KnownCarProblems2006 Kia Optima Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 155 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Kia Optima, most often about the air bags (30% of complaints, typically around 50,000 miles). It is 12th of 20 Optima model years by number of complaints and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2006 Kia Optima problems
Air bags
46 complaints · 30%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
One day the door on the driver side of the car wouldn't open from the inside or outside. I called Kia and they informed me that there is nothing they could do because the car was out of warranty. I took the car to the dealership and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. After researching the problem on the…
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Optima. The contact stated that the air bag light would continuously illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times where the air bag light was reset but failure continued to occur. On a later date while driving 10 MPH, the air bag unexpectedly deployed in the contact's face.…
Doors and locks
27 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles. Parts named most often: doors, hood.
Power door lock on drivers side will not open with the remote button or key. The doors unlock when remote is used,but when you pull the drivers door handle all doors lock. When in car with locked doors, you frequently cannot open the drivers door with door button or handle. In an accident, this door flaw could prevent…
Door jam on right back door and sun visors on right passenger over view just drops down in the passenger or child view thats causes one to become fearful.
Electrical
23 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 65,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, instrument cluster/panel.
My Kia Optima 2006 has had several problems: bad oxygen sensor, an electrical short, and most recently- will not shift out of first gear. Kia says my VIN is not included in the current recall. I took the car to a Kia dealer a few weeks before the gears quit shifting, but they couldn't find a problem. I have replaced…
I was trapped inside the car when the drivers door would not open by activating the inside door handle, the inside door unlock lever or the remote key fob. When I used the door handle nothing happened. When I pressed the inside door unlock lever I could hear the power unlock mechanism activate but the door would not…
Lights
16 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 3,500 miles. Parts named most often: headlights.
- the contact has a 2006 Kia Optima. The contact stated that at night while driving his vehicle at 25 - 35mph, he experiences an illumination problem with his left headlight. The contact stated that while the right headlight operating correctly, the left headlight casts a dark shadow, which hampers his ability to see.…
Tl contact owns a 2006 Kia Optima. The contact stated that he had to replace the headlights every six months since purchasing the vehicle new. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the dealer added an extra ground wire to the headlight assembly. However, the failure still occurred. The contact…
Engine
16 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 39,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
My 2006 Kia Optima just stopped running yesterday, without any warning, in the middle of a high traffic street. It completely lost power and there was nothing I could do. Since there was no warning (check engine light not on, no stuttering, etc.), I wasn't able to get to the side of the road. The car behind me had to…
After a recent oil change, the car was running horribly, making a knocking sound. Had an episode where the oil light was flashing on and off and the engine about died, so I had made an appointment for the vehicle to get checked for monday morning. The saturday before, while running errands, had the episode occur…
Transmission
14 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 61,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, clutch assembly.
The sun visor does not stay up. The sun visor on the driver side is vision impairment. The switch for the both seats does not work. The wheel bearing is bad. The tire pressure wheel sensor and the transmission speed adjustment sensor are bad on this 2006 Kia Optima , constantly bulbs for taillight blow.
My vehicle keeps accelerating and slowing down randomly between gears. Can accelerate on. Its own and slow down when more pressure is applied to gas pedal. The check engine light was not on for a month and now it has appeared. This can cause a serious accident.if a less capable person was driving. Many other Kia…
Visibility and wipers
13 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 37,500 miles. Parts named most often: sun/moon roof assembly, windshield wiper/washer, rearview mirrors/devices.
Both sun visors have failed working and will drop down in front of my face while I'm driving. I have never had an accident or misused them in any way. They just snapped upon opening. Many complains have been posted about this same problem on the internet and it's time someone steps up and reports this before an…
The visor on the passenger side won't stay up. This was fixed about 30,000 miles ago under warranty. It seems like a safety issue. I have driven a half million miles in my life and never had a problem with a visor. It must be defective. My passengers all hit their heads on it when entering and exiting the car. I have…
Body and structure
12 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 61,500 miles. Parts named most often: body.
