2012 Kia Optima Cruise Control Problems

Your brakes grab or snatch hard when you press the pedal. When accelerating, your car hesitates and won't speed up normally, and at highway speeds (45-55 mph) pressing the gas pedal doesn't increase acceleration—instead it feels like the car is losing power and wants to slow down. The issue may involve the brake system grabbing unexpectedly and the engine not responding properly to throttle input.

Brake pedal stopper breaking apart causing the ESC indicator to come on and loosing acceleration while driving. I contacted dealer and no recall on th.is issue.

VEHICLE'S ABS BRAKE ACTIVATE RANDOMLY ILLUMINATING THE ABS BRAKE SIGNAL ON DASHBOARD,WHILE IN MOTION AND WITHOUT TOUCHING THE BRAKES. THIS CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO DECELERATE AND HAS MADE THE VEHICLE COME TO A NEAR COMPLETE STOP. EVEN IF THE GAS PEDAL IS PRESSED TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE WILL NOT INCREASE SPEED, ONLY DECREASE. THE ISSUE HAPPENS 8/10 TIMES WHILE MAKING TURNS AND APPROX 5/10 WHILE DRIVING STRAIGHT ON FREEWAY . THIS HAPPENED ON 11/08/2019 IN THE EVENING, I IMMEDIATELY TOOK MY VEHICLE BACK TO KIA AND THEY CLAIMED TO HAVE DRIVEN MY CAR FOR 20 MILES AND DIDN'T SEE OR EXPERIENCE ANY ISSUES. MY CAR IS A 2012 AND ONLY HAS 58, 388 MILES. I DEMANDED THEY KEEP LOOKING BUT THEY CAUGHT AN ATTITUDE LIKE I MADE THE SCENARIO UP AND ANY STATED THAT I SHOULD DRIVE THE CAR WITH THEIR MECHANIC AS THEY "CANNOT REPLICATE MY DRIVING", LIKE I'M DRIVING IN THE [XXX] INDY 500. SINCE IT IS NOW SUNDAY, AND THE DEALER IS CLOSED IT WILL BE SITTING IN THEIR SERVICE CENTER MONDAY MORNING! PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

THE GAS PEDDLE STOPS WORKING AND THE VEHICLE DECELERATES AS YOU ARE IN MOTION. AFTER STEPPING ON THE PEDDLE A FEW TIMES IT BEGINS TO ACCELERATE AGAIN.

TAKATA RECALL, I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE AND WHEN I WENT TO SPEED UP THE ENGINE SEIZED, CAUSING ME TO PULL OVER IN THE BREAK DOWN LANE ON THE HIGHWAY AND TURN THE VEHICLE OFF COMPLETELY AND WHEN I TRIED TO TURN THE VEHICLE BACK ON IT WOULD NOT FULLY TURN BACK ON, ALL THE LIGHTS IN THE VEHICLE STARTED FLICKERING, I TRIED JUMPING MY CAR AND IT DID NOT WORK I HAD TO GET IT TOWED TO THE NEAREST KIA DEALER

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WHILE DOING 70 MPH THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY DECELERATED AND AND COULD NOT ACCELERATE. MY TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON AND OFF. A COUPLE OF MILES IT DID IT AGAIN. I THEN PLACED MY FOOT UNDER THE BRAKE PEDAL AND MY CAR DROVE FINE. AFTER INSPECTING MY CAR I NOTICED THAT THE BRAKE STOPPER WAS WORN. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND OUT THAT WHILE YOU ARE ACCELERATING AND THE BRAKE STOPPER IS BAD, IT CAN CAUSE YOUR CAR TO GO INTO A SAFETY MODE BECAUSE IT THINKS YOU ARE BRAKING AND ACCELERATING AT THE SAME TIME. THIS AFFECTS THE POWER AND CAN CAUSE A REAR END COLLISION.

