NHTSA lists 8 complaints for the 2018 Kia Optima Phev, 0 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-08.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as KIA OPTIMA PHEV.
At a glance
Complaints
8
With crash
0
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
319,436
Investigations
3
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
34
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
3
37.5%
ENGINE
3
37.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
25.0%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
1
12.5%
POWER TRAIN
1
12.5%
STEERING
1
12.5%
VISIBILITY/WIPER
1
12.5%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
12V/24V/48V BATTERY
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.
Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Rio, 2016-2018 Optima, 2017-2018 Optima Hybrid and Optima Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. The trunk latch base may crack, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."
Consequence: A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the trunk latch base subassembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC278.
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Optima Hybrid and Optima Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. The connecting rod bearings inside the engine may wear prematurely, which can result in engine damage.
Consequence: A damaged engine can increase the risk of a fire or it can cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the engine. If bearing damage is found, the engine will be replaced. Dealers will also install a software update containing a Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS). Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 29, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC218.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
3 investigations; 0 open.
DP22005
Opened: 2023-01-27. Closed: 2023-08-07.
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 ele
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 i
Systems: ENGINE.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
EA21003
Opened: 2021-12-22. Closed: 2024-02-05.
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.A During the PE investigations, Hyundai and Kia issued several recalls to address vehicle fires, inclu
Date: 2026-08-28. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VISIBILITY/WIPER.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PARTIAL REPAIR a ELECTRICAL A/C COMPRESSOR - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information regarding the partial repair of the A
11015973
Date: 2025-03-20. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: SERVICE ACTION: KIA CONNECT MODEM RESET (SA611) - This bulletin outlines the procedure for resetting the modem in certain 2016-2025MY Kia vehicles listed on page 3 that are equipped with Kia Connect Services. The affected vehicles may encounter the following issues: remot
11000787
Date: 2024-05-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.
This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced.
10242234
Date: 2023-09-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
SUBSEQUENT REPAIR ACTION: ENGINE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR DTC P1326 (SC218YZ) - This bulletin provides information related to the Technical Service Bulletin previously published (SC218) titled "Engine Inspection/Replacement and KSDS S/W Installation." Specifically, this bulletin provides
10238225
Date: 2023-06-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VISIBILITY.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PARTIAL REPAIR - ELECTRICAL A/C COMPRESSOR - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information regarding partial repair of the Air C
10230492
Date: 2023-01-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: SERVICE ACTION: BMS/OPU/MCU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SA411) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides the procedure to improve the logic of t
10220346
Date: 2022-09-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: MAINTENANCE REMINDER FEATURE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area.This bulletin provides information on setting the "Service Interval Reminder" feature ava
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: HIGH-VOLTAGE BATTERY ORDERING AND RETURN PROCEDURE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin outlines the ordering and return procedure for high-
10209455
Date: 2022-03-30. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
PITSTOP: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER REPLACEMENT AND MILEAGE SETTING WITH KDS - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This pitstop provides the KDS service procedure for mileage setting on the m
10202227
Date: 2021-10-06. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: REPLACEMENT OF MOBIS C-MDPS SMALL BEARING - This bulletin provides the procedure to replace the small bearing of the Column Motor Driven Power Steering (C-MDPS) unit on the vehicles listed below, which may exhibit an abnormal noise when steering left and right. This may b
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.