What 34 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid

TAKATA RECALL--I WAS INVOLVED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WITH MY 2011 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID. AS THE IMPACT WAS PRETTY HARD, THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. MY DAUGHTER WAS JERKED FORWARD AND HIT HER FACE ON THE DASHBOARD.

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WHILE DRIVING (IN FORWARD MOTION), WITHOUT ANY PRESSURE BEING APPLIED TO EITHER THE BRAKE OR PARKING BRAKE, THE VEHICLE BEGINS TO SLOW ITSELF RAPIDLY; AN AUDIBLE RUMBLE CAN BE HEARD AND THE VEHICLE BEGINS TO VIBRATE SLIGHTLY; A YELLOW TRIANGLE WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT AND THE WORDS 'CHECK BRAKE' APPEARS IN THE DRIVER'S DIGITAL DISPLAY; ATTEMPTS TO ACCELERATE INCREASES THE RPMS BUT THE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO SLOW RAPIDLY - NOT IDLE AS IF IT WERE NOT IN GEAR, BUT JUST AS IF THE DRIVER WAS BREAKING SUDDENLY. THE ONLY KNOWN METHOD OF CORRECTING THIS IS TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTART IT. WHEN THE VEHICLE RESTARTS YOU CAN FEEL THE BRAKE PEDAL RELEASE. THIS HAS OCCURRED RANDOMLY AT LEAST TEN TIMES IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS, AT SPEEDS RANGING FROM 25 MPH ON NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS TO 70 MPH ON BUSY FREEWAYS. I SINCERELY FEAR THAT IF NOT CORRECTED IT WILL LEAD TO A (POTENTIALLY FATAL) VEHICLE COLLISION. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A NEAR-BY KIA DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT ON 21 JULY 2016 BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE OR DUPLICATE THE MALFUNCTION. *TR

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WHILE TRAVELLING AT APPROXIMATELY 50 - 55 MPH ON A HIGHWAY A DEER HAD RAN ACROSS THE ROAD, IN ORDER TO AVOID A COLLISION HEAD ON WITH THE DEER I TOOK AN EVASIVE MANEUVER AND UNFORTUNATELY COLLIDED WITH THE GUARDRAIL ON THE DRIVERS SIDE AT APPROXIMATELY 40 - 50 MPH. IMPACTING THE ENTIRE DRIVERS SIDE OF MY VEHICLE. HOWEVER, NO AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT OCCURRED WITH SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAGS AND VEHICLE IS NOW CONSIDERED A TOTAL LOSS FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES DUE TO DAMAGE AND AS WELL AS A POSSIBLE AIRBAG SYSTEM MALFUNCTION IN THE VEHICLE.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A COMPLETE STOP, THE VEHICLE HESITATED AND SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. THE DEALER COULD NOT DIAGNOSE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED AT VARIOUS LOW SPEEDS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 21. UPDATED 8/11/14*CN

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FRONT DRIVER SEAT FEELS LIKE IT ROTATES/SLIDES UPPER RT CORNER ABOUT 3 INCHES FROM THE SIDE. THEN LOWER LT SIDE ABOUT THE SAME 3 INCHES FROM SIDE. 3 MONTHS FIGHTING KIA FOR WHAT I THINK IS A SAFETY REPAIR. STILL HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. I TEST DROVE ANOTHER HYBRID 5K LESS MILES, THAT DID NOT HAVE THE ISSUE. THE SECOND ISSUE IS THERE IS A DEAD ZONE THAT IS RANDOM TO REPRODUCE FOR THE DEALER IS TOUGH. IT OCCURS WHEN STOPPED, HIGHWAY SPEED, ETC. WHERE YOU PRESS THE PETAL AND NOTHING HAPPENS FOR ABOUT 4 SECONDS. THEN YOU HAVE FULL POWER BY THEN IT IS TOO LATE. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THIS CAN OCCUR IT PLACE YOU IN A TOUGH DRIVING SPOT. *TR

