KnownCarProblems2004 Kia Optima Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 225 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Kia Optima, most often about the doors and locks (36% of complaints, typically around 92,000 miles). It is 9th of 20 Optima model years by number of complaints and has 1 recall.
Most common 2004 Kia Optima problems
Doors and locks
81 complaints · 36%Half of these problems showed up before 92,000 miles. Parts named most often: doors.
Driver door will not unlock with the key, using the inside handle or electric lock control. The door constantly relocks when you try to unlock with the key or the toggle lever inside the car. It will not open in case of an accident. Even tried to disable the electric lock by removing the fuse. The electric doors did…
The contact owns a 2004 Kia Optima. The contact stated the driver side door lock failed and could not be opened automatically or manually. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 94,000. Updated 07/08/11 updated 07/18/11
Electrical
45 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 85,000 miles. Parts named most often: horn, alternator/generator/regulator, wiring, instrument cluster/panel.
Drivers side door latch failed and would not unlock from inside or out side. Had to exit the vehicle through passenger side door. Very dangerous if there were an emergency. I have seen many complaints online about this issue with the same make, model and approx. Mileage as mine. Kia needs to issue a recall before some…
The contact owns a 2004 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the keyless entry ability failed to work for the past three years. The contact mentioned that the rear doors failed to unlock when utilizing a key or manually. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The…
Body and structure
42 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 104,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
The contact owns a 2004 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the front driver's side door failed to unlock, which prevented access in entering or exiting the vehicle. The contact would have to access the front passenger side door to enter or exit the vehicle. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The…
The passenger wheel came off the car as my son was backing out of a parking space at a grocery store. I bought this car new. That part of the car had never been worked on. The car had to be towed to a garage for repair. Kia used glue on life a support nut on a ball joint, where they should have used a cotter pin. I…
Air bags
26 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
The contact owns a 2004 Kia Optima. The contact stated that after turning the vehicle off and attempting to exit the vehicle the drivers side door would not unlock and could not be opened. The contact also indicated that the front drivers side door could not be unlocked from outside of the vehicle. The door failures…
The contact owned a 2004 Kia Optima. While driving 25 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle from the front. The passenger side air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained stomach and chest injuries that required medical attention. The vehicle was not taken to the…
Suspension
19 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 69,000 miles. Parts named most often: front.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Kia Optima. While driving 20 MPH out of a parking lot, the front passenger side lower ball joint and axle detached from the vehicle. The contact controlled the vehicle until it came to a stop twelve feet from the incident. Her insurance company provided roadside assistance and the vehicle was…
The contact owns a 2004 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle veered to the right. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the suspension frame on the passenger side tire was rusted and the tire was…
Engine
14 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 37,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system.
Ry time it rains and our county dirt road gets wet and muddy. Mud splashes up into the engine compartment and into the EGR valve and causes it to malfuction due to the way it was desined. I took the car to the dealers shop and was told it was a maintence problem and that the dealer would fix it only once and after…
The car was running fine until after a few hours of driving it just stopped running. This is the second time this has occurred. The engine RPM dropped to zero and the car coasted. After sitting for less than an hour the car started up again. I took it to the Kia dealer and they said, even though the car had less than…
Other or unspecified
12 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 88,500 miles.
The driver's side door will not unlock from either the inside or outside. The key won't work. I had to crawl over the passenger seat risking potential injury . This is a safety issue. I notified the dealer who said basically that it wasn't his dealership's problem and to call Kia consumer number. I did call and he…
Driver door fails to open. When will something be done about this? There are complaints everywhere online about this exact issue on this exact model and other years too. I can't get in or out of my car through the driver door. This is a huge safety concern!
Fuel system
10 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 75,500 miles. Parts named most often: delivery.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Kia Optima. The driver attempted to start the vehicle, but was unsuccessful. The vehicle was towed to the repair shop and it was discovered that the electric wire for the fuel pump had burned inside the gas tank. These were the plugs for the fuel pump. The driver was fortunate that the vehicle…
I was driving on I-10 westbound, katy tx freeway, travelling about 65 miles per hour. The passenger's side front tire blew out causing the car to go back and fourth between two lanes of traffic. In the process, I was hitting the rubber dividers, damaging the hood of the car and the windshield. The blown tire caused…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2004 Kia Optima recalls
Suspension: front
Risk: Corrosion of the front subframe could lead to separation, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
Fix: Kmc will notify owners and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. The safety recall began on june 15, 2009. Owners may contact kia's consumer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542.
Full defect summary
Kia motors corporation (kmc) is recalling 36,538 model year 2001-2004 optima vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia. Road salt applied in these states during the winter months may result in progressive, internal corrosion of the front subframe. Over time, such subframe corrosion near the connection to the lower control arm can lead to wheel misalignment and/or other noticeable stress in steering, or accelerated abnormal tire wear.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
Questions about the 2004 Kia Optima
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Kia Optima?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: doors and locks (81 complaints, typically around 92,000 miles); electrical (45 complaints, typically around 85,000 miles); body and structure (42 complaints, typically around 104,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Kia Optima have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from May 27, 2009 (suspension). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2004 a bad year for the Kia Optima?
- It is 9th of 20 Optima model years by number of complaints, with 225 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.