2013 Kia Optima
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 1,383 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the highest complaint count among 20 Optima model years with reports.
Of the 2013 reports, 48 involved a crash and 114 involved a fire. 36 people were injured and 4 people died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Service brakes, hydraulic, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, control unit/modulePark outsideSep 25, 2023
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento, and 2010-2011 Rondo vehicles. The Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may experience an electrical short, which can result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.
An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the HECU fuse, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed November 14, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2024 through June 18, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC284.
Campaign 23V652000 on NHTSA.gov
Structure, body, roof and pillarsAug 1, 2022
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Optima vehicles. The right and left headliner plates may not be secured properly, which can result in the plates detaching in the event of a side curtain air bag deployment.
A plate that detaches during a crash may strike an occupant, increasing their risk of injury.
Dealers will secure the headliner plates, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 26, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC245.
Campaign 22V560000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, hoses, lines/piping, and fittingsFeb 17, 2022
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Optima vehicles that were previously repaired under NHTSA recall number 20V-100. The low pressure fuel hose may be damaged, or missing heat-protective tape, which can result in a fuel leak.
A fuel leak can increase the risk of a fire.
Dealers will replace the low pressure fuel hose, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 2, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-33-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC228.
Campaign 22V093000 on NHTSA.gov
Service brakes, hydraulic, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, control unit/modulePark outsideMay 10, 2021
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Optima and 2014-2015 Sorento vehicles previously recalled under recall 20V-519. Brake fluid may leak inside the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU), possibly resulting in an electrical short.
An electrical short in the HECU increases the risk of a fire while parked or driving.
Owners are advised to park outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair is completed. Dealers will install a new multi-fuse, and inspect the HECU for leaks, replacing the HECU if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 2, 2021. This recall supersedes previous NHTSA recall number 20V-519. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC212.
Campaign 21V331000 on NHTSA.gov
Service brakes, hydraulic, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, control unit/modulePark outsideAug 27, 2020
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Optima and 2014-2015 Sorento vehicles. Brake fluid may leak inside the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU), possibly resulting in an electrical short.
If the HECU short circuits, there is an increased risk of an engine compartment fire.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the HECU for leaking brake fluid and replace the HECU if necessary, free of charge. Owners are advised to park outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair is completed. The recall began October 20, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC197.
Campaign 20V519000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, hoses, lines/piping, and fittingsFeb 21, 2020
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Optima vehicles equipped with 2.4L Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) or 2.0L GDI Turbo engines. The low pressure fuel hose may deteriorate and crack over time due to heat generated within the engine compartment.
If the fuel hose cracks, a fuel leak can occur, increasing the risk of a fire.
Kia will notify Owners, and Dealers will inspect the low pressure fuel hose for damage or leaking, replacing it as necessary. If no damage or leaking is found, a heat-protective tape will be installed. Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began June 12, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC187.
Campaign 20V100000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, hoses, lines/piping, and fittingsDec 19, 2018
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Optima, 2012-2017 Sorento and 2011-2018 Sportage vehicles that previously received an engine replacement under recall number 17V-224, warranty, or the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) Product Improvement Campaign. The high pressure fuel pipe that connects to the fuel pump outlet may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, possibly causing a fuel leak.
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Kia has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pipe, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC172.
Campaign 18V907000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, air bag/restraint control moduleJun 1, 2018
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Kia Forte, Forte Koup, 2011-2013 Kia Optima and 2011-2012 Kia Optima Hybrid and Sedona vehicles. In the event of a crash, the air bag control unit (ACU) may short circuit, preventing the frontal air bags and seat belt pretensioners from deploying.
If the frontal air bags and seat belt pretensioners are disabled, there is an increased risk of injury to the vehicle occupants in the event of a vehicle crash that necessitates deployment of these safety systems.
Kia will notify owners. For model year 2011 Sedona vehicles, Kia will instruct dealers to verify the ACU part number and, if necessary, install an extension wire harness kit between the ACU Connector and the Vehicle Harness Connector. For all other affected vehicles, Kia will instruct dealers to install the extension wire harness kit. The recall began September 28, 2018. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC165.
Campaign 18V363000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engineMar 31, 2017
Kia Motor Company (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Optima, 2012-2014 Sorento and 2011-2013 Sportage vehicles. Machining errors during the engine manufacturing process may cause premature bearing wear within the engine.
Bearing wear may result in the engine seizing, increasing the risk of a crash.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine assembly, and replace the engine if necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 20, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC147.
Campaign 17V224000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: engine
650 reports, newest first. Show all
Engine, Oct 24, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the engine had seized and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,500.
