2013 KIA OPTIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-21 1,424 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (493 complaints · 34.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 48
  • Fires 115
  • Injuries 37
  • Deaths 4
Compare with 2012 →
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 493 of 1,424 owner complaints (34.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 493 complaints, 34.6% of reports ENGINE 493 · 34.6% · 5 crash reports 71 fire reports STEERING: 195 complaints, 13.7% of reports STEERING 195 · 13.7% · 4 crash reports 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 88 complaints, 6.2% of reports STRUCTURE 88 · 6.2% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 87 complaints, 6.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 87 · 6.1% · 1 crash reports 9 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 86 complaints, 6.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 86 · 6.0% · 5 crash reports 9 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 58 complaints, 4.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 58 · 4.1% · 1 crash reports 4 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 45 complaints, 3.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 45 · 3.2% · 2 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 33 complaints, 2.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 33 · 2.3% AIR BAGS: 32 complaints, 2.3% of reports AIR BAGS 32 · 2.3% · 9 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 394 complaints, 27.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 394 · 27.7% · 7 crash reports 28 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 493 34.6% 5 crashes · 71 fires
STEERING 195 13.7% 4 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 88 6.2% 2 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 87 6.1% 1 crashes · 9 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 86 6.0% 5 crashes · 9 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 58 4.1% 1 crashes · 4 fires
POWER TRAIN 45 3.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 33 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 32 2.3% 9 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 394 27.7% 7 crashes · 28 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, none on file, and NHTSA Defect Investigations 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.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 2012. 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2013-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2013-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2013-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2014-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2014-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2015-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2015-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2015-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2016-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2016-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2016-Q4: 24 owner reports 24 2017-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2017-Q2: 32 owner reports 32 2017-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2017-Q4: 26 owner reports 26 2018-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2018-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2018-Q3: 31 owner reports 31 2018-Q4: 39 owner reports 39 2019-Q1: 52 owner reports 52 2019-Q2: 39 owner reports 39 2019-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2019-Q4: 45 owner reports 45 2020-Q1: 40 owner reports 40 2020-Q2: 38 owner reports 38 2020-Q3: 49 owner reports 49 2020-Q4: 35 owner reports 35 2021-Q1: 39 owner reports 39 2021-Q2: 39 owner reports 39 2021-Q3: 40 owner reports 40 2021-Q4: 32 owner reports 32 2022-Q1: 33 owner reports 33 2022-Q2: 39 owner reports 39 2022-Q3: 31 owner reports 31 2022-Q4: 25 owner reports 25 2023-Q1: 25 owner reports 25 2023-Q2: 33 owner reports 33 2023-Q3: 36 owner reports 36 2023-Q4: 45 owner reports 45 2024-Q1: 38 owner reports 38 2024-Q2: 53 owner reports 53 2024-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2024-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2025-Q1: 28 owner reports 28 2025-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2025-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2025-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2026-Q1: 24 owner reports 24 2026-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2026-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 Owner reports Jul 2012 Jul 2026 Investigation RQ17003 ● Investigation RQ17003 Investigation DP18003 ● Investigation DP18003 Investigation DP18003 ● Investigation DP18003 Investigation PE19004 ● Investigation PE19004 Investigation PE19004 ● Investigation PE19004 Investigation EA19001 ● Investigation EA19001 Investigation EA19001 ● Investigation EA19001 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
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 4
2013-Q1 Owner reports 7
2013-Q2 Owner reports 16
2013-Q3 Owner reports 8
2013-Q4 Owner reports 5
2014-Q1 Owner reports 14
2014-Q2 Owner reports 13
2014-Q3 Owner reports 8
2014-Q4 Owner reports 14
2015-Q1 Owner reports 18
2015-Q2 Owner reports 16
2015-Q3 Owner reports 12
2015-Q4 Owner reports 11
2016-Q1 Owner reports 10
2016-Q2 Owner reports 8
2016-Q3 Owner reports 15
2016-Q4 Owner reports 24
2017-Q1 Owner reports 11
2017-Q2 Owner reports 32
2017-Q3 Owner reports 27
2017-Q4 Owner reports 26
2018-Q1 Owner reports 13
2018-Q2 Owner reports 20
2018-Q3 Owner reports 31
2018-Q4 Owner reports 39
2019-Q1 Owner reports 52
2019-Q2 Owner reports 39
2019-Q3 Owner reports 38
2019-Q4 Owner reports 45
2020-Q1 Owner reports 40
2020-Q2 Owner reports 38
2020-Q3 Owner reports 49
2020-Q4 Owner reports 35
2021-Q1 Owner reports 39
2021-Q2 Owner reports 39
2021-Q3 Owner reports 40
2021-Q4 Owner reports 32
2022-Q1 Owner reports 33
2022-Q2 Owner reports 39
2022-Q3 Owner reports 31
2022-Q4 Owner reports 25
2023-Q1 Owner reports 25
2023-Q2 Owner reports 33
2023-Q3 Owner reports 36
2023-Q4 Owner reports 45
2024-Q1 Owner reports 38
2024-Q2 Owner reports 53
2024-Q3 Owner reports 27
2024-Q4 Owner reports 15
2025-Q1 Owner reports 28
2025-Q2 Owner reports 15
2025-Q3 Owner reports 25
2025-Q4 Owner reports 14
2026-Q1 Owner reports 24
2026-Q2 Owner reports 20
2026-Q3 Owner reports 9
Defect investigation 1 RQ17003
Defect investigation 1 DP18003
Defect investigation 1 DP18003
Defect investigation 1 PE19004
Defect investigation 1 PE19004
Defect investigation 1 EA19001
Defect investigation 1 EA19001
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

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 1,424 complaints · page 1 of 57

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