| Issue ID | 1713514 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 11385158 |
| Manufacurer | Kia Motors America |
| Brand | KIA |
| Model | OPTIMA |
| Model Year | 2016 |
| File date | 23/12/20 |
| Component | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | Mid september, 2020, i began to notice that my headlights would turn off as i was driving. They would cut off for no more than 15 seconds and turn back on. I didn't think anything of it, until i started having issues with other components of my 2016 kia optima. On 11/30/2020 i was driving at 30mph through a residential area. As i was approaching a stop sign, my engine light came on. When i tried to accelerate, the car began to jump and hesitate. No matter how far down i pushed the gas, the care was jumping/shaking and wold not accelerate over 20mph. I pulled into an autozone where they ran a diagnostic test on the vehicle. Error code p1326 (knock sensor) came up. The next morning, i called coastal kia of wilmington in north carolina and explained to them what had happened. They sent an employee to pick up my vehicle (12/01/2020). They inspected my vehicle and informed me that the protocol was to perform a bearing clearance test and ecu upgrade. I picked up my car on 12/02/2020. A week later, i called the dealership again and informed them that although my engine light had not come back on, the acceleration issue was still occurring. I asked if they would look at the car again, to which they said no, that they cannot take a further look at it until the engine light came back on. On 12/20/2020 i was driving 40mph when my car began to stutter uncontrollably. The following morning i called kia again to inform them what had happened, and they agreed to take a look at it. On 12/22/2020 they called me and said that my car was burning oil and smoking excessively. They opened a tech case with kia and informed me that they could not do anything to the car until they heard back from them. On 12/23/2020 they called me again to tell me that the issue was not covered under a recall, and that my next step would be to replace my engine. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 103000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | HAMPSTEAD, NC |
| VIN pattern | 5XXGT4L37GGXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 45 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |