2014 Kia Optima problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (212) · Steering (83) · Structure:body (32)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Optima model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
334 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (7)
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/Module 2023-09-25 · campaign 23V652000 · 1,730,192 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento, and 2010-2011 Rondo vehicles. The Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may experience an electrical short, which can result in an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.
Risk: An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the HECU fuse, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed November 14, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2024 through June 18, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC284.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings 2022-02-17 · campaign 22V093000 · 72,848 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Optima vehicles that were previously repaired under NHTSA recall number 20V-100. The low pressure fuel hose may be damaged, or missing heat-protective tape, which can result in a fuel leak.
Risk: A fuel leak can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the low pressure fuel hose, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 2, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-33-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC228.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/Module 2021-05-10 · campaign 21V331000 · 440,370 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Optima and 2014-2015 Sorento vehicles previously recalled under recall 20V-519. Brake fluid may leak inside the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU), possibly resulting in an electrical short.
Risk: An electrical short in the HECU increases the risk of a fire while parked or driving.
Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair is completed. Dealers will install a new multi-fuse, and inspect the HECU for leaks, replacing the HECU if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 2, 2021. This recall supersedes previous NHTSA recall number 20V-519. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC212.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/Module 2020-08-27 · campaign 20V519000 · 440,370 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Optima and 2014-2015 Sorento vehicles. Brake fluid may leak inside the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU), possibly resulting in an electrical short.
Risk: If the HECU short circuits, there is an increased risk of an engine compartment fire.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the HECU for leaking brake fluid and replace the HECU if necessary, free of charge. Owners are advised to park outside and away from other vehicles and structures until the recall repair is completed. The recall began October 20, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC197.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings 2020-02-21 · campaign 20V100000 · 141,774 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2013-2014 Optima vehicles equipped with 2.4L Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) or 2.0L GDI Turbo engines. The low pressure fuel hose may deteriorate and crack over time due to heat generated within the engine compartment.
Risk: If the fuel hose cracks, a fuel leak can occur, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Kia will notify Owners, and Dealers will inspect the low pressure fuel hose for damage or leaking, replacing it as necessary. If no damage or leaking is found, a heat-protective tape will be installed. Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began June 12, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC187.
Engine 2018-12-19 · campaign 18V907000 · 71,653 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Optima, 2012-2017 Sorento and 2011-2018 Sportage vehicles that previously received an engine replacement under recall number 17V-224, warranty, or the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) Product Improvement Campaign. The high pressure fuel pipe that connects to the fuel pump outlet may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, possibly causing a fuel leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Kia has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pipe, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC172.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine 2017-03-31 · campaign 17V224000 · 618,160 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motor Company (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2014 Optima, 2012-2014 Sorento and 2011-2013 Sportage vehicles. Machining errors during the engine manufacturing process may cause premature bearing wear within the engine.
Risk: Bearing wear may result in the engine seizing, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine assembly, and replace the engine if necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 20, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC147.
Service bulletins (268)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-06-08 · CS2312_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin prov
Structure:body 2026-02-19 · TSB_CS2312_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin prov
Structure:body 2025-12-18 · TSB_CS2312 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin provides information to install a theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector on certain 2010-2022my kia vehicles outlined on page 19, which may not have bee
Structure:body 2025-12-17 · CS2312_OWNR · Other
customer satisfaction campaign: owner notification (cs2312) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is conducting customer satisfaction campaign. a software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method has been made available to owners of eligible kia model vehicles free
Back Over Prevention: Warnings 2025-12-09 · PS797 · Other
pitstop: technical operations: external damage to ultrasonic sensor: this pitstop provides information related to parking distance warning (pdw) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. the pdw system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal
Power Train 2025-04-17 · TSB_TRA046_R5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: transmission fluid application guide - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid ty
Showing the 6 most recent of 268 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-23 · Steering“1. component or system that failed/malfunctioned & availability for inspection: the motor driven power steering (mdps) system and the steering column assembly have failed. the vehicle and the defective steering column are fully available for inspection upon request. 2. how safety was put at risk: a known, dealer-diagnosed defective steering column…”
2026-10-15 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 145,848 mi“the contact's daughter owns a 2014 kia optima. the contact stated that while driving at 45 mph, the engine stalled and shut off. the vehicle coasted to the shoulder of the road. the contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the engine failed to restart. the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with an engine fail…”
2026-10-05 · Steering · 153,000 mi“the contact owns a 2014 kia optima. the contact’s son stated that while driving 30 mph, the steering wheel became inoperable. the contact stated that the steering wheel seized, and significant effort was required to control or turn the steering wheel. the contact’s son also became aware of an electrical burning odor during the failure. the manufact…”
2026-10-05 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic“the contact owns a 2014 kia optima. the contact stated that after leaving the vehicle parked for approximately 4 hours, the contact returned to the vehicle and the engine running even though the vehicle was turned off. while driving approximately 30 mph, the traction control light, abs, and the parking brake light were illuminated. the contact stop…”
2026-10-05 · Unknown Or Other · 🔥 fire“i was driving normally on i-76 when suddenly, i couldn’t feel the gas working. everything was fine with the car until then, but all of a sudden, i saw all the lights on the dashboard. i could slowly smell the smell of flames, and later, it caught fire! i was terrified for my life, and seeing that happen to my first car, which i had only had for thr…”
2026-09-28 · Steering“steering effort loss. can’t drive vehicle as steering wheel is hard to move. eps and traction light came on. could cause accident as i was driving and with no warning could not make turns unless using excessive force.…”
2026-09-15 · Engine · 40,000 mi“the contact owns a 2014 kia optima. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. the contact stated that a quart of oil was added every 600 miles. the contact stated that the dealer had replaced the engine with a rebuilt engine under an unknown recall seven years prior. the dea…”
2026-09-15 · Fuel/Propulsion System“my vehicles low-pressure fuel feed tube disconnected from the engine and sprayed fuel over the top. the vehicle was running and the engine was hot but luckily there was no fire and no was injured, but if this had happened any sooner it could have been much worse. there is currently a recall for this part on my exact model car and year, but my vin d…”
2026-08-30 · Unknown Or Other · 💥 crash · 🔥 fire“i owe a lady made a complete stop in front of me and i hit her. i wasn’t traveling close behind her. her car was not damaged at all, but my kia was totaled from the front. they had to cut the car off because it was smoking like it was gonna catch a fire. i’ve been had this sign on my car the steering wheel with an! it says that the car is hot befor…”
2026-08-28 · Engine“the component was the engine. the engine has since been replaced. the safety of myself or others was not in immediate danger before the engine seized. luckily my mechanics employee was test driving for other issues at the time. my mechanic said it was likely due to the recalls that have been issued from kia. unfortunately the engine was seized so …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.