2017 KIA OPTIMA Electrical System Problems

The contact called on behalf of her daughter who owns a 2017 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal knocking sound, the cruise control was inoperative, the infotainment screen darkened, and the charging outlet was inoperative. The Check Engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the contact's residence, and the contact used a vehicle scanner to scan the vehicle. The contact stated that DTC: P1326 for the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) was found, which detected excessive engine vibration. A dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by the dealer. No further information was available. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

Mileage: 98,000

There appears to be an issue with Kia USA regarding an oil switch fault that the company may be aware of but has not addressed through a service bulletin. We own a 2017 Kia Optima with a 2.4L engine and 84,000 miles that has recently started experiencing an intermittent oil pressure light. Thinking the issue was covered under warranty, I took the vehicle in for repair, only to receive a quote of $6,000. The faulty switch had pushed oil through the wiring harness, contaminating the powertrain control module and fuel injectors. I have found information indicating that Kia issued a service bulletin in April 2022 for the same switch used in the 2.4L issue affecting 2015-2018 Kia models with 3.3L engines. However, when I provided this information to the dealer, they insisted the switch in my Optima was different and not covered by the bulletin. I have repeatedly requested the part number for the faulty switch referenced in the bulletin, but have not received a response from the dealer or Kia corporate. The information I found on-line is that the switch in both motors are the same switch. I understand that if this issue is not addressed early, the repair cost can reach upwards of $7,500. If Kia had proactively notified 2.4L owners about the switch issue in 2022, my problem may have been caught and resolved before the extensive damage occurred. Furthermore, if the faulty switch was used across multiple Kia models during the same time frame, the company should have included those vehicles in the service bulletin. I am not concerned with getting my own Optima repaired, but I find it unacceptable for Kia to take advantage of customers in this manner. An $18 part failure should not result in such significant damage, and Kia's lack of transparency and action is disappointing. I hope that by sharing this experience, Kia will be compelled to address this issue and prevent further financial hardship for their customers.

Got a bsd and check hybrid system while driving.

Headlights will randomly turn on and off throughout while driving. Radio has the same issue

Since this car did not come equipped with the Anti Theft Immobiliing System, due to recent events like increased theft of Kias and Hyundais ill equipped, an software upgrade was developed by each of the companies. When the dealer performed the anti theft software upgrade to my car, I was not informed at the time of the repair that this software upgrade disables the use of my Kia Remote Starting System. I was told Kia is working on a fix. So, in essence, we need a fix to fix a fix, simply because Kia and Hyundai decided in a cost saving measure to manufacture select years and models that are not equipped with the engine immobilizer key recognition system. I have heard talk of a possible recall for these affected vehicles by the NHTSA. Additionally, my car just manifested an issue today with an illuminated Oil Pressure Indicator Light on the instrument cluster. I have plenty of oil on the dipstick. Could this be more of the same with respect to previous years engine failures.

My car was stolen on February 14, 2023 at 7pm.

For the past 5-6 months I’m have ongoing issues with my engine and excessive oil consumption. I’ve completed the three oil consumption test per 1000 miles. On the last test(3rd check), I was told I passed and nothing further was needed. Approximately 1 month after that my engine light illuminated and my car violently shook upon acceleration and while sitting idle. Was informed it was my spark plugs and electric coil… oh and a routine oil change, which I paid to have repaired at approx. $650 this was in late August/Early September. Now here we are in late October and my oil lamp is on yet again! My car does not achieve speeds no higher than 50 mph. I’ve been to the dealership 7 times since April 2022. There’s an expense with owning cars but this is ridiculous. I’m currently a few hundred miles shy of 80,000 miles

my fuse box melted , because of a burnt out fuse , too many electrical components made this fuse box melt and could have potentially started an electrical fire which could result in a crash and it could end up way worse maybe even death. I took my car to the service lane at kia and my service agent let me know that multiple cars are having this same problem where their fuse box burnt out . Its obviously a problem with a lot of kia optimas because i saw about 30 other kia optimas out in the parking lot waiting to be serviced and now ive been waiting two months for my car to get serviced.

1. Headlights randomly fail and yes. 2. Headlights will completely go out at night while driving. Not being able to see in the dark while driving can be fatal to me, my family, and any nearby innocent bystanders. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No warnings at all and it started almost 2 weeks ago.

