2013 Kia Optima Hybrid Electrical Problems

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Hybrid battery system warning - Pull over -Do Not Drive" was displayed, prompting the contact to pull over and discontinue driving the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The ABS and TPMS warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 146,000.

NHTSA ID

11646856

Incident

Mar 6, 2025

Mileage

146,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE CHECK CHARGING SYSTEM WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MANEUVER THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, IT COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO EARNHARDT KIA (2121 E BELL RD, PHOENIX, AZ 85022, 602-346-5400) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS ELECTRICAL FAILURE; HOWEVER, THE SPECIFICS WERE UNKNOWN. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 73,000.

NHTSA ID

11257689

Incident

Sep 16, 2019

Mileage

73,000 mi

ELECTRICAL INTERIOR LIGHT TURN ON WHEN YOU LEAN ON THE ARM REST ALSO GOT A OIL CHANGE AND THE OIL LIGHT WILL NOT RESET CAUSE THERE IS A MALFUNCTION IN THE OIL PRESSURE

NHTSA ID

11209961

Incident

May 23, 2019

VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING 65 MPH WHEN A HCS WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE STOPPED COMPLETELY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY. I HAD TO GET THE CAR TOWED. THE KIA DEALER SAID THE SAFETY FUSE OF 125 HAD TO BE REPLACED WITH A 150 SAFETY FUSE AS WELL AS THE NEW BATTERY, $897 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. WHEN I ASKED KIA WHY THEY DIDN'T RECALL THE 125 SAFETY FUSE, THEY SAID IT WAS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE!

NHTSA ID

11172606

Incident

Jan 25, 2019

Mileage

67,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 3 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND "HYBRID FAILURE" APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO KIA STORE EAST (7301 NEW LA GRANGE ROAD, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 40222, (502) 425-1234) WHERE THE RELAY AND ECU BATTERY WERE REPLACED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, A FAULTY FUSE BLEW OUT WITHIN THE HYBRID MOTOR. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC REPLACED THE RELAY WITH AN INCREASED VOLTAGE FROM 125 AMPS [WATTS] TO 150 AMPS [WATTS]. THE FAILURE WAS REMEDIED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 102,000.

NHTSA ID

11150370

Incident

Oct 16, 2018

Mileage

102,000 mi

TODAY MY CAR CUT OFF AS I WAS DRIVING. THE DISPLAY READ HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING. IT THEN PROCEEDED TO SAY FOR ME TO PULL OVER AND STOP DRIVING THIS HAPPENED TO ME 3 TIMES OVER THE WEEKEND AND I'VE READ MANY OTHER COMPLAINT ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO FIND THE PROBLEM I ALSO REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR AND THAT WAS A WASTE BECAUSE RIGHT AFTER THAT WAS SERVICED IT HAPPENED AGAIN

NHTSA ID

11143580

Incident

Oct 28, 2018

Mileage

78,000 mi

VEHICLE WOULD'T START THE ENGINE RANDOMLY. KIA DEALER WASNT ABLE TO FIND THE ISSUE SINCE I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE IN AND IT WAS RUNNING AT THAT TIME. RANDOMLY SHOWS HYBRID SYSTEM IS NOT PROPERLY WORKING.

NHTSA ID

11141677

Incident

Sep 11, 2018

Mileage

40,000 mi

1. DRIVING VEHICLE ON FREEWAY AND THE ENGINE BLEW. KIA REBUILT THE TOP HALF OF THE ENGINE. 2. DRIVING VEHICLE ON STREET AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT. TOOK A LOT OF STRENGTH TO STEER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. KIA RESET MAIN CONTROL UNIT TO FIX ISSUE. 3. DRIVING VEHICLE ON STREET AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AGAIN. KIA WANTS TO REPLACE MAIN CONTROL UNIT. CAR HAS PASSED THE WARRANTY BY 10K MILES. NOT COVERED.

NHTSA ID

11128714

Incident

Sep 3, 2018

Mileage

70,000 mi

FROM A STOP AT A LIGHT OR INTERSECTION, OVER SEVEN (7) TIMES THE CAR HAS JOLTED FORWARD AND STOPPED ABRUPTLY, LOSING MOST POWER TO THE MOTOR AT THAT POINT. AUDIBLE ALARMS RING AND THE DASHBOARD HAS READ BOTH "HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING! IMMEDIATELY STOP AND DO NOT DRIVE" AND "CHECK CHARGING SYSTEM". THIS HAS HAPPENED DURING LEFT TURNS WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC THAT THEN HAS TO SLOW AS I SLOWLY CREEP OUT OF THE INTERSECTION.