I was trapped inside the car when the drivers door would not open by activating the inside door handle, the inside door unlock lever or the remote key fob. When I used the door handle nothing happened. When I pressed the inside door unlock lever I could hear the power unlock mechanism activate but the door would not…
It is a well-known issue with Kia Optima cars that the door latch is faulty, and after various lengths of time, it will stop unlocking. By no longer unlocking, I mean under any condition. Using a remote, using the key, even sitting in the vehicle pressing the button on the door or manually moving the indicator by the…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2006 Kia Optima recalls
Air bags: frontal
Risk: If the clock spring develops high resistance, in the event of a crash, the drivers air bag will not deploy and will not be able to properly protect the driver, increasing the risk of injuries.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the vehicle's air bag clock spring contact assembly, free of charge. The safety recall began on july 11, 2012. Owners may contact kia customer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542.
Full defect summary
Kia motors america, inc. (kia) is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 kia optima vehicles manufactured from september 29, 2005, through january 29, 2008, and model year 2007 and 2008 kia rondo vehicles manufactured from september 13, 2006, through march 21, 2008. The clock spring contact assembly for the driver's side air bag supplemental restraint system (SRS) may become damaged through usage over time. If the clock spring contact assembly becomes damaged, the driver's air bag electrical circuit will experience a high resistance condition potentially causing the driver's air bag to not deploy.
Transmission: column shift
Risk: If the driver leaves the vehicle without engaging the parking brake, there is a possibility that the vehicle can roll injure a person in its path or cause a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the shift cable and reinstall if necessary free of charge. The safety recall began on march 23, 2011. Owner may contact kia at 1-800-333-4542.
Full defect summary
Kia is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 optima vehicles manufactured from september 29, 2005, through june 13, 2007. There is a possibility that the shift cable may have been installed incorrectly, causing tension in the cable. If present, this condition could cause the cable to detach from the shifter assembly's dowel pin preventing the transmission from being shifted. The shift lever can then be moved into the park (p) position while the vehicle's transmission is still in the last used gear before detachment.
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.
NHTSA defect investigations
Loss of motive power
Summary
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 experiencing rapid loss of engine oil due to oil drain plug back outs, resulting in loss of motive power and/or catastrophic engine damage. Additional complaints were provided which alleged that the oil drain pans lack sufficient structural integrity and are
Throttle control system vulnerabilities
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) of the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) received a petition letter dated october 10, 2021, requesting an investigation of possible defects in the electronic throttle control (etc) system on certain kia vehicles resulting in the opening of dp21-003. Accordingly, model year (my) 2005-2016 kia optima/k5, my 2006-2015 kia sorento, my 2007-2016 hyundai elantra, my 2007-2016 hyundai santa fe, my 2006-2015 hyundai sonatas are all part of the subject population. The petition was originally filed as a vehicle owner questionnaire that can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under reference (odi) number 11439675.on november 12, 2021, odi opened defec
Transmission shift cable detachment
Summary
During manufacture the automatic transmission shift cables in certain subject vehicles were installed incorrectly causing extra tension on the cable.this condition can cause the shift cable to detach from the gear shifter assembly's dowel pin preventing the transmission from being shifted.the shift lever can be moved into the park (p) position while the vehicle transmission is still in the last used gear before detachment.if this were to occur, and if the driver leaves the vehicle without engaging the parking brake, the vehicle may inadvertently roll away thus creating the risk of a crash.kia is conducting a safety recall (11v-153) to correct the subject problem in approximately 70,115 model
Questions about the 2006 Kia Optima
- What are the most common problems with the 2006 Kia Optima?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (46 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles); doors and locks (27 complaints, typically around 74,000 miles); electrical (23 complaints, typically around 65,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2006 Kia Optima have?
- 2 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from January 17, 2012 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2006 a bad year for the Kia Optima?
- It is 12th of 20 Optima model years by number of complaints, with 155 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.