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What 578 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Kia Optima Phev

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (578)Crash / fire / injury (60)Engine (278)Steering (94)Electrical system (59)Body & structure (48)Fuel system (47)Brakes (41)Speed control (21)Transmission & drivetrain (20)Lights (18)Airbags (15)

278 of 578 complaints match · Engine · clear filters · page 12 of 12

Apr 25, 2014Engine

PURCHASED MY NEW OPTIMA ON 4/14/2014 (MONDAY) AND LATER THAT SAME WEEK AND FIRST OF THE FOLLOWING WEEK HEARD A NOISE BEST DESCRIBED AS A DIESEL ENGINE IDLE SOUND AT STARTUP. TOOK IT INTO MY DEALERSHIP ON 4/24/2014 TO FIND OUT IT WAS IN NEED OF A NEW ENGINE. AFTER LOOKING ON A FORUM FOR THESE CARS, THIS SITE AND OTHERS, THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE TURBO MODEL OF THIS CAR AND YEAR. I BELIEVE THAT KIA NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE DUE TO IT'S SEVERITY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10584923

Feb 2, 2014Engine

I HAD MY CAR KID OPTIMA 2014 2 WEEKS (800 MILES ON MY NEW ).THE ENGINE WAS MAKING A KNOCKING NOISES TOOK IT BACK TO DEALERSHIP IT WAS THE PISTON NOT WORKING FULLY THEY SAID I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE ENGINE REPLACED .I DON'T WANT THE CAR ! I'M NOT HAPPY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10562581

Jan 15, 2014Engine

MY KIA OPTIMA 2014 STARTED A NOISE NEAR THE ENGINE THAT SOUNDS LIKE A CLAPPING NOISE. THE FIRST KIA DEALER I TOOK IT TO SAID THAT IT IS NOT TO WORRY AND IS PART OF THE KIA ENGINEERING DESIGN. THE SECOND KIA DEALER I TOOK IT TO SAID THAT THE NOISE IS BAD NEWS AND AFTER FURTHER DIAGNOSTICS, THEY DETERMINED THAT THE ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. JUST 5,000 MILES INTO THE LIFE OF MY BRAND NEW KIA OPTIMA 2014. I WANT PEOPLE TO BE AWARE THAT IF YOU HEAR A CLAPPING NOISE NEAR THE TOP OF THE ENGINE THAN PLEASE TAKE IT INTO A KIA DEALER IMMEDIATELY WHILE IT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. IT IS NOT CURRENTLY A KIA RECALL BUT I FEEL IT SHOULD BE SINCE THIS CAN LEAD TO REPLACING THE ENTIRE ENGINE. THANK YOU. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10560127

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Working with the data? Download all 578 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2014 Kia Optima Phev verdict →