Engine, Fuel system, Diesel, Oct 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was stalling despite depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that there was a fuel smell and that she repeatedly needed to refill the engine oil. Additionally, the contact stated that on three different occasions while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and failed to restart, and had to be towed to her residence. The check engine and the engine oil warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was then towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle failed to restart and the contact stated that there was smoke coming from under the hood. The vehicle was towed back to the local dealer where it remained awaiting diagnosis and repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.
Engine, Oct 12, 2022
The engine was just about to explode when me and family riding the car Kia Dealer does not want to fix the car despite that it has an engine recall The car was not inspected yet, but I am ready to get it inspected there were not any sign warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 11, 2022, fire
I was driving on the interstate in rush hour traffic to pick up my kids from school. The engine light came on, and immediately after that, the gas pedal would no longer accelerate the speed of the car. I pulled over on the side of the interstate to call my fiancé, and within minutes the front end started smoking. I grabbed my work belongings and stepped out of the car and the entire car went up in flames on the interstate. The car has been deemed a total loss with Insurance. We filed a claim with Kia and waiting for someone to inspect the vehicle. This car had engine failure back in 2017, and had an entire engine rebuilt inside of it. Part of the Theta ll engine recall. Police would not create report due to not injuring anyone or any other vehicles.
Engine, Oct 10, 2022
The system that failed was my engine. I sent my car to One Stop Collision Auto Repair in Chicago Ridge Illinois. Once the mechanic did his diagnostic, I was told i had “no oil” in my car which caused my engine to fail. However I had gotten an oil change July 12th , 2022. There is a sticker on my windshield in the top left corner by the drivers side stating when my oil was changed. My oil notification became to come on July 9th which let me know i needed an oil change.For this specific problem with my vehicle, the mechanic told me “you won’t get an oil notification because it has nothing to do with your oil. It is a known problem with these types of cars.” I then began to question if there was a recall. I then look onto the My Car max app which lets me know if there was any recalls. There were 2 recalls with MY SAME VIN NUMBER. I don’t know if it is available for inspection.My safety was at risk because I was not aware of any issues on my dashboard or any recalls as i was buying the car. My car began jerking with my inside of it driving which almost caused an accident. My car was sent to a auto repair shop to find out the problem. Once he let me know what the problem was, My car was then sent to International Kia for their own diagnostic and a repair when they find out the problem. The car should be going under inspection now that it is at the manufacture (International Kia). There were NO warning lamps,messages,or any symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. I’ve had this car only since March 17, 2022 (6 months).
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 7, 2022
Started with oil light flashing, then the other lights came on. Started losing speed, then lost all power to the engine, will not start back up with the engine, when trying to start it, the engine started smoking.
Engine, Sep 15, 2022
While driving the vehicle on a two lane highway passing an eighteen wheeler the car engine suddenly died prior to overtaking the truck. Very difficult and dangerous especially since the vehicle behind me followed to overtake the truck at the same time. This was a very uncomfortable situation especially since in the meantime there was oncoming traffic heading in the opposite direction that had to drive on the grass shoulder to avoid a head on collision since I had difficulty merging into now much faster moving traffic that was stacked up behind the eighteen wheeler. The reason the engine died was because it locked up due to oil starvation due to a known manufacturing defect that should have been covered by the extended warranty that was put into place from to a lawsuit from NHTSA. The vehicle is a 2013 Kia Optima with 60k miles. According to Kia customer care the extended warranty wont be honored because the car was previously involved in a collision to the right rear corner of the vehicle that took place years ago and thousands of miles ago. The service advisor advised against purchasing a used engine because they are all bad and they will all fail sooner or later and wants almost $6000 to replace the engine.
Electrical system, Engine, Sep 10, 2022
I was driving on the highway, and knocking noise came out form the engine. The engine began to lose power, and I had to immediately to pull over the car. This car has a theta II engine, and had gone bad due excessive connecting rod bearing damage. I brought the car to a dealership, and confirmed this is the case. The engine only has 77k on it, and will need replacement. These engines are not safe, and should be replaced by dealerships.
Engine, Sep 1, 2022
The car stops in middle of road and turns off if I go over 20 MPH. It's happened twice in the middle of highway and I've had to get towed home. The engine light is on and blinking and I hear knocking sounds. My boyfriend has a code reader and he said when he hooked code reader up to car it showed the exact same code as the other kia optimas engine problems. This needs to be a recall!!
Engine, Aug 31, 2022
I was driving my 2013 Kia Optima when all of a sudden, the car stalled while on a highway. Luckily I was able to pull to the side, narrowly missing a tractor-trailer. After it wouldn’t start, I had it towed to my mechanic. He then diagnosed it as a seized engine. I had it towed to my local Kia dealer, and it’s been sitting there for 4 months, and i was told it can take another 6 MORE MONTHS to get the engine replaced, AND they ‘may not cover the cost’. They are giving me the run-around. This is ridiculous. There’s even a recall on the engine. What should I do? Thank you D.H.