NHTSA ID

11075603

Incident

Feb 28, 2018

Mileage

54,844 mi

I HAVE A 2013 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID WITH FAULTY HEADLIGHTS THAT HAVE COMPLETELY GONE OUT/FAILED OVER 10 TIMES STARTING 3 MOS AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR. AFTER 1/2 YEARS AND 4 FIXES, INCLUDING COMPLETELY REPLACING THE HEADLIGHT PACKAGE, I FILED THE LEMON LAW PAPERWORK (I PURCHASED IN APRIL 2013.) IN NOV OF 2014. I WAS TOLD THEY GET A FINAL FIX. THEY REPLACED THE ENTIRE HEADLIGHT SYSTEM AGAIN. THEN, IN DEC 2015, MY HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT AGAIN & HAD TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED AGAIN. KIA CORPORATE HAS BEEN RUDE TO ME AND DENIED ANY ASSISTANCE EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD COMPLETED THE FINAL FIX A YEAR BEFORE. I HAVE PHONE VIDEOS (WITH WITNESSES) FROM YEARS AGO, 11/18/14, 1/25/16, 3/18/17, 3/27/17, 4/8/17 AND 12/10/17. MOST OF THE TIMES I HAVE BEEN OUT AND HAVE HAD TO DRIVE HOME IN DANGEROUS CONDITIONS. I LOVE MY CAR BUT HATE THE DANGEROUS ISSUES. KIA HAS MADE ME FEEL AS THOUGH I'M NOT IMPORTANT, MY SAFETY IS A NON-ISSUE AND THAT THEY FIX IT EVERY TIME, BUT IT IS NOT TRULY FIXED IF I HAVE HAD 6 MAJOR REPAIRS OVER 4 YEARS. I'VE BEEN AT THE POINT OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN OVER THE STRESS AND FEAR FOR MY SAFETY AND OF LETTING KIA BULLY & CONVINCE ME I DO NOT QUALIFY TO GET MY CAR REPLACED. I AM PUTTING MY SAFETY FIRST NOT TO MENTION THE EMOTIONAL STRESS, INTERFERENCE WITH MY WORK, PUTTING FAMILY & FRIEND'S SAFETY AT RISK. NEVER KNOWING IF AND WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN & HAVE NOT DRIVEN IT MANY TIMES BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. I'VE BEEN TOLD TOO MANY TIMES THIS IS THE LAST FIX! I DON'T LIKE CONFLICT AND HAVE PUT MY FAITH IN KIA TOO MANY TIMES AND PUT MY FAITH IN THEM OVER MYSELF. I'M DONE BEING THE NICE PERSON. I HAVE HAD MELTDOWNS OVER THIS, ARGUMENTS WITH MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER OVER THIS, INTERFERENCE WITH MY WORK, BEEN STRANDED OUT OF TOWN BECAUSE OF THIS! KIA TOLD ME TODAY THEY WILL NOT REPLACE MY CAR AT THIS TIME. I CANNOT GO ON LIKE THIS ANY LONGER. I NEED YOUR HELP. SINCERELY, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

11055932

Incident

Dec 10, 2017

Mileage

69,000 mi

TAKATA RECALL: CAR AT 35K MILEAGE AND DISPLAYS 'HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING, SAFELY STOP AND DO NOT DRIVE'. HAVE BEEN IN AND OUT OF DEALERSHIPS WHO STILL CAN'T SEEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE ISSUE IS. ALSO, SEEMS LIKE THE BATTERY IS DISCHARGING WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHICH IS COMPLETELY UNSAFE!! ISSUES HAVE YET BEEN FIXED!

NHTSA ID

11046510

Incident

Nov 15, 2017

Mileage

35,000 mi

VEHICLE SURGED FORWARD WHILE IN MOTION TO PARK IN A PARKING SPACE. BRAKES FAILED TO STOP VEHICLE FROM A VERY SLOW SPEED OF 5-10 MPH APPROXIMATELY. HAS DONE THIS ON OCCASION AT HIGHWAY SPEED A SUDDEN SURGE SO A BRAKING WOULD RELIEVE PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11011110

Incident

Jul 19, 2017

Mileage

41,000 mi

UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE (THANKFULLY PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY), VEHICLE WAS IN EV MODE, WITH JUST CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. AFTER ENTERING GAS MODE BATTERY AND MAINTENANCE LIGHT APPEARED IN ADDITION TO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. THE GREEN "READY" LIGHT ON THE SPEEDOMETER BEGAN FLASHING AND A WARNING MESSAGE STATING "HYBRD SYSTEM WARNING: SAFELY STOP AND DO NOT DRIVE" APPEARED ON THE TRIP SCREEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DASH.

NHTSA ID

10981190

Incident

Apr 28, 2017

Mileage

33,997 mi

I WAS COMING HOME FROM WORK MONDAY AND A VERY HEAVY RAIN STORM WAS COMING DOWN. AS I PULLED INTO MY DRIVEWAY, I SET MY KIA IN PARK AND ATTEMPTED TO TURN OFF THE VEHICLE BY PRESSING THE POWER BUTTON. THE RESPONSE I GOT WAS THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT IN THE "P" PARK POSITION, ALTHOUGH IT WAS IN THAT SHIFTED POSITION. I PRESS THE POWER BUTTON AGAIN AND IT TURNS ON THE LIGHTS INSIDE THE CAR RATHER THAN TURN THEM OFF. I HAVE TO TRY SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE A SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT AT JUST TURNING OFF MY CAR. TURNING IT ON IS NO PROBLEM, ITS JUST TURNING IT OFF THAT IS CAUSING DISTRESSING. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FILL UP YOUR CAR WITH GAS WHEN YOU CANNOT EVEN TURN IT OFF. THIS IS A REALLY SERIOUS PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED IMMEDIATELY! FROM THE OTHER COMPLAINTS I'VE READ, A COMMON THEME ABOUT WATER INTERFERING WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS A COMMON TREND.