ON JANUARY 24, 2019, MY CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO SHAKERS KIA IN WATERTOWN CT AGAIN. I HAD BEEN IN CT VISITING FAMILY WHEN I GOT STUCK THERE DUE TO CAR ISSUES. I DROPPED MY CAR OFF DECEMBER 7, 2018 FOR AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT DUE TO A RECALL AND I GOT IT BACK DECEMBER 31, 2018. I DROVE MY CAR HOME TO NC ON JANUARY 4, 2019 AND CAME BACK 2 WEEKS LATER FOR MY SON'S SURGERY SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 23. ON JANUARY 22, THREE WEEKS AFTER I GOT MY CAR BACK, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND MY CAR WENT INTO LIMP MODE WHILE DRIVING AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO SHAKERS KIA. THEY TEXTED ME AT 9:08AM JANUARY 23 WITH A LINK TO A VIDEO SAYING MY CAR WAS READY. I PICKED IT UP AROUND 5PM AFTER MY SON'S SURGERY. I DIDN'T HAVE THE CAR 4 HOURS WHEN IT DID THE SAME THING AGAIN AND HAD TO BE TOWED. SHAKERS TOLD ME THAT I WAS GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACING MY THROTTLE BODY BECAUSE I STILL HAVE OLD COMPONENTS FROM MY OLD ENGINE AND MY THROTTLE BODY WAS PART OF THAT. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW I HAVE OLD COMPONENTS IF MY ENGINE WAS REPLACED, SO I CALLED KIA HEADQUARTERS. SHAKERS REPLACED MY THROTTLE BODY, NO COST TO ME. WELL, WHEN I PICKED MY CAR UP ON JANUARY 30, I ASKED ABOUT THE FUEL LEAK RECALL AND IF MY CAR WAS INSPECTED AS KIA TOLD SHAKERS TO CHECK MINES EVEN THOUGH MY VIN NUMBER WASN'T INCLUDED BECAUSE MY CAR NEEDED TO BE CHECKED BECAUSE MY ENGINE WAS REPLACED DUE TO THE RECALL. I WAS TOLD BY THE TECHNICIAN HECTOR THAT MY CAR WAS FINE AND IT DIDN'T NEED TO BE INSPECTED BECAUSE HE WAS VERY CONFIDENT IN HIS WORK. HE STATED THAT PEOPLE WERE HAVING ENGINE FIRES BECAUSE MECHANICS DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND ARE INSTALLING THE ENGINES WRONG. MY CAR DOESN'T RUN THE SAME AFTER HAVING MY ENGINE REPLACED. IT RUNS AND IDLES ROUGH. I PUT IN NUMEROUS CALLS TO KIA ABOUT ISSUES WITH MY CAR AND I'M TOLD OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT MY CASE MANAGER WILL CALL ME BUT IT'S BEEN WEEKS AND SHE HASN'T CALLED YET.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING DOWNHILL WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY ACCELERATED. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO ENGAGE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, BUT THE VEHICLE DECELERATED AND RETURNED TO NORMAL AFTER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS APPLIED WITH CAUTION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR LOCAL MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 23,538. UPDATED 10/25/17*LJ CONSUMER STATED: WHILE DRIVING DOWN HILL, WITH BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED, GETTING READY TO STOP AT STOP SIGN, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED UNEXPECTEDLY TO A SPEED OF 30 TO 35 MPH. I DID NOT ENGAGE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. I DID SHIFT THE VEHICLE FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL. ENGINE CONTINUED TO RACE UNCONTROLLABLY. I TAPPED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WITH MY FOOT AT WHICH TIME THE ENGINE RETURNED TO NORMAL. THIS WAS THE THIRD TIME THIS TYPE OF INCIDENT HAD OCCURED. I DID TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TEST ON AUG.11,2017. NO PROBLEMS WERE FOUND. UPDATED 10/3/18*JB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE WOULD SURGE AND THEN SLOW DOWN. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN UNKNOWN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE VIN WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V224000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000.

VEHICLE LOSES ACCELERATION WHEN DRIVING, HAVE TO LET GO OF GAS PEDAL AND PUSH AGAIN TO GAIN ACCELERATION AGAIN

WHEN CRANKING UP CAR ENGINE MAKES LOUD NOISE, THEN IF DRIVING AT A NORMAL SPEED THE CAR SLOWS DOWN ON IT OWN,ALSO THE DASH BOARD LIGHTS GOES FROM BRIGHT TO DIM TO ALMOST NO DASH BOARD LIGHTS AT ALL, DRIVING

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM GULF SHORES, AL TO ATLANTA, GA. I STOPPED AT A REST AREA. WHEN I STARTED MY CAR BACK UP THERE WAS KIND OF A BUZZING NOISE AS I ACCELERATED, BUT IT WOULD STOP ONCE I REACHED CRUISING SPEED. AFTER ABOUT 15 MILES DOWN THE ROAD FROM THE REST AREA, MY GAS PEDAL JUST STOPPED WORKING. THE CAR COASTED UNTIL IT LOST SPEED AND THEN JUST TURNED OFF. AFTER I WAS EVENTUALLY TOWED TO THE NEAREST KIA DEALERSHIP, I WAS TOLD THAT THE ENGINE HAD DIED AND I WOULD NEED TO HAVE A NEW ONE INSTALLED. *TR

CRUISE CONTROL "CANCEL" BUTTON NEEDS REPEATED PUSHING TO ACTIVATE. A SINGLE PUSH OF THE CANCEL BUTTON ACTUALLY SEEMS TO ACCELERATE THE CAR. *TR

