2016 Kia Optima
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 756 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 4th highest complaint count among 20 Optima model years with reports.
Of the 2016 reports, 27 involved a crash and 19 involved a fire. 21 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Latches/locks/linkages, trunk lid, latchAug 24, 2023
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Rio, 2016-2018 Optima, 2017-2018 Optima Hybrid and Optima Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. The trunk latch base may crack, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."
A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the trunk latch base subassembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC278.
Campaign 23V594000 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, frontal, driver side, inflator moduleJan 6, 2017
Kia Motors America (Kia) has recalled one 2016 Optima vehicle. In this vehicle, the end seal for the driver's frontal air bag inflator may not have been properly installed, possibly resulting in reduced inflation of the frontal air bag in the event of a crash.
In the event of a crash, an air bag that does not inflate fully increases the risk of injury.
The affected vehicle was remedied on January 10, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC143.
Campaign 17V007000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, axle assembly, axle shaftOct 3, 2016
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Kia Optima vehicles manufactured November 13, 2015, to April 23, 2016 and equipped with a 2.4l engine. The right front axle driveshaft may crack and fail.
If the driveshaft cracks and separates from the vehicle, it will not be able to move forward. Additionally, if the parking brake is not applied upon exiting the vehicle, the vehicle may roll. Either scenario can increase the risk of a crash.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front axle driveshaft, free of charge. The recall began November 2016. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC139.
Campaign 16V705000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, frontalApr 21, 2016
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016 Kia Optima vehicles manufactured November 10, 2015, to February 12, 2016. In these vehicles, a chemical enhancer required for the for the second stage deployment of the driver's frontal air bag was not loaded, resulting in the second stage not deploying in necessitating crashes.
If the second stage air bag does not deploy it increases the risk of injury or death.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2016. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC131.
Campaign 16V231000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
756 reports, newest first.
Other or unspecified, Nov 29, 2024
The windows will NOT stay up, front passenger window has come completely loose from its track and has fallen down in such away, that it slams against the inside door panel, the only part of the window you can see is the triangle shaped edge that would normally fit in the corner of the window. I'm [XXX], with kids and this is my only transportation. Winter is here and the only window that stays up is the drivers side, and it's about to go too, it wobbles when rolling it up or down. My dad was a mechanic all his life, but he's [XXX]. I use to help him work on cars every day.. I have a torn rotator cuff from turning my now deceased husband in the month long hospital stay, been with him since I was 17, I'm now [XXX] , and can not do a lot of things I once did.. I do NOT have the money to fix this car as my husband died 2 months ago being flown in a helicopter twice to the hospital, is more expensive than ANY vehicle around here costs, i cant work due to my torn rotator cuff. No one in their right mind would buy my car with the windows.. I've done some research and my Kia optima is just one of thousands with this same issue. The only option I have is to walk the 5 miles into town to get what me and what's left of my family's essentials. I've never had a Kia before, and I'll never get another one. My car also burns oil, I know this because I was raised to know how to check to see if it's burning oil, I took it into dardanelle tire and auto, I know the lead mechanic. I was informed that in fact it was burning oil, and I knew that meant I would have to be checking the oil every other day. The exhaust pipe has SO much black burnt oil all over the entire end of the pipe.. check engine light came on 2 weeks after I bought it, something about the catalyst. The small dealership owner told me everything was perfect on this car, he lied, they have ways of turning the check engine light off, I've seen my dad do it. I think it's time for a recall already. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Nov 21, 2024
Engine burns over 2 quarts of oil every 500 miles due to carbon build up in engine resulting in engine ceasing up.
Engine, Nov 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a scheduled service and the contact was informed that while the vehicle was running, the engine was vibrating abnormally. The contact was informed that the rattling might have been caused by the abnormal vibration of the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the engine was replaced in 2023 under an undisclosed recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Nov 17, 2024, crash
On [XXX] I was proceeding to come up to the stop sign when out of no where the car started rapidly accelerating and when I proceeded to step on the brakes it wouldn't stop it only sped up more. And caused a server accident that left me with serious injuries. And I cause of the defect they found me at fault said I failed to yield at a stop sign. The car never was fixed from the 2 times the motor has to be replaced by Galena Kia in fort Myers fl. They even caused the ac to go power retarded and wouldn't work half the time. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Nov 14, 2024
To whom it might concern. My car suddenly started burning a lot oil every 800 miles I had to change the oil twice a month and I have contacted Kia number of times and took the car to the dealer but no one helped me until last month when I was driving the car and suddenly the engine stops while I was in the highway and almost got hit by a truck and was a death near experience and I am still suffering from that incident mentally. Please notice Kia knew about the car problem and refused by all means to help me and now they refusing to acknowledge they defect with their cars and meanwhile I am left with near death experience and 8k dollars to buy a new engine .
