AutoUtility currently tracks 303 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2017 Kia Optima. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 176 complaints (58.1% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 6 filings cite a crash, 12 cite a fire, 3 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 303 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (176 reports • 58.1% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (38), Fuel & Propulsion System (28)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 6 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 12 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 3 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2017 Kia Optima
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Engine & Cooling
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #21V844000 ENGINE
Electrical System
Fuel & Propulsion System
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #18V907000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
- Campaign #18V161000 HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM
Powertrain & Transmission
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Kia Optima
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Engine Coolant Intrusion / Oil Leak
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2017 Kia Optima
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"While driving at highway speed, my engine began to produce a loud knocking noise without prior warning. Within few seconds, the engine seized completely causing sudden loss of motive power.This caused a dangerous situation— loss of power steering and barking at highway speed, leaving me stranded in..."
"Loosing oil putting oil in every 3 to 4 days no leaks on ground or oil pan or drain plug.oil don't smell or looks burnt happened around did 2 oil changes in a week still the same. Car will sputer hesitation on acceleration every so often have all updateds and recalls."
"I am requesting urgent assistance regarding my 2017 Kia Optima EX, which is experiencing a serious oil consumption/burning issue. The vehicle is burning oil into the engine, causing the oil level to continually decrease and creating a significant concern for engine failure, overheating, or a..."
"Since 4/1 my car has intermittently lost power steering. I received dashboard warning lights and the wheel was difficult to turn. When I shutoff the car and turned back on, the warning lights were gone and the steering returned. My mechanic did a diagnostic and found the following codes c1259,..."
"I just bought this car and it runs thru oil fast."
Complaint History for Kia Optima
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2020)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Kia Optima | 1019 | 31 | 4 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Kia Optima | 758 | 27 | 5 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Kia Optima Current Page | 303 | 6 | 4 | Current |
| 2018 Kia Optima | 242 | 10 | 3 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Kia Optima | 205 | 20 | 1 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Kia Optima | 143 | 6 | 0 | View 2020 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2017 Kia Optima
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 71 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 120 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,VISIBILITY/WIPER,HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FIRERELATED | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEAT BELTS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (4)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight ra...
Loss of Motive Power
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles spanning Model Years (MY) 2005-2021. The Petitioners cited examples of complaints indicating that the subject vehicles were experienc...
Engine Fires
On March 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened two Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year Hyundai and Kia vehicles. During the PE investigations, Hyundai and Kia issued several recalls to address vehicle fires, including those due to engine failures involving variou...
Electrical overstress
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect. During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (AC...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.