The KIA Optima does have the ability to surprise, in a good way
My tensioner pulley started squeaking at 40,000.
I love my Optima, it gets great mileage, has plenty of get up and is decent in the snow. The parts are cheap and the warranty is good. It handles very well.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 17th June, 2009
Complete and utter garbage
Transmission constantly gets stuck in 3rd gear (it was fixed 3 times).
Airbag light and check engine light keeps going on (they were both supposedly fixed too).
Hose that carries coolant to engine needed replacing at 60k miles.
I have owned 3 Hyundai's and loved them all. They lasted a lot of miles with no problems. I also have a Saturn that I love, but that's a different story. So when it was time for a new car back in '05, I wanted a Hyundai because I have always had good luck with them, but wanted something a little different too. So I chose a Kia Optima because it is owned by Hyundai, and I figured the quality would be about the same. Boy was I wrong. The car was only a couple months old and had 20,000 miles on it, but it was half the price of a new one. I fell in love with it and bought it.
I keep having the same problems with it and the dealer keeps fixing it, only to have the same problem come back. The stupid car would get stuck in 3rd gear and would stay that way for days. At a red light, it is very hard to take off in third gear, and on the highway you are almost redlining. Even trying to shift the plus /minus semi automatic thing wouldn't get it out of third. When I took it to the dealer, they fixed it under warranty and said it was a computer chip. A few months later same thing, same "fix" The third time it happened they said it needed a tune up. The tuneup they did did not fix it. By this time the car was over 60k miles and the warranty was up. So when I took it to get the timing belt changed, they fixed the stuck transmission (for $60) and so far it works. Which means they knew they were never fixing it in the first place, but when I was forced to pay, then they said OK let's fix it.
Another problem is the airbag light. It comes on while the car is under warranty. They "fix" the chip, it goes off for a month then its on again. They "fix" it again, goes off for a couple months then is back on. Now the warranty is up and the airbag light is still on.
Check engine light too.
At 60k miles the high pressure coolant hose went. I had to have the dealer fix it for $300 because Kia does not allow that hose to be sold in auto parts stores, so I couldn't do it myself.
I will never own another one.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 10th May, 2009
Okay
Check engine light won't go off and stay off.
I have put the car in the dealership service department 3 times. Every time the dealer gives me a different reason for why the light is on.
They address the issue each time, the light goes off and on the drive home or within the next two days, the light comes back on.
The paint on the front bumper is peeling off excessively. It's as if the paint used on the bumper does not stick to the material the bumper is made of.
I would POSSIBLY buy another Kia Optima.
Other than the check engine light and the paint peeling... I love this little car.
I feel that it is good value.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 9th November, 2007
21st Nov 2010, 11:00
No coolant hose is under high pressure, all coolant systems have a maximum pressure of 15 psi, so they are very low pressure. Not sure which hose, but you can find one at a wrecking yard for around $5, and ebay direct from Korea at far less. Your problem is a ripoff dealer. Find an honest independent mechanic.