Steering, Nov 13, 2024
I’m financing my car from drive time and I got my car this year not to long ago, I say a couple months ago. I recently had a vehicle inspection done to keep up with maintenance. Upon arrival Firestone did a vehicle inspection and noted my roots needs to be replaced witch I’m currently working on getting that replaced and they also noted my power steering needed to be replaced witch I found odd because I don’t know how my power steering could needed be replaced when I haven’t had my car for a full year only a couple months. I have attached a copy of the vehicle inspection
Engine, Nov 5, 2024
While driving my car Engine just cut off, and now it has a knocking noise, miles on the car 94739. Its my understanding that there is a recall on the engine for this reason issued in 11/2023 the car Manufacture refuse to replace engine. Car was taken to Kia New Port Richey, were the car was purchased on 01/08/2017. The safety problem is when engine shut down while driving in the middle of the road, no warning lights came on until after the engine turned off. its my understanding that the engine is blown. i called Kia Motors and they said will not replace engine because i did not take car in for the recall, and i was unaware there was such a recall
Other or unspecified, Nov 4, 2024
The window regulators in my 2016 Kia Optima have/are failing. The white drum gear that rolls the window up/down shreds and the window falls. My safety is put at risk with this due to the fact that if the window glass were to drop abruptly, it would shatter. To add to the matter, I was out of town this past weekend when another one of my windows failed and had I had not known how to pull the door apart and pull the window back up and tape it, I could have been at major risk of robbery or more. The problem has been reproduced 3/4 times on my car so far. The first time was about a year ago, I repaired the issue myself (costly). Now i have 2 more windows that have failed and i have tape holding them up until i can afford to fix them because Kia charges an ungodly amount to repair.
Engine, Nov 4, 2024
THE CAR WAS BOUGHT WITH 88K MILES AND USES OIL BADLY AND ITS GOT 92K MILES AND ITS BASICLY NEW I SEEN RECALLS FOR SUCH PROBLEM
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Nov 4, 2024
The front and rear windows come down unexpectedly. The power controls do not control the windows. This is especially dangerous when younger children are riding in the car and can reach their hands out the windows because the windows just come down. I have to manually lift my windows up
Steering, Oct 31, 2024
In cold weather my car will not start. Gas is in the car and all the lights come on. Would have to crank car multiple times for it to to start or it will not start at all.
Other or unspecified, Oct 30, 2024
As of today all 4 of my power windows have failed. The first was in Feb, 2 in AUG (50K miles) and the last one today. Looking at the failed parts it matches Kia TSB#300.
Engine, Oct 22, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormally loud knocking sound and experienced reduced engine power. The contact stated that the engine failed to exceed 2,000 RPM. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rod bearings had failed. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
Engine, Oct 10, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not able to be restarted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.
Engine, Oct 6, 2024
The component that failed in my 2016 Kia Optima is the engine, specifically due to excessive oil consumption. After each oil change, my oil levels drop significantly within 1,000 miles. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This issue poses a safety risk to me and others because if the oil levels fall too low, the engine could seize or fail while driving, potentially leading to a dangerous situation. A sudden engine failure, especially at highway speeds, could result in a loss of control and increase the risk of an accident. The problem has been confirmed by both a Kia dealership and an independent automotive repair shop. The dealership performed an oil consumption test, which revealed that my car is consuming 1.3 quarts of oil every 1,000 miles. An independent shop also acknowledged that this make and model are known for high oil consumption. The vehicle has been inspected by the Kia dealership during my 120,000-mile service. However, despite confirming the issue, Kia has not offered a resolution because my vehicle is no longer under warranty. The vehicle has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives. No warning lights, messages, or dashboard indicators alerted me to the issue. The only symptom was the rapid drop in oil levels, which I first noticed in October 2023 following a routine oil change.
Structure, Other or unspecified, Sep 30, 2024
All the window regulators continue to turn but the windows stay down and won't go up. Leading cause, the gear that connects to the motor and window regulator wires is plastic and erdes over time causing it to shred itself. Now my windows will not go up.
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Sep 30, 2024
While driving the car will not accelerate past 49mph in turbo mode and 61mph in regular mode and rpm will not go above 1800. And it jerks and studders. Blinking check engine light and consumes a ridiculous amount of oil even though regular maintenance performed. I have read several engine issues with this model and cannot find recall info
Visibility, Sep 30, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated that both the driver’s side and passenger’s side windows opened independently without the driver or occupant input, and the windows failed to roll up while depressing the window switches. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 69,600.
Other or unspecified, Sep 19, 2024
I am experiencing window regulator failures on all four windows of my 2016 Kia Optima LX, which began in 2021 and continues to the present. The windows either do not stay up or operate irregularly. I have seen similar reports from other 2016 Kia Optima and 2017 Kia Sportage owners. This issue poses a safety and security risk due to potential distraction while driving and inability to secure the vehicle.
Engine, Sep 17, 2024
Unknown, per kia website, P1326 engine code- bad engine, kia will cover all faults and cost associated to this code, including branded title vehicles. But, because my car has a branded title, kia dealership is saying no they won't do anything.. please help
Engine, Sep 14, 2024
Check Engine light on due to too much oil consumption of engine per mechanic
Visibility/wiper, Sep 6, 2024
All 4 of my windows regulators went out within a week without any warning the two front windows went down and I can’t get them back up the two back windows are up but I have something holding them up which is dangerous because I can’t put the child lock on for my children because I can’t let the windows in case I have to get them out
Other or unspecified, Sep 5, 2024
Unknown
Structure, Other or unspecified, Aug 29, 2024
I apologize if this is not filed in the correct place. Issue: 2016 Kia Optima, peeling paint on the hood and quarter-panel. New areas are popping up and old areas are getting worse. Color Paint: Snow White Pearl
Engine and engine cooling, Aug 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Optima. The contact stated while driving at approximately 5 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs and ignition coils needed to be replaced due to fouling by engine oil. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the vehicle was taken back to the same dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that prior to the engine failure, approximately 1 quart of engine oil was being added every week. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,434.