2009 Kia Optima problems
NHTSA has received 166 complaints about the 2009 Kia Optima, and 17% of them involve drivetrain & axles. Next are air bags (17%) and brakes (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 166 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 10
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 135 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 | 20 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 38 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 135 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 65,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 64,000 miles (27 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 10 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Kia Optima with enough data (107 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
Tl* the contact called on behalf of his deceased daughter who was driving a 2009 kia optima. The daughter was driving at an unknown speed and went into oncoming traffic, went down an embankment and crashed into a tree head on where the vehicle came to a stop. The exact events were uncertain. None of the air bags deployed. As a result, the daughter was transported to a hospital where she was pronounced deceased. The front passenger sustained a fractured femur and the rear passenger sustained unknown injuries.
Tl* the driver owns a 2009 kia optima. The contact stated that the driver was traveling approximately 30 MPH when another vehicle crashed into her. The driver's vehicle crashed into a building as a result and the air bags did not deploy. The driver was taken to a hospital via ambulance to treat neck injuries. The vehicle was towed home. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure and current mileages were 38,076.
The airbags did not deploy while the car was being driven at 65 mph on Interstate 275 S and crashed into a wall barrier. Since the airbags did not deploy, the driver's head was thrown around because the rest of his body was held firm by the seat belt. The driver was transported by ambulance to the hospital. After several tests, it was determined that the driver suffered a broken neck and spinal damage and must wear as an Aspen neck brace for 6 weeks and then be examined by a Neurosurgeon to determine if there is…
Driving at 70 MPH, engine died and car started smoking. Pulled to shoulder, front end of car caught fire. Fire department extinguished with foam. Car a total loss.
When braking at 25 miles per hour or less the vehicle has a very hard jerking motion. The way your vehicle jerks can make you overreact and it can cause a serious accident on the road. Noticed that I was not the only 1 having this issue with this vehicle. Went to 2 or 3 different transmission places . They all said the same thing that the vehicle needed some transmission work .