2016 KIA OPTIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 748 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (309 complaints · 41.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 26
  • Fires 20
  • Injuries 21
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2015 →
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 309 of 748 owner complaints (41.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 309 complaints, 41.3% of reports ENGINE 309 · 41.3% · 2 crash reports 7 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 58 complaints, 7.8% of reports POWER TRAIN 58 · 7.8% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 43 complaints, 5.8% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 43 · 5.8% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 39 complaints, 5.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 39 · 5.2% · 2 crash reports 2 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 38 complaints, 5.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 38 · 5.1% · 3 fire reports VISIBILITY: 32 complaints, 4.3% of reports VISIBILITY 32 · 4.3% STRUCTURE: 29 complaints, 3.9% of reports STRUCTURE 29 · 3.9% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 20 complaints, 2.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 20 · 2.7% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports STEERING: 19 complaints, 2.5% of reports STEERING 19 · 2.5% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 202 complaints, 27.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 202 · 27.0% · 9 crash reports 6 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 309 41.3% 2 crashes · 7 fires
POWER TRAIN 58 7.8% 1 crashes · 1 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 43 5.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 39 5.2% 2 crashes · 2 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 38 5.1% 0 crashes · 3 fires
VISIBILITY 32 4.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 29 3.9% 1 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 20 2.7% 1 crashes · 1 fires
STEERING 19 2.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 202 27.0% 9 crashes · 6 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 2016. 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2017-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2018-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2019-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2019-Q3: 24 owner reports 24 2019-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2020-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2020-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2020-Q3: 21 owner reports 21 2020-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2021-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2021-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2021-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2021-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2022-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2022-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2022-Q3: 42 owner reports 42 2022-Q4: 33 owner reports 33 2023-Q1: 33 owner reports 33 2023-Q2: 38 owner reports 38 2023-Q3: 48 owner reports 48 2023-Q4: 40 owner reports 40 2024-Q1: 35 owner reports 35 2024-Q2: 29 owner reports 29 2024-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2024-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2025-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2025-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2025-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2025-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2026-Q1: 16 owner reports 16 2026-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2026-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 Owner reports Jan 2016 Jul 2026 Investigation EA19001 ● Investigation EA19001 Investigation EA19001 ● Investigation EA19001 Investigation DP21003 ● Investigation DP21003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 5
2017-Q2 Owner reports 3
2017-Q3 Owner reports 7
2017-Q4 Owner reports 5
2018-Q1 Owner reports 9
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 7
2018-Q4 Owner reports 11
2019-Q1 Owner reports 7
2019-Q2 Owner reports 20
2019-Q3 Owner reports 24
2019-Q4 Owner reports 14
2020-Q1 Owner reports 12
2020-Q2 Owner reports 10
2020-Q3 Owner reports 21
2020-Q4 Owner reports 16
2021-Q1 Owner reports 15
2021-Q2 Owner reports 11
2021-Q3 Owner reports 27
2021-Q4 Owner reports 14
2022-Q1 Owner reports 17
2022-Q2 Owner reports 16
2022-Q3 Owner reports 42
2022-Q4 Owner reports 33
2023-Q1 Owner reports 33
2023-Q2 Owner reports 38
2023-Q3 Owner reports 48
2023-Q4 Owner reports 40
2024-Q1 Owner reports 35
2024-Q2 Owner reports 29
2024-Q3 Owner reports 38
2024-Q4 Owner reports 18
2025-Q1 Owner reports 20
2025-Q2 Owner reports 19
2025-Q3 Owner reports 22
2025-Q4 Owner reports 15
2026-Q1 Owner reports 16
2026-Q2 Owner reports 19
2026-Q3 Owner reports 6
Defect investigation 1 EA19001
Defect investigation 1 EA19001
Defect investigation 1 DP21003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
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 748 complaints · page 1 of 30

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