NHTSA ID

10715830

Incident

May 11, 2015

Mileage

30,150 mi

WHEN WE TAKE THE CAR TO CAR WASH AND SOME TIME GO OVER A PUDDLE OF WATER , IF THE CAR IS ON MOVE , IT WILL SHUT ITSELF AND I HAD TO STOP THE CAR RESTART THE CAR . IF THE CAR COMES OUT OF CAR WASH AND BE TURN , IT WILL NOT START UNTIL 4 TO 5 HOURS LATER . ERROR WE GET " KEY IS NOT RECOGNIZE" I TOOK MY CAR TO KIA DEALER IN IRVINE , AND THEY TOLD ME DO NOT TAKE THE CAR TO CAR WASH . I CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR KIA AND THEY SAID THE HYBRID CAR IS NOT DESIGN FOR CAR WASH. THIS IS A PROBLEM , WHAT HAPPEN IN A HEAVY RAIN IN THE HIGHWAY . DOES SOMEBODY NEED TO DIE THAT COMPANY LOOK AT THIS ISSUE ? THIS IS MY SECOND COMPLAIN AND THIRD TIME I AM STRANDED IN STREET BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. I WAS LUCK THAT I WAS IN THE STREET IN 91 EXPRESSWAY . *TR

NHTSA ID

10715458

Incident

Apr 8, 2015

Mileage

50,521 mi

WE TOOK THE CAR TO A CAR WASH , AFTER THEY CLEAN THE CAR WE TRIED TO START THE CAR , BUT WE GET AN ERROR " KEY IS NOT RECOGNIZE". WE WERE NOT ABLE TO START THE CAR. THEN MY WIFE BROUGHT THE SECOND KEY , WE GOT THE SAME ERROR. WE TOWED THE CAR TO DEALER AND STILL THERE AFTER 3 DAYS . THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG . I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT , THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG , WHAT HAPPENED IF THIS CONDITION APPEAR IN HIGHWAY ? I DRIVE 30,000 MILES A YEAR AND EVEN THOUGH THIS IS THE FIRST EPISODE, I AM VERY CONCERN REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10626343

Incident

Aug 16, 2014

Mileage

31,320 mi

UPON ACCELERATION FROM STOP OR LOW SPEED, BRAKE WARNING MESSAGE DISPLAYED INSTRUCTING ME TO SAFELY PULL OVER AND STOP THE VEHICLE. ADDITIONALLY, ESSENTIALLY ALL WARNING LIGHTS DISPLAYED ON THE INFORMATION SCREEN. WARNING LIGHTS BEGAN FLASHING AND DOOR LOCKS BEGAN CLICKING ON/OFF. CAR BECAME DISABLED AFTER A SHORT DISTANCE AND CAR WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD WHEN IN DRIVE. REQUIRED TOW TO DEALER FOR SERVICE. DEALER SCANNED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND OVER 20 HISTORY CODES POINTING TOWARDS A CAN ISSUE. AFTER VEHICLE WAS SERVICED AND ROAD TESTED, HISTORY CODES WERE CLEARED BY DEALER ON 5/24/2014. SAME PROBLEM REPEATED UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS ON 5/28/2014 AND AGAIN ON 6/4/204. DURING THE THIRD INCIDENT, THE CAR BECAME DISABLED IMMEDIATELY AFTER ENTERING AN INTERSECTION AT LOW SPEED AND COULD NOT BE MOVED OUT OF THE INTERSECTION UNDER ITS OWN POWER, CREATING A SAFETY HAZARD WITH CROSS TRAFFIC WAITING TO ENTER THE INTERSECTION. AFTER THE SECOND OCCURRENCE, DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM OR REPEAT THE CONDITIONS. AFTER THE THIRD OCCURRENCE, THE CAR BECAME OPERABLE A SHORT TIME AFTER THE INCIDENT AFTER TURNING THE CAR OFF AND ON AGAIN A FEW TIMES. AFTER EACH OCCURRENCE, THE PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT REMAINED IN THE HISTORY CODE. CURRENTLY AWAITING RESPONSE AND DIAGNOSIS OF PROBLEM BY KIA DISTRICT PARTS SERVICE MANAGER. *TR

NHTSA ID

10596726

Incident

May 20, 2014

Mileage

4,720 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN EXITING THE VEHICLE, THE DRIVER AND PASSENGERS WOULD EXPERIENCE AN ELECTRICAL SHOCK AFTER MAKING CONTACT WITH ANY EXTERIOR METAL PART OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

10583115

Incident

Mar 6, 2014

Mileage

20 mi