March 2022, (approximately 72,000 miles)while driving to work my car shut off. I was in drive at a red light. Noticeable decreased acceleration and vibration. Took it to the dealership for routine oil change and mentioned incident. Technician was not able to find cause. Ok so be it. Now May at a little over 73,000 miles multiple lights began to illuminate and flash. Still with decreased acceleration it was noticed on a Friday morning on my way to work: 1. Oil light flashed on and off for approximately 2 minutes. 2. Air bag light stays on 3. Electronic Stability Control light stays on I scheduled an appointment for the next day. Took it into nearest Kia dealership. I was informed that my engine had no oil in it. The electrical board that signals my airbags and power steering is “malfunctioning” and would need to be replaced. I was also told that since I just went for an oil change and was not due for another 3-4,000 miles maybe the “engine absorbed the oil as there are no visible leaks” I am set to return to Kia at the 1,000 mile mark to check oil levels to see if the oil is gone again. On my way to work again, on I-75 I felt extreme unsteadiness and loss of road grip with steering. Like I was loosing co trio of the vehicle while traveling at 55 miles an hour. As the original owner of this vehicle, with regular routine maintenance this is extremely concerning. I worry every day that my car will fail me and injure mine, my kids and others lives. I really hope this is looked into as a safety issue.

My air conditioner all of a sudden went out. No air would blow. Took it to Kia and it turns out that a fuse box blew on the main wiring harness, evidenced by burn marks on the bottom which then blew out my fan motor. Seems that Kia has had a lot of faulty wiring harnesses and it could have definetly caused a fire and is a safety hazard. My car is out of warranty by 8k miles and they are trying to make me pay for something that I believe is a defect as they said themselves that they cant even determine the cause as this is not normal wear and tear nor something I could have caused. I cannot afford to pay for this and I do believe that Kia needs to make this right. Because everything electrical plugs into this one wiring harness, they have to replace the whole thing costing over $3600. There was no warnings or lights that came on. I do believe that this also messed with the airbag sensor in the passenger seat as well. This is not right for consumers to have to worry about this. This is a 2017 car... it should not be failing.

Several weeks ago, we had trouble opening and closing the trunk of our 2017 KIA Optima. Then a few weeks ago, the trunk of our KIA Optima closed and would not open at all. Because of the pandemic, we didn't contact KIA. But today, 16 Dec. 2021, as my wife was driving north in heavy traffic on US Highway 25 in Albuquerque, NM, the trunk suddenly opened and blocked her view of the cars behind her. Luckily she was in the right lane and was able to exit the highway. Otherwise there might have been a serious accident. We bought the car in 2017 from Fiesta KIA in Albuquerque, NM (505-999-2745). They have been unresponsive.

The vehicle automatically turns the headlights off automatically (at night). While driving and not touching the multi function switch, the vehicle indicate that the headlights were switched manually to the "off" position from the "auto" position on the multi function switch. This happens randomly at random intervals and most noticeable at night when the car is driving and the lights are turned off and is not reproducible on demand. The safety of both myself and the other vehicles around me are put at risk if my headlights cannot turn on or turn off by themselves at night while operating the vehicle. I went to the dealer, and they told me that even though the car is under warranty since the problem cannot be reproduced I would need to pay a $175 diagnostic fee, the dealer told me that Kia will charge them if they can't prove that the multi functional switch is defective. I contacted Kia customer service, they opened a claim, but did confirm that if the issue is not re-creatable on demand the dealer can charge a fee and there isn't anything they can do to waive that. They told me since it's a safety issue they could escalate the issue, so I agreed to escalate it. Then I never heard back after that. The lcd in the control cluster indicated that the lights were turned off (even though the switch was physically not touched and remained in the "auto" position for the lights). Other Kia Optima owners are experiencing this issue as seen here: https://www.optimaforums.com/threads/headlights-turn-off-automatically-at-night.169987/

THE WIRING HARNESS WAS REPLACED IN MY 2017 KIA OPTIMA IN 2019 AT APPROXIMATELY 45,000 MILES. KIA REPLACED MY ENGINE JANUARY 2020 BECAUSE IT WAS CONSUMING LARGE AMOUNTS OF OIL. I JUST GOT MY CAR BACK IN JANUARY 28, 2021 WITH A SUPPOSEDLY NEW ENGINE. ON MARCH 3, 2021, MY CAR CAUGHT FIRE WHILE PULLING OUT OF MY NEIGHBORHOOD ACTUALLY DRIVING DOWN THE STREET. SMOKE AND FLAMES WERE COMING OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THE HOOD THE OF THE CAR. THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF THE CAR BURNED. THANKFULLY, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT GOT THE FIRE OUT AND NO ONE WAS INJURED.

