2002 KIA Optima

No clear pattern

1.8% of complaints about the 2002 KIA Optima arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2002 vehicle, but with only 168 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is structure (33 complaints), typically at 10.4 yr or about 123,353 miles.

Complaints: 168
Median age at failure: 7.8 yr
Median mileage: 89,000 n=141
Crash / fire / tow: 21.4% of reports
Safety recalls: 3

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

09V183000 2009-05-27

Suspension:front

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 AR

CORROSION OF THE FRONT SUBFRAME COULD LEAD TO SEPARATION, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

04V180000 2004-04-12

Fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly

SOME PASSENGER VEHICLES MAY CONTAIN A FUEL TANK ASSEMBLY VALVE THAT MAY NOT CLOSE PROPERLY. IF A VEHICLE WITH A FUEL TANK ASSEMBLY VALVE THAT IS NOT PROPERLY CLOSED WERE TO ROLL OVER, FUEL SPILLAGE MAY OCCUR.

FUEL SPILLAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

03V067000 2003-03-04

Electrical system:starter assembly

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 2.5 AND 2.7 LITER V6 ENGINES, THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR (CKP) CASES DID NOT MEET DIMENSIONAL SPECIFICATIONS.

INTERNAL GAPS WITHIN THE CASES ALLOWED EPOXY TO CONTACT THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD, WHICH RESULTED IN CRACKING OF THE CIRCUIT BOARD CAPACITOR. A DAMAGED CKP CAPACITOR COULD RESULT IN ENGINE STALLING.

In owners’ own words

Air bags mileage not reported 1.5 yr in service crash / fire / tow

THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION, AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY.*JB....*AK

Air bags mileage not reported 2.0 yr in service crash / fire / tow

PROBLEMS WITH AIR BAG EQUIPMENT ON 2002 KIA OPTIMA. *MR A LARGE PIECE OF RUBBER HAD COME OFF THE TIRE OF A SEMI-TRUCK AND WHEN THE CONSUMER TRIED TO AVOID HITTING IT, HE LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND HIT A WALL DIVIDER. *SCC *JB

Air bags 8,000 mi 2.8 yr in service crash / fire / tow

WHILE AT A COMPLETE STOP BECAUSE OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION, THE CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WAS REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE AT 40 MPH. UPON IMPACT, NONE OF THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED, AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT FAILED TO RETRACT. ALSO, DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BACK RECLINED BACKWARDS ONTO THE REAR SEAT. DRIVER SUSTAINED SEVERE BRUISES TO CHEST/BREAST BONE/LUNGS/HEART/LOWER ABDOMINAL, AND LEFT LEG. *AK *LA

Electrical system 11,800 mi 2.8 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING, A BURNING SMELL WAS DETECTED, THEN THE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON. AFTER PULLING INTO A SERVICE STATION THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. IT WAS DISCOVERED THE ALTERNATOR, COMPUTER AND AIR BAG MODULE WAS DEFECTIVE. AFTER THE REPAIR THE AIR BAG LIGHT REMAINED ON. *JB

Other Optima model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2002 KIA Optima

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Optima model years

How to read this