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WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A DEAD STOP, THE CAR HESITATED AND STOPPED UNTIL IT APPEARED TO SHIFT FROM ELECTRIC TO GAS POWER. I THOUGHT AT THE TIME THAT IT MAY HAVE BEEN A FREAK THING BUT THIS HESITATION HAS RECURRED A FEW TIMES SINCE THEN. *TR

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I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT ROUGHLY 60-70MPH WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY BEGAN DECELERATING AND NOT RESPONDING WHEN THE ACCELERATION WAS PRESSED. THIS HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES SINCE I HAVE BEEN ON THE ROADS. KIA IS UNABLE TO FIND ERROR CODES OR DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE EVEN AFTER PROVIDING THEM WITH VIDEO EVIDENCE.THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE "COMPUTER GLITCHES" BUT THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST SEVERE. *TR

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MY VEHICLE DON'T START EVERY TIME I TRIED TO START IT THE ELECTRICAL SIT MOVES BACK AND FORWARD, I HAVE TO TOWED MY CAR TO THE DEALER FOR THE THIRD TIME, I AM GETTING SO FRUSTRATED THAT A NEW CAR HAS TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER BECAUSE SOMETHING ITS WRONG, NEXT MONTH I WILL BE OUT OF WARRANTY AND THEN WHAT I GOING TO DO? PLEASE SOME ONE NEED TO CHECK THE PROBLEMS WITH THIS NEW VEHICLE ITS A NIGHTMARE FOR THE CITIZENS. I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO PAY FOR 4 YEARS A CAR THE I CANT EVEN RELIABLE ON, I AM A BUSY MOTHER OF 3 CHILDREN AND THIS PROBLEM IT'S CAUSING ME STRESS AND ANXIETY. I PAY MONTHLY $600.00 DOLLARS FOR A "NEW CAR" SO I DON'T HAVE TO STRUGGLE FOR MECHANICAL PROBLEMS LIKE WITH AN (OLD CAR) BUT INSTEAD THREE TIMES I HAD THE THIS PROBLEM WITH MY 2011 OPTIMA KIA. PLEASE HELP ME AND HELP ME GOD. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##

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WHEN APPLYING GAS PEDAL TO PULL AWAY FROM A DEAD STOP--SUCH AS A STOP SIGN OR RED LIGHT---CAR STUMBLES AND HESITATES. AT TIMES CAR WILL NOT EVEN RESPOND WHEN GAS PEDAL IS PUSHED. PUSH THE GAS PEDAL AND NOTHING HAPPENS--THEN YOU PUSH PEDAL A BIT MORE AND IT JERKS AND SHOOTS FORWARD. NOT A COMFORTABLE SITUATION WHEN TRYING TO PULL INTO TRAFFIC FROM A INTERSECTION. HAPPENS VIRTUALLY EVERY TIME. COLD OR WARMED UP--SAME PROBLEM--EXCEPT A LOT WORSE AT COLD START. ONCE ABOVE 30 MPG THINGS SMOOTH OUT--BUT THE BIG DANGER IS TRYING TO PULL OUT INTO TRAFFIC. I HAVE BEEN TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES. THEY DO A RE-FLASH OR WHATEVER--THEN TELL ME IT DRIVES NORMAL. NO FAULT WITH THE DEALER AT ALL--THEY HAVE BEEN EXCELLENT REALLY--BUT--CAN'T FIX THE HESITATION.BUT DRIVING NORMAL--THAT'S NOT TRUE. THEY KNOW THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS HYBRID SYSTEM--THERE IS A WEB PAGE THAT ADDRESSES THIS PROBLEM---EVERYONE HAS THE SAME PROBLEM. I CAN'T EVEN ALLOW A FRIEND OR ONE OF MY KIDS DRIVE THIS CAR.IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW THE CARS GOING TO REACT---YOUR OPEN TO A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I HAVE HAD A CAMRY HYBRID AND TWO PRIUS HYBRIDS--NO PROBLEMS. I KNOW HOW A HYBRID CAR SHOULD DRIVE. THIS CAR IS UNSAFE FOR THE DRIVER AND OTHER MORTORISTS ON THE ROAD. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

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