Mileage: 74,200

THE WIRING IN THESE CARS ARE COATED WITH SOMETHING THAT SMALL RODENTS LIKE TO EAT THEY CHEW THROUGH THE TAPE THEN THEN WIRING. CAUSING HYBRID ENGINE NOT TO WORK LITES COME. LUCKLY NO FIRE YET. DEALER SAY SORRY THAT WILL BE $ THE CARS WIRING HYBRID PART . RODENTS LIKE TO EAT IT KIA HAS COATING ON IT THAT ATTRACTS THEM THEN IT COSTS YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX THEIR PROBLEM CAUSE IT'S NOT COVERED BY THEM. LUCKLY THE CAR DID NOT CAUGHT ON FIRE YET.

Mileage: 24,000

BOUGHT ON 9-12-2019 WITH APPROXIMATELY 15,400+ MILES. IT NOW HAS 15,750+ MILES. IT HAS STALLED/POWERED OFF ON ME TWICE. FIRST TIME WAS OCT 7, 2019, PARKED ON THE CURB WHEN I WAS PICKING UP MY DAUGHTER FROM SCHOOL, WHEN SHE GOT IN THE CAR AND I WAS ABOUT TO DRIVE OFF FROM THE CURBSIDE AND WHEN I LIFTED MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE AND STEPPED ON THE GAS, THE CAR WOULDN'T MOVE. I REALIZED THE POWER OFF SO I SWITCHED THE IGNITION TO OFF AND TURNED IT ON AGAIN TO START THE ENGINE AGAIN. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A LITTLE GLITCH. IT HAPPENED AGAIN ON OCT 26, 2019 WHEN I WAS ON THE DRIVE THRU OF TACO BELL. I WAS WAITING IN LINE AND AGAIN, WHEN I LIFTED MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE TO MOVE FORWARD, IT WOULDN'T MOVE BECAUSE THE POWER HAD JUST SHUT OFF AGAIN. I HAD TO RESTART THE ENGINE. I COMPLAINED TO MY SON ABOUT THE CAR BUT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT WAS PAST THE 7 DAY EXCHANGE OR RETURN. BUT PLANNED TO BRING IT UP ON MY SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE UNLESS IT HAPPENS AGAIN. I WAS ALWAYS CAUTIOUS AND WORRIED THAT I WILL STALL IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC OR WORSE, WHILE DRIVING. MOSTLY THE REASON WHY I'VE ONLY DRIVEN THE CAR LESS THAN 300 MILES SINCE I BOUGHT IT ABOUT 4.5 MONTHS AGO. THEN YESTERDAY MORNING, JAN 28, 2020, ON MY ERRANDS TO TWO DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS, THE PASSENGER SEATBELT SIGN WAS BEEPING AND FLASHING THE WHOLE TIME I DROVE AROUND THAT DAY, WHEN THERE WAS NOBODY WITH ME IN THE CAR. IT FINALLY STOPPED WHEN IN THE AFTERNOON WHEN I WAS CLOSE TO HOME AND AFTER I PICKED MY PRESCRIPTIONS FROM THE PHARMACY CLOSE TO MY HOUSE. NOW I AM CURIOUS AND WONDERING WHY THE NAVY MAN TRADED THIS CAR IN WHEN HE'D ONLY HAD IT FOR LA YEAR AND SPENT MONEY ON NEW BLACK RIMS AND BLACKED OUT TINTED WINDOWS. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN INQUIRY ON WHAT PROBLEMS THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD WITH THE CAR BECAUSE OF THE SHORT TIME HE OWNED IT AND DROVE IT. I'M MORE TERRIFIED TO DRIVE AFTER READING OTHER'S ISSUES.

