Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2007 Kia Optima submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 15 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
VEHICLE BURNS OUT BLINKER BULBS AND HEADLIGHTS AT AN EXTREMELY ACCELERATED RATE: ONE A MONTH. ADDITIONALLY, THE WIRING HARNESS IS HEATED TO THE POINT OF BEING MELTED. THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD. I BELIEVE THIS MAY BE A VOLTAGE REGULATION OR GROUND ISSUE.
EVER SINCE WE GOT THIS CAR IT HAS BEEN IN 2 ACCIDENTS DUE TO THE RAIN, WHEN I STARTED TO LOOK INTO WHAT WAS CAUSING THIS PROBLEM I NOTICED THERE IS A HOLE IN THE PLASTIC RIGHT BELOW THE OIL FILTER. THIS ALLOWS WATER TO GET ON THE ENGINE CAUSING IT TO SHORT POWER FOR THE CAR. THIS IN RETURN CAUSES THE POWER STEERING TO CEASE UP MAKING IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL THE CAR, HENCE WHY IT HAS BEEN IN TWO ACCIDENTS; ONE THAT PUT MY MOTHER IN THE HOSPITAL A FEW YEARS BACK. THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS YESTERDAY BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, THIS FLAW IS A DEADLY PROBLEM.
2007 KIA OPTIMA,CUTS OFF WILL DRIVING STEERING WHEEL LOCKS UP, UNABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE IN ANYWAY, THEN IT TURNS IT SELF BACK ON. THE IGNITION SWITCH JUST SHUTS OFF. VERY DANGERS.THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED, AND HAVE READ SEVERAL REPORTS ON THIS SAME PROBLEM. I DONT WANT TO DIE!
I BOUGJT THIS CAR IN 2014. I HAVE REPLACED BOTH LOW-BEAM HEADLIGHTS, TWICE, A BRAKE LIGHT, BOTH REAR BLINKERS, A FRONT BLINKER, AS WELL AS BOTH HIGHBEAMS. I HAVE NEVER REPLACED EVEN HALF THE NUMBER OF LIGHTS IN THE ENTIRE LIFETIME OF OWNERSHIP OF ANY VEHICLE I HAVE OWNED IN THE PAST. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS RECALL ISSUE BASED ON SAFETY AS WELL AS QUALITY IF KIA CARED. WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE WORKING I HAVE TO DRIVE WITH MY HIGH-BEAMS ON AND I NEVER GET FLASHED OR PULLED OVER. IT IS EXTREMELY HARD TO SEE VS. ANY OTHER VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD MANY FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN THE CAR AND HAVE SHARED THE STORY. AND EVERYONE SAYS THE SAME THING, ITS LIKE THE BRIGHTS IN THIS CAR IS EVERYONE ELSE'S REGULAR LIGHTS. IN FACT, MANY PEOPLE SAY THE HIGH-BEAMS ARE NOT AS BRIGHT AS MOST VEHICLES LOW-BEAMS. IT IS RIDICULOUS AND UNFAIR THAT US OWNERS HAVE TO SPEND $10-$35 ON A BULB OR TWO AN AVERAGE OF EVERY 5-8 WEEKS. CRAZY....KIA STEP UP AND FIX THIS QUALITY AND SAFETY ISSUE. GOV'T I GUESS WONT STEP IN WITHOUT SOMEONE DYING FIRST AND IT MAKING THE NEWS BECAUSE I SEE I AM NOT THE FIRST BY ANY MEANS, AND WONT BE THE LAST!
