Vehicle Data Hub

2012 Kia Optima electrical system problems

Owners reported electrical system problems in 123 complaints for the 2012 Kia Optima, 10% of the complaints on file. It is the 3rd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
123 10% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
78,000 miles 74 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
4 and 18
Injuries and deaths
7 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Electrical system complaints by mileage, 2012 Kia Optima Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 78,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 13 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 4 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 11 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 11 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 12 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 10 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 5 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 3 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 3 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 2 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 78,000 miles
Based on 74 complaints that include mileage. 38% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles13
20k to 40k miles4
40k to 60k miles11
60k to 80k miles11
80k to 100k miles12
100k to 120k miles10
120k to 140k miles5
140k to 160k miles3
160k to 180k miles3
180k to 200k miles2
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 74 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 78,000 miles, and 38% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 4 crashes, 18 fires, 7 injuries.

What owners wrote

Brakes squick even after repair and replacement and has a slower response time then usual and caused a rear end accident, cooling and heated seats stopped working on the driver side which I met owners of my exact car said the same thing has happened to them, and the passenger seat controllers doesn't work to operate adjustable seats! The suspensions has been bad every since the recall on the engine; for some reason it was giving back to me with that problem from kia dealership.

Reported at 120,000 miles, February 2017 CrashInjury

I was parked in the parking lot at a grocery and folded my side view mirrors up and back down and now the motor in the passenger side view mirror will not stop running. The motor runs day and night and the mirror no longer folds like it's supposed to. I see that I am not the only one that has had the issue with the side view mirrors

Reported at 151,300 miles, February 2021

Other problems reported for the 2012 Kia Optima

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Kia models