Mileage: 15,450

I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AT NIGHT TIME FOR ABOUT A WEEK STRAIGHT MY HEAD LIGHTS WOULD RANDOMLY TURN ON AND OFF BY THEIR SELVES WHILE I'M DRIVING AND THEN MY CAR WOULD BE SITTING IN MY PARKING SPACE AND MY NEIGHBORS TOLD ME MY LIGHTS WOULD JUST BE ON ALL NIGHT AND MY CAR WOULD BE LOCKED AND EVERYTHING AND ONE DAY I WENT OUT TO START MY CAR AND I COULDN'T EVEN UNLOCK IT TO GET IN IT SO I THOUGHT IT MIGHT'VE BEEN MY CAR REMOTE BATTERY DIED AND SO I ASKED A NEIGHBOR THAT WORKS ON CARS TO SEE WHAT IT COULD BE THEY POPPED MY HOOD AND CHECKED MY CAR BATTERY AND IT WAS COMPLETELY DEAD, THEY TRIED TO GIVE ME A JUMP WHICH WAS JUST ENOUGH TO ALLOW ME TO UNLOCK AND GET INTO MY VEHICLE BUT MY CAR BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY FRIED DUE TO HEADLIGHT SENSOR.

WHILE MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER AND I WERE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY OUR CAR BEGAN SMOKING FROM UNDER THE HOOD, THEN SMOKE BEGAN COMING THROUGH THE AIR VENTS INSIDE THE CAR; WITHIN SECONDS WE SEEN FLAMES COMING OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD AND IMMEDIATELY EVACUATED THE VEHICLE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC WITH NO WHERE TO PULL OVER. WITHIN MINUTES THE ENTIRE CAR WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THERE WAS NO WARNING, OUR CAR WAS REGULARLY MAINTAINED, THERE WERE NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OR OTHERS DISPLAYING ON THE DASH, NO LEAKS OR OVERHEATING TO CAUSE THIS.

Mileage: 44,000

WHILE I WAS DRIVING PROBABLY ABOUT 45 MILES AN HOUR OR SO MY CAR STARTED TO SHAKE REALLY HARD THEN IT SHUT OFF. ONCE IT SHUT OFF THE LOW OIL LIGHT CAME ON ALONG WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND THE LOW BATTERY LIGHT AS WELL. AFTER THAT THE CAR WENT COMPLETELY DEAD. I TURNED THE KEY TO THE OFF POSITION AND THEN TIREDNESS IT BACK ON WITH WITH NO PROBLEM. FOR MY CAR TO SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING ON A MAJOR STREET CAUSES MAJOR CONCERNS. ONE WHAT IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN AND I GET IN AN ACCIDENT OR CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

Mileage: 39,000

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WESELOH KIA CARLSBAD (LOCATED AT 5331 PASEO DEL NORTE, CARLSBAD, CA 92008 AT (760) 496-3131) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT WAS DEFECTIVE AND CAUSED THE LIGHT TO REMAIN ILLUMINATED. THE VOLTAGE ALTERNATOR ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE INADVERTENTLY DRIFTED TO THE RIGHT AND LEFT. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN BACK TO WESELOH KIA CARLSBAD, BUT NO DIAGNOSTIC CODES WERE FOUND AND THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE REPLICATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WHILE ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 300.

Mileage: 300

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. AS A RESULT, ANOTHER VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE REAR OF THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO JEFF WYLER KIA (LOCATED AT 5815 DIXIE HWY, FAIRFIELD, OH 45014) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED, BUT THE TECHNICIAN COULD NOT FIND A FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD GET BACK WITH THE CONTACT. THE CONTACT HAD NOT HEARD BACK FROM THE MANUFACTURER. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,700.

Mileage: 4,700

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE HEADLIGHTS FLICKERED A COUPLE OF TIMES AND THEN STOPPED. THE ABS, AIR BAG, AND TRACTION CONTROL WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (MENTOR KIA IN MENTOR, OH) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE WIRING WAS FAULTY. THE CONTACT KEPT THE VEHICLE AND PROVIDED THE CONTACT WITH A LOANER VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,000.

Mileage: 7,000