I WAS IN A CRASH AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM. AFTER I RECEIVED MY CAR BACK FROM THE BODY SHOP THE CAR HAS BEEN MALFUNCTIONING ! THE 2.7L HAS STUMBLE ON AND AT ACCELERATION THE FAILURE IS THE THROTTLE POSITION SWITCH THIS IS A SAFETY PROBLEM FOR ALL DRIVER'S THAT DRIVE A 2007 KIA OPTIMA. THE MALFUNCTION OCCURS FIVE TIMES IN ONE DAY. THIS PROBLEM MAY CAUSE SEVERE OR FATAL INJURIES TO THE OCCUPANTS IN THE VEHICLE. NOTHING WAS DONE TO CORRECT THE FAILURE AND THE OLD THROTTLE POSITION SWITCH IS AVAILABLE! I REALLY THANK THAT THIS IS FOUND TO HAVE A DEFECT THAT AFFECTS SAFETY AND THE AUTOMAKERS NEED VOLUNTARILY ANNOUNCE A RECALLS ON ALL THE 2007 KIA OPTIMA THAT HAVE THE SAME THROTTLE POSITION SWITCH AS THIS VEHICLE. *TR
AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY TODAY THE CAR SUDDENLY WENT FROM A SPEED PF 65 TO 20 MPH IN THE PASSING LANE. I SUDDENLY TURNED ON THE EMERGENCY LIGHTS TO LET THE CARS BEHIND ME KNOW THAT THEIR WAS A PROBLEM. THANK GOD I WAS HIT AND WAS ABLE TO PULL THE CAR OVER ON THE RAMP. I CALLED TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED BUT IN HOUSTON (THIS LABOR DAY) NO ONE IS ABLE TO LOOK AT THE CAR SO I WAS ABLE TO GET IT TOWED TO AUTO ZONE. THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC AND THE TPS (THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR) CODES APPEARED. I WAS TOLD ONLY KIA CARRIES THE PART. I WAS SO SCARED FOR MY LIFE AND I DON'T WANT TO EVER BE IN THAT POSITION AGAIN BECAUSE MY KIDS WERE IN THE CAR. I WAS READING COMPLAINTS ON SEVERAL WEBSITES AND IT SEEMS THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM FOR A WHILE. IT'S SAD THAT KIA HASN'T OF YET ISSUED A RECALL TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS AS THIS WAS WAKE UP CALL FOR ME I CAN HONESTLY SAY I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LOSE MY LIFE WHEN MY CAR DROPPED DAWN FROM SPEEDS OF 65 TO 20. I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR LOSING POWER BUT IT WOULD QUICKLY REGAIN POWER BUT NOTHING OF THIS INSTANCE. VERY SCARY SITUATION FOR NOT ONLY ME BUT FOR THE SAKE OF MY CHILDREN THAT WERE PRESENT IN THE VEHICLE. HTTP://REPAIRPAL.COM/FAULTY-THROTTLE-POSITION-SWITCH-355 I JUST RESEARCHED AND FOUND OUT THEY RELEASED A BETTER PERFORMING PART BUT OTHERS ARE STILL CONTINUING TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM EVEN AFTER THE REPLACEMENT PART. KIA COULD OF AT LEAST NOTIFIED ITS CUSTOMERS OF THE PROBLEM RATHER THAN MANY OF US FINDING OUT THE HARD WAY. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL IMMEDIATELY. THE NEXT PERSON MIGHT NOT BE SO LUCKY. *TR
HAD ONGOING ISSUES IN WHICH THE CAR GOT "STUCK" AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PAST 25 MPH, EVEN IF I "FLOORED" IT. I HAD TO TAKE MY FOOT COMPLETELY OFF THE GAS PEDAL, WAIT A FEW SECONDS (BY THEN THE CAR WOULD BE DOWN TO 10-15 MPH), THEN TRY TO ACCELERATE AGAIN, WHICH SOMETIMES TOOK SEVERAL TRIES. I WAS VERY WORRIED ABOUT GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT WHEN THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE THERE WAS NO WARNING AND IF YOU SUDDENLY STOP MOVING AT THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC WITH NO INDICATION YOU ARE SLOWING DOWN, YOU COULD EASILY BE HIT. IN ONE CASE, I WAS TRYING TO PASS A SLOW-MOVING VEHICLE GOING 25 IN A 40. I ATTEMPTED TO GO AROUND THE VEHICLE, WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PRETTY LOW-SPEED PASS, AS I ONLY NEEDED TO GET UP TO ABOUT 35 MPH, BUT THE CAR STOPPED ACCELERATING AT 25 AND I COULD NOT GET PAST. I HAD TO TAKE MY FOOT OFF THE GAS, WAIT, TRY AGAIN, AND REPEAT THIS A COUPLE TIMES BEFORE THE CAR WOULD ACCELERATE AGAIN. THIS BECAME A VERY SCARY SITUATION BECAUSE BY THAT TIME, THERE WAS ONCOMING TRAFFIC APPROACHING AND I WAS LITERALLY STUCK IN THE PASSING LANE. I ALSO HAD THE CAR JUST COMPLETELY LOSE POWER AND SHUT OFF WHILE I WAS AT A RED LIGHT AT A BUSY URBAN INTERSECTION. TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP. THEY DIAGNOSED IT AS A THROTTLE POSITION SWITCH PROBLEM, AND IT COST ALMOST $800 TO GET IT FIXED. AT FIRST I THOUGHT I JUST HAD BAD LUCK, BUT I LATER FOUND THIS MESSAGE BOARD IN WHICH PEOPLE WITH THIS SAME MODEL DESCRIBE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEMS. HTTP://REPAIRPAL.COM/FAULTY-THROTTLE-POSITION-SWITCH-355 ACCORDING TO THIS, KIA RELEASED A PART TO FIX THE SITUATION. IT SEEMS THAT LOSING ALL POWER/THE INABILITY TO ACCELERATE IN TRAFFIC POSES A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. IT BOTHERS ME THAT KIA APPARENTLY KNOWS ABOUT IT AND WOULD JUST ISSUE A NEW PART THAT COSTS OWNERS SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS TO REPAIR (COST PROHIBITIVE TO MANY PEOPLE), RATHER THAN ISSUING A RECALL, OR AT LEAST NOTIFYING OWNERS OF THE ISSUE. *TR
THE HEADLIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS/TURN SIGNAL LIGHTS BURN OUT REPEATEDLY. AT LEAST ONE OF THEM BURNS OUT EVERY 2-3 MONTHS. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN WHEN PLACED IN THE IGNITION SWITCH AND THE STEERING WHEEL UNEXPECTEDLY SEIZED. AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS, THE IGNITION KEY BEGAN TO TURN AND THE STEERING WHEEL UNLOCKED. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.