Engine, Aug 18, 2022
Driving our car om a road trip on a busy canyon highway ,check engine started blinking and car died. Was able to get off on the shoulder and contact a tow. Towed to local mechanic, engine was blown. Towed it to local KIA Dealership. Dealership had our car almost 4 months. KIA approved engine, it was finally replaced. Got car back and the next day check engine light came on and car shut down again. Towed to KIA dealership.
Engine, Aug 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact's boyfriend had retrieved an error code on the vehicle for engine failure. The local dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was 88,524.
Engine, Aug 12, 2022
The contact's son owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while his son was driving approximately at 50 MPH and accelerating to highway speed, the vehicle shuddered, jerked and finally stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact's son veered to the side of the road. The contact's son was able to restart the vehicle and drove to his residence. Additionally, the contact stated that there was an abnormal loud knocking sound coming from the engine. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was experiencing bearing wear that could damage the engine and could cause the engine replacement. However, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
Engine, Aug 4, 2022
I was driving my 2013 Kia Optima on the highway when all of a sudden the car stalled. I was nearly hit by a semi truck and several cars. I was finally able to coast to the shoulder of the road. I tried starting it and it would not. I had it towed to my mechanic and he diagnosed it as a ‘seized engine’, for no reason. I take good care of my car I change the oil every 3000 miles. Currently, I am trying to get it fixed through KIA, but they are giving me a hard time.
Engine, Jul 15, 2022, fire
I was driving down the road and my car started smoking. I pulled over and got out of my vehicle and within 5 minutes my engine was in flames
Electrical system, Engine, Jul 10, 2022
Unknown, car was fine then stopped out of no where yesterday, I was scheduled with Kia dealership to have recalled fixed next month but they called and canceled my recall this is now the 2nd attempt and they still have yet to fix recall and now car isn’t working properly!
Engine, Jul 9, 2022
When we start the car Yellow colour Engine symbol pos up on the dashboard. It’s a engine related issue.
Engine, Jul 7, 2022
Engine failure
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jun 30, 2022
When the fuel smell occurred i contacted my dealer and was told about a recall i have been complaining about the smell before i received my second recall paper the car was smoking and stopped working eventually and i've been without a car and unable to use my vehicle while having to maintain payments on it im am not sure why i have to pay for a problem that was spotted early on but due to neglect and unclear solutions i have wasted money on rentals and been left with no answers my check engine light was flashing i was unable to get a inspection sticker and was told it was due to the gas smell
Engine, Jun 30, 2022
My car stopped working, i towed it to my Mechanic they said the engine quit working.
Engine, Jun 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 71 MPH, she heard abnormal loud knocking sounds coming from the engine. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rod bearing had failed. The vehicle was then towed to the local dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist until the vehicle was diagnosed. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V224000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) which she associated with the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
Engine, Jun 20, 2022
On May 19, 2022, I was driving North on I-225... The engine stalled out on my 2013 Kia Optima EX, while I was driving. All dash indicator lights came on. There was no warning light came on to alert me of the problem. It smelled like something was burning. No dealership or anyone has confirmed the maintenance needed on the vehicle. I will have my car tolled to a nearby Kia dealership due to the 2013 recall...
Engine, Jun 9, 2022
I was driving on the highway and all of my dash lights came on and my car just cutt off. My engine light had never been on before that. After letting my car sit for awhile it turned back on but kept losing power and my engine would make a knocking noise. Took it to a car shop they told me they contacted the kia dealership and they said i had a recall on my engine and it would be replaced when i got there they said they dont know who i talked to but that wasnt true. The car shop said that my engine was eating oil. I would run out of oil quickly but it wasnt an oil leak.
Engine, Jun 8, 2022, fire
The contact owned a 2013 Kia Optima. The contact stated while his brother was attempting to accelerate from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact's brother then saw flames underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact's brother immediately exited the vehicle. The contact stated that the fire expanded significantly. The contact's brother was able to extinguish the fire with the assistance of the fire department. A fire department report was filed. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot, where it was totaled. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.
Engine, May 27, 2022
When I was driving on the freeway, the car engine stopped functioning. All the lights on the dashboard turned on and I couldn't accelerate the car. I had to make several lane changes as I was in the farthest lane. I barely exited the freeway and towed my car to a local mechanic. I had to replace the engine. No warning lamps prior to the failure. My safety was at risk because I couldn't accelerate. The safety of others on the freeway also was at risk.