2010 Kia Optima problems
NHTSA has received 99 complaints about the 2010 Kia Optima, and 24% of them involve drivetrain & axles. Next are air bags (17%) and electrical system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 99 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 80 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 | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 27 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 15 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 80 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 70,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 73,000 miles (21 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2010 ranks 20th most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Kia Optima with enough data (61 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 was driving a rented 2010 kia optima. The consumer stated she stopped the vehicle while the gear was in drive, turned off the ignition and attempted to remove the key from the ignition, but it would not release. The gear shift had lock up and she was unable to move the gear into neutral or the park position. She stated the manual read to start car, the gear shift must be in the park position and the foot must be on the brake.
Tl*the contact owns a 2010 kia optima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, another vehicle unexpectedly crashed into the rear of the vehicle which caused it to travel over a concrete lane divider. The trunk space area was crushed up against the rear seats in the vehicle. The substantial impact did not cause the air bags to deploy. The driver suffered from severe whiplash and back pain. A police report was filed of the incident.
When slowing down, either with or without braking assistance, car jerks as the transmission does a hard downshift from 2nd to 1st gear when reaching 20 MPH. The force of the downshift is enough to jolt the driver.
Takata recall - hard downshift from 2nd to 1st, usually around the 20MPH mark! It's a sudden jerk as if it has been slammed into a a lower gear