2005 Kia Optima problems
NHTSA has received 180 complaints about the 2005 Kia Optima, and 37% of them involve latches & locks. Next are electrical system (16%) and air bags (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 180 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Latches & locks 37% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 141 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 | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 10 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 19 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 35 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 35 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 141 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For latches & locks specifically, the median reported mileage is about 74,000 miles (50 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 7 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 17th most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Kia Optima with enough data (75 complaints in that window).
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.
Dt: 2005 kia optima. The consumer's vehicle was rear ended and was pushed into the vehicle in front of hers. The vehicle that hit her was totaled. Upon impact, the airbags did not deploy. The front and back of the vehicle was smashed. The hood, trunk and three of the four doors will not shut. The consumer stated lower back was straight where it should be curved. She was not sure the extent of her injuries. She was unable to get into the doctor's office.
On 8/27/05, about 1:30 p.m. Roberta seals was involved in a semi-head-on collision with an 85 chevy blazer traveling approximatley 35-40MPH. Roberta was at an almost complete stop, attempting to make a left-hand turn. The other driver has admitted to not paying attention to his speed or the road, having reached down for his cell phone. The impact was great enough to throw roberta's 2005 kia optima approximatley 150 ft. Into the front yard, on the left side of the street.
My fiance was traveling down a road where the speed limit is 55 MPH and he was blinded by bright lights, he ran off the road and lost control of his car which caused him to strike a tree on the passenger side. He hit the tree at about 50 MPH and was spun around and nose dived down a hill. Now he initially hit the back passenger door which means it was a side impact crash and his side airbags didn't deploy.....was this a default?????
Hydraulic master cylinder in the clutch malfunctioned causing the clutch to stay engaged. I did not have a collision but was forced to leave the roadway to avoid having a truck strike me from the rear. When I took the vehicle to a dealer they refused to look at the vehicle unless I prepaid them, and they would later determine if I would reimbursed. Note that the car had only four years and 27k miles of a 10 year/100k warranty.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 kia optima. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked all of the automatic doors failed to unlock when engaged. The contact had to open the front driver's side power and manually unlock the door in order to exit the vehicle. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 67,500.