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What 578 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Kia Optima

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)

1 of 578 complaints match · Steering · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Feb 12, 2021SteeringBrakesEngineCrash1 injury

I LEFT THE DEALER LOT AT CLOSING TIME 2/5/2021 THE TRACTION LIGHT AND BRAKE LIGHTS WARNINGS WERE ON THE ABS LIGHT THE CAR BRAKES SKIDDED UPON APPLYING BRAKES DRIVING AT A SLOW SPEED THE CAR SHOOK WHILE APPLYING BRAKES AND IT FELT AS THOUGH THE ENTIRE MOTOR WAS GOING TO FALL OUT . LATER MY 17 YEAR OLD WHOM HAS DRIVEN FOR 2 YEARS WAS DRIVING A FEW MILES FROM HOME SHE SAID THE STEERING WENT OUT THE BRAKES WENT OUT SHE SKID ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD DID NOT HIT ANYTHING YET THE ENTIRE ENGINE AND ENTIRE FRONT END OF THE CAR CAME APART THE FRAME AND ALL . SHE COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN KILLED I WOULD LIKE THIS INVESTIGATED THOROUGHLY. I TOLD HER TO DRIVE SLOW AND SHE WAS ONLY GOING AROUND THE CORNER I HAD PLANNED TO TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER THE FOLLOWING MONDAY BJUT WAS TOTALLED BEFORE I DID. SHE REPORTED GOING 45 MPH ON A ROAD WHEN I HAD THE ISSUES I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 35 TO 45 ON A REGULAR ROAD DID NOT DRIVE IT ON AN INTERSTATE YET DUE TO THE UNEASY WAYS IT WAS HANDELING AND I HAVE NEVER HAD A WRECK IN ALL MY YEARS OF DRIVING AND 1 AND A HALF HOUR DRIVE EACH WAY TO WORK FOR 40 YEARS . THE CAR ALSO FELT AS THOUGH IT WAS ACCELERATING ON ITS OWN ALSO'

NHTSA ODI 11396011

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 verdict →