THE BACK TURN SIGNAL, BACK LIGHTS AND FRONT LOW BEAMS CONTINUE TO BURN OUT. THEY HAVE BEEN REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES BY PROFESSIONALS AND CONTINUE TO BLOW. I WOULD GUESS THERE IS A SHORT SOME PLACE. RECENTLY THE RIGHT LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT WENT OUT, HAD IT REPLACED AND IT BLEW FUSES. ONCE THE FUSES AND RELAY SWITCH HAD BEEN REPLACED THE LEFT LOW BEAM LIGHT WILL WORK IF THE RIGHT ONE IS DISCONNECTED. I HAVE COME ACROSS MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS, I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND THEY CLAIM THIS IS NOT A COMMON ISSUE, AND WANT $115 TO RUN TEST. ALSO THE BLOWER MOTOR FOR THE HEAT/AIR MAKES LOTS OF NOISE AND I WAS TOLD THAT IS JUST THE WAY IT IS, I KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE. WHEN ITS COLD OUT THE CAR MAKES LOTS OF SQUEAKING NOISE AND I WAS ALSO ADVISED THAT'S IS "NORMAL". I PURCHASED THE CAR NEW IN 2008 I HAVE APPROX 67,800 MILES AND HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE TIRES 3 TIMES. *TR
WHILE PARKING 2007 OPTIMA I WAS UNABLE TO PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK OR TAKE OUT THE KEY. THE SHIFTER LINKAGE AND CABLE HAD BROKEN. I USED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO KEEP THE VEHICLE FROM ROLLING. I TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER (SUMMIT KIA, WATERFORD, MI) THEY REPLACED THE VEHICLE SHIFTING LINKAGE AT A COST OF $750.00. THE DEALER STATED THE CABLE BROKE AND WHEN I ASKED IF THE PART WAS DEFECTIVE THEY STATED THAT IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL TO HAVE TO REPLACE THIS ON THE 2007 KIA OPTIMA. THE VEHICLE HAS 108,000 MILES. IN 40 YEARS AND MANY VEHICLES I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS GO ON ANY OTHER VEHICLE I OWNED. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THE IGNITION SWITCH FAILED CAUSING THE KEY TO REMAIN LODGED IN THE IGNITION OR MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN IN ORDER TO START THE VEHICLE. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED IN PLACE AS WELL. THE CONTACT CONTINUOUSLY TURNED AND PULLED THE STEERING WHEEL TOWARDS HER BODY IN ORDER TO REMOVE THE KEY BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE DEALER REPLACED THE KEY AND ADVISED THAT WHEN PARKING THE VEHICLE, THAT ALL FOUR TIRES WERE STRAIGHT IN ORDER TO REMOVE THE KEYS FROM THE IGNITION. THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER SEVEN TIMES IN REGARDS TO THE FAILURE TO NO AVAIL. THE MANUFACTURER ADVISED TAKING THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER FOR ADDITIONAL REPAIRS AND WOULD NOT PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11,000.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 KIA OPTIMA. OCCASIONALLY, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START WHEN HE PLACED THE KEY IN THE IGNITION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE OR DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THEY INFORMED HER THAT WHENEVER SHE PARKED THE VEHICLE, THE FOUR WHEELS HAD TO BE IN A STRAIGHT LINE OR ELSE IT WOULD NOT START. THE KIA MANUFACTURER WAS NEVER CALLED. THE CONTACT CONTINUED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE FORD DEALER FOR ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7895.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 KIA OPTIMA. SIX MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE THE IGNITION WOULD LOCK. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER, AND A TECHNICIAN CONCLUDED THAT THE IGNITION WOULD LOCK BECAUSE THE WHEELS WERE TURNED WHILE PARKED. HE ADDED THAT SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE THE WHEELS TURNED LEFT OR RIGHT WHEN PARKED AND TO ENSURE THAT THE WHEELS WERE PARALLEL WHEN PARKED. NO REPAIRS HAD BEEN MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000. THE CURRENT WAS 9,000.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER REPROGRAMMED THE SWITCHES, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE LIGHT DIMS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WILL BE TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. HE ALSO STATED THAT THE RADIO ANTENNA WAS MALFUNCTIONING AND THE RADIO STATIONS HAVE A LOT OF STATIC. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE ANTENNA WAS NOT THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 100 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50. UPDATED 01/09/08. *LJ UPDATED 12/12/07 *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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