2002 KIA OPTIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 106 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: STRUCTURE (19 complaints · 17.9%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 14
  • Fires 4
  • Injuries 10
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2001 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STRUCTURE appears in 19 of 106 owner complaints (17.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. STRUCTURE: 19 complaints, 17.9% of reports STRUCTURE 19 · 17.9% · 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 16 complaints, 15.1% of reports AIR BAGS 16 · 15.1% · 9 crash reports SUSPENSION: 13 complaints, 12.3% of reports SUSPENSION 13 · 12.3% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 11 complaints, 10.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 · 10.4% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 8 complaints, 7.6% of reports ENGINE 8 · 7.6% SERVICE BRAKES: 7 complaints, 6.6% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 7 · 6.6% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 3.8% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 3.8% POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 2.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 2.8% STEERING: 3 complaints, 2.8% of reports STEERING 3 · 2.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 57 complaints, 53.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 57 · 53.8% · 6 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STRUCTURE 19 17.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 16 15.1% 9 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 13 12.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 10.4% 1 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 8 7.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 7 6.6% 2 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 3.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 3 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 57 53.8% 6 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2002; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 2003. 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2002 Oct 2025 Recall campaign 03V067000 ◆ Recall campaign 03V067000 Recall campaign 04V180000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V180000 Recall campaign 09V183000 ◆ Recall campaign 09V183000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 3
2004-Q2 Owner reports 6
2004-Q3 Owner reports 3
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 5
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 5
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 3
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 3
2009-Q2 Owner reports 2
2009-Q3 Owner reports 3
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 2
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q1 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 2
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 2
2013-Q1 Owner reports 3
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q2 Owner reports 3
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 4
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 03V067000
Recall campaign 1 04V180000
Recall campaign 1 09V183000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 03V067000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    INTERNAL GAPS WITHIN THE CASES ALLOWED EPOXY TO CONTACT THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD, WHICH RESULTED IN CRACKING OF THE CIRCUIT BOARD CAPACITOR. A DAMAGED CKP CAPACITOR COULD RESULT IN ENGINE STALLING.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CKP. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN MARCH 28, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT KIA AT 1-800-333-4542.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V180000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL SPILLAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL AN ADDITIONAL FUEL TANK ASSEMBLY VALVE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JUNE 25, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT KIA AT 1-800-333-4542.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09V183000

    Report date
    Component:
    SUSPENSION
    Consequence:
    CORROSION OF THE FRONT SUBFRAME COULD LEAD TO SEPARATION, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    KMC WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE VEHICLES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 15, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT KIA'S CONSUMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-333-4542.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 106 complaints · page 1 of 5

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources