2011 Kia Optima Hybrid problems
NHTSA has received 47 complaints about the 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid, and 40% of them involve engine. Next are electrical system (13%) and brakes (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 47 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 40% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 69,000 miles 42 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 7 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 42 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 69,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 100,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 1 injury reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2011 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Kia Optima Hybrid with enough data (14 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Takata recall--I was involved in a motor vehicle accident with my 2011 kia optima hybrid. As the impact was pretty hard, the air bags did not deploy. My daughter was jerked forward and hit her face on the dashboard.
Engine misfire in cylinder # 1. The engine began to smoke, check engine (p0301) illuminated. Ignition coil was melted now car does not start. Engine failure. This happened on a short trip to the store limped the car back home. Kia refuses to recall this optima engine because its a hybrid although it has failed and has been recalled on multiple same year kia optimas due to metal deposits in the engine from factory.
Car stalled all of sudden with shudder on route 7 in virginia and then immediately was yaken into parking lot for safety reasons. In trying to park car would not shut off. The car was on for about fifteen minutes then randomly stopped. After another ten minutes car would not start and then randomly started. Car was asap driven with engine shudder back to home drivieway and parked for safety. Car now again would nit shut down and kept running.
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, after starting the vehicle, the steering wheel became stiff. The “Steering Assist Fault” messages were displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering gear had failed. The dealer was contacted for a second opinion, but a diagnostic test was not performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure.