2012 Kia Optima Hybrid: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 151 complaints
151
Total Complaints
87,000mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE
Top Issue
12
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

60,000 25th Percentile
87,000 Median Mileage
107,594 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE
72
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
17
POWER TRAIN
10
STEERING
9
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
7
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
5
SERVICE BRAKES
5
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
5
AIR BAGS
4
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
3

Severity Assessment

12
Crashes
7
Fires
6
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR, AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE DRIFTS LEFT AND RIGHT CONSTANTLY AND YOU HAVE TO USE TWO HANDS ON STEERING WHEEL JUST TO KEEP THE VEHICLE STRAIGHT AND FROM PULLING LEFT OR RIGHT. LESS NOTICEABLE IN CITY DRIVING BUT STILL DRIFTS. BROUGHT IT TWICE TO THE DEALER AND TECH DROVE ..."
"SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR, AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE DRIFTS LEFT AND RIGHT CONSTANTLY AND YOU HAVE TO USE TWO HANDS ON STEERING WHEEL JUST TO KEEP THE VEHICLE STRAIGHT AND FROM PULLING LEFT OR RIGHT. LESS NOTICEABLE IN CITY DRIVING BUT STILL DRIFTS. BROUGHT IT TWICE TO THE DEALER AND TECH DROVE ..."
"I HAVE HAD 2 ISSUES: MY UVO SYSTEM HAS MALFUNCTIONED MULTIPLE TIMES AND MY SYSTEM IS GOING TO BE REPLACED AGAIN TODAY. I HAVE HAD BRAKE ISSUES, MY MASTER CYLINDER WAS REPLACED AND ITS GOING BACK IN TODAY FOR BRAKES. NOW MY CAR IS PULLING TO THE LEFT! I HAVE 25,000 MILES ON THIS CAR! *TR"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE 72 complaints
25th: 76,000 mi Median: 95,000 mi 75th: 114,000 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 complaints
25th: 66,000 mi Median: 98,750 mi 75th: 115,000 mi
POWER TRAIN 10 complaints
25th: 32,000 mi Median: 86,000 mi 75th: 99,500 mi
STEERING 9 complaints
25th: 42,997 mi Median: 72,000 mi 75th: 88,750 mi
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 complaints
25th: 43,543 mi Median: 80,000 mi 75th: 113,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 30 FL: 18 TX: 12 GA: 10 NC: 10 SC: 8 VA: 6 AZ: 6 MD: 5 NJ: 4

Who Files Complaints?

1.3%
Original Owners
98.7%
Second+ Owners

Kia Optima Hybrid — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
2011472
2013803
20145112
2017372

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28