2011 KIA OPTIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 621 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (218 complaints · 35.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 25
  • Fires 34
  • Injuries 20
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2010 →
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 ENGINE appears in 218 of 621 owner complaints (35.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 218 complaints, 35.1% of reports ENGINE 218 · 35.1% · 3 crash reports 18 fire reports STEERING: 89 complaints, 14.3% of reports STEERING 89 · 14.3% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 85 complaints, 13.7% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 85 · 13.7% · 2 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 33 complaints, 5.3% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 33 · 5.3% · 3 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 30 complaints, 4.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 30 · 4.8% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 23 complaints, 3.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 23 · 3.7% AIR BAGS: 22 complaints, 3.5% of reports AIR BAGS 22 · 3.5% · 9 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 19 complaints, 3.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 19 · 3.1% · 5 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 15 complaints, 2.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 15 · 2.4% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 94 complaints, 15.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 94 · 15.1% · 2 crash reports 9 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)
ENGINE 218 35.1% 3 crashes · 18 fires
STEERING 89 14.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 85 13.7% 0 crashes · 2 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 33 5.3% 0 crashes · 3 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 30 4.8% 1 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 23 3.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 22 3.5% 9 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 19 3.1% 5 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 15 2.4% 1 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 94 15.1% 2 crashes · 9 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 Jan 2011. 2011-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2011-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2011-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2012-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2012-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2012-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2013-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2015-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2015-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2016-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2016-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2016-Q3: 24 owner reports 24 2016-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2017-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2017-Q2: 38 owner reports 38 2017-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2017-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2018-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2018-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2018-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2018-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2019-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2019-Q2: 22 owner reports 22 2019-Q3: 23 owner reports 23 2019-Q4: 19 owner reports 19 2020-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2020-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2020-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2020-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2021-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2021-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2021-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2021-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2023-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2024-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2024-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2024-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2024-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2026-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2026-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Jan 2011 Jul 2026 Investigation RQ17003 ● Investigation RQ17003 Investigation DP18003 ● Investigation DP18003 Investigation DP18003 ● Investigation DP18003 Investigation PE19004 ● Investigation PE19004 Investigation PE19004 ● Investigation PE19004 Investigation DP21003 ● Investigation DP21003 Investigation EA21003 ● Investigation EA21003 Investigation EA21003 ● Investigation EA21003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation AQ23002 ● Investigation AQ23002 Investigation AQ23002 ● Investigation AQ23002
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2011-Q1 Owner reports 7
2011-Q2 Owner reports 9
2011-Q3 Owner reports 5
2011-Q4 Owner reports 11
2012-Q1 Owner reports 8
2012-Q2 Owner reports 6
2012-Q3 Owner reports 5
2012-Q4 Owner reports 5
2013-Q1 Owner reports 4
2013-Q2 Owner reports 6
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 4
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 3
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 4
2015-Q1 Owner reports 4
2015-Q2 Owner reports 9
2015-Q3 Owner reports 11
2015-Q4 Owner reports 14
2016-Q1 Owner reports 17
2016-Q2 Owner reports 20
2016-Q3 Owner reports 24
2016-Q4 Owner reports 21
2017-Q1 Owner reports 9
2017-Q2 Owner reports 38
2017-Q3 Owner reports 23
2017-Q4 Owner reports 12
2018-Q1 Owner reports 11
2018-Q2 Owner reports 18
2018-Q3 Owner reports 25
2018-Q4 Owner reports 19
2019-Q1 Owner reports 21
2019-Q2 Owner reports 22
2019-Q3 Owner reports 23
2019-Q4 Owner reports 19
2020-Q1 Owner reports 14
2020-Q2 Owner reports 14
2020-Q3 Owner reports 16
2020-Q4 Owner reports 8
2021-Q1 Owner reports 11
2021-Q2 Owner reports 9
2021-Q3 Owner reports 9
2021-Q4 Owner reports 4
2022-Q1 Owner reports 4
2022-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q4 Owner reports 6
2023-Q1 Owner reports 4
2023-Q2 Owner reports 3
2023-Q3 Owner reports 3
2023-Q4 Owner reports 7
2024-Q1 Owner reports 18
2024-Q2 Owner reports 19
2024-Q3 Owner reports 6
2024-Q4 Owner reports 3
2025-Q1 Owner reports 3
2025-Q2 Owner reports 2
2025-Q3 Owner reports 2
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 3
2026-Q2 Owner reports 4
2026-Q3 Owner reports 2
Defect investigation 1 RQ17003
Defect investigation 1 DP18003
Defect investigation 1 DP18003
Defect investigation 1 PE19004
Defect investigation 1 PE19004
Defect investigation 1 DP21003
Defect investigation 1 EA21003
Defect investigation 1 EA21003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 AQ23002
Defect investigation 1 AQ23002
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 621 complaints · page 1 of 25

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 Aug 21, 2026
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