

My kia Burns lots of oil. I'm having to refill oil every 300 miles. And the oil isn't on the ground. It's burning out on my sparkplugs and oil pac coil. It's even shut off engine light came on. Got it towed to SONS of Kia. Had it diagnosis and Was told it's needed sparkplugs and coil pac replacement. Full tune-up. Oil change. Later. Having the same issues. Having to continue replenish oil. Over and over. Where is it going. Oil sputtering out of my tail pipe. Oil and water from tail pipe. Took it to Amoco Transmission. For diagnosis and was told that this need to be reported to kia. A major recall. Oil is burning from engine issues. My sparkplugs are loaded with oil and coil pac. Why I've always got my oil changed every due time. Later after 300-400 miles. I'm having to add oil again. Something wrong with this. I travel and my wife have to check oil consumption every week to make sure oil is in the car. She's very stressful about this situation. The car be studder when this happens. And some time want crank. It's nothing of her end. It's the manufacturer of the car. Burning oil consumption. AND NOW ITS AT AMOCO TRANSMISSION WAITING ON WHAT'S NEXT. TRULY WILL LOVE KIA TO DO THE RIGHT THING. MY WIFE LOVE'S HER KIA. AND ARE THINKING ABOUT BUYING A SUV FROM KIA IN THE FUTURE. My other paper work are in the car. Will update more information later.

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the local dealer. The local dealer stated that there was no engine oil in the oil pan, which caused the engine to seize. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.

The vehicle hesitated to move after a stop. I have escaped hitting the incoming vehicles when taking a left turns as my car drives very slow after a stop and there are chances of hitting with the vehicles coming from other direction.

My steering wheel locked while I was on my way to work early Monday, March 28,2022. I was driving down county road Park Avenue around 30MPH and suddenly, I was unable to move the steering at all. Luckily, I was already in the right lane =; however, it was very challenging to steer to get off the road. I called the local dealership and they suggested I bring the car in for inspection to determine what the cause is. I took the car to the dealership and I was informed the vehicle was not drivable because the Steering Wheel Column Assembly and ECU needs repair. They also informed there was no recall on the vehicle. The mileage at the time was 67,400 miles which was very surprising. I received a letter from Kia Motors in February 2022 (6 years after the car was manufactured about the recall however, most cars at this point were out of warranty and Kia was aware no car met the warrantee qualifications). I was told by Kia Motors customer service that my vehicle was out of warranty at the mileage. I paid $3386 for repairs which should have been covered years in 2019 and 2020 according to other reports of the same incident occurring to other 2016 Kia Optima models.

2016 Kia Optima was towed to Kia Dealer after it became inoperable; on 10/22/22 diagnostic done and found engine failure. Kia Motors denied claim for repair/replacement. Not sure why not covered under class action settlement, and/or extended warranty, or subsequent technical bulletins regarding Kia's defective engines.

This car has less than 60,000 miles on it. One night a few weeks ago the engine died on the freeway leaving my step-daughter stranded on a dangerous freeway. We towed it to Kia where they said the engine was blown but this particular VIN was not part of the major recalls for bad engines. They want $13,000 to put in a new engine! We don’t have the money, and my step-daughter is under 25 so can’t rent a car. We had a 2012 kia optima this same thing happened to, and Kia replaced the engine. We ask that kia add this as part of the recall and replace the engine asap before our daughter loses everything. The $22,000 car is sitting worthless while she has to try to find a job that doesn’t take a car just to make payments on it and try to pay rent.

Engine started making knocking noise and then started stalling took it to Kia dealership and they are refusing to replace it under lifetime warranty even with ksds recall installed. The consumer tried several times to get the recalls fixed but the Kia dealership refuses to fix them.

Pearl White paint on hood is flaking/delaminating.

The vehicle has 64155 miles. Sense about 40000 miles the car cannot make it 3000 miles without needing oil with dry dip stick. I see there is alot of complaints of this. NTSA please issue a recall.

Even following recall procedures, our 2016 Kia Optima EX is experiencing all of the issues outlined by other owners with massive oil consumption, all four windows failing, along with our antenna fin flying off on a highway post inspection. No recall on a 2000$ repair job to replace the window motors? Kia letting everyone pass 100k on their Optimas before claiming no warranty to fix the engine they broke? Help!

My vehicle is a 2016 Kia Optima, I keep regular oil changes. In between oil changes I have to add 5 to 8 quarts of oil because of loss. There is no dripping, no smoking. I am told it is a engine problem in all Kia models. But this is getting expensive and tiresome. I hope someone can resolve this issue.