I NOTICED ON MONDAY THAT THE CAR SEEMED TO BE STRUGGLING WITH ACCELERATION. IT SEEMED TO BE SLOW AND SLUGGISH. I DROVE THE CAR HOME NOT EXCEEDING 40 MPH. NEXT MORNING WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE THE DASHBOARD IS LIT UP WITH AN INDICATION OF ENGINE MALFUNCTION. I ONLY HAD TO DRIVE THE CAR A MILE SO I CONTINUED ON TO WORK BUT I HAD NO POWER AT ALL. THE CAR WAS STRUGGLING TO MAKE IT UP A SMALL HILL AND I HAD NO SPEED ON LEVEL GROUND. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AT THIS POINT. I HAVE SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT BUT THE NEXT QUESTION IS HOW MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST? WOW I HAVE ONLY OWNED CAMRY'S FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS AND THOUGHT I WOULD TRY A KIA. THEY LOOK NICE. NOT SURE I WILL KEEP THIS VEHICLE MUCH LONGER. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE WOULD SURGE FORWARD AND THE ENGINE RPMS INCREASED TO 6000. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FLOOR MAT WAS NOT SOURCE OF THE SURGING. THE CONTACT DID NOT TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER OR MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE CONTACT DID NOT CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,800. UPDATED 06/18/13*LJ UPDATED 06/21/2013 *JS

GAS PEDAL WOULD NOT WORK. AVIS PUTS RUBBER FLOOR MATS OVER CLOTH FLOOR MATS THAT HAVE HOOKS EMBEDDED IN TIME TO HOLD THE FACTORY FLOOR MATS IN PLACE. I DID NOT KNOW THEY HAD DID THIS. OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL HOURS OF DRIVING THE RUBBER FLOOR MAT SLID FORWARD UNDER THE GAS PEDAL RENDERING IT INOPERABLE; I COASTED OVER TO SIDE OF ROAD AND DISCOVERED THE PROBLEM, PULLED THE RUBBER FLOORMAT BACK TOWARDS THE FRONT SEAT AND IT HAPPENED A 2ND TIME A FEW HOURS LATER WHERE I LOST COMPLETE USE OF THE GAS PEDAL SO I PUT THE RUBBER MATS IN THE TRUNK. I REPORTED THIS TO AVIS. AN AVIS REP SAYS THIS IS A STANDARD CORPORATE POLICY SO THEY CAN SAVE WEAR ON THE CLOTH RUG STYLE FLOOR MATS. I ASKED THEM TO REEXAMINE THEIR CORPORATE POLICY. I HOPE YOUR AGENCY CAN REVIEW THIS PRACTICE AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO AVIS. WITH ALL THE ISSUE SURROUNDING CAR ACCELERATOR PEDALS AND AFTER MARKET FLOOR MATS JAMMING THEM IT SEEMS THEY HAVE TAKEN LEAVE OF COMMON SENSE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH WITH THE ECONOMY MODE ACTIVATED, THERE WAS A DELAYED RESPONSE UPON ENGAGING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE IN OPERATION. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON TWO DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. THE CONTACT EVENTUALLY DEACTIVATED THE ECONOMY MODE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER HOWEVER, THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE REMAINED AT THE DEALER FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FLOOR MAT ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE BUNCHED UP AROUND THE BRAKE PEDAL AND MADE IT HARD FOR THE CONTACT TO APPLY THE BRAKES. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND WAS GIVEN WINTER FLOOR MATS WITH TEETH TO HELP THE FLOOR MAT GRIP THE FLOOR OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THE STANDARD FLOOR MATS WERE NOT SAFE BECAUSE THEY WOULD MOVE AROUND TOO EASILY. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 250 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 2,000. UPDATED 9/10/12 *CN THE DEALER INSTALLED A SET OF ALL-WEATHER MATS, WHICH HAVE TEETH WHICH GRIP THE FLOOR MORE FIRMLY. UPDATED 09/24/12

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY AND CRASHED INTO THE MEDIAN. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE AND AXLE WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE FAILURE RECURRED FOUR TIMES. THE FOURTH TIME THE FAILURE RECURRED, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED INJURIES TO HIS RIGHT KNEE. THE FRONT PASSENGER SUSTAINED INJURIES TO THE NECK, BACK AND RIGHT ARM. THE REAR PASSENGER SUSTAINED INJURIES TO THE RIGHT LEG. THE PASSENGERS WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL VIA AMBULANCE. THE DRIVER SOUGHT MEDICAL ATTENTION ON HIS OWN AFTER THE CRASH. THE POLICE REPORTED TO THE SCENE AND A REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP FOR THE BODY DAMAGE REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND ASSIGNED AN ENGINEER TO REVIEW THE INFORMATION RELATED TO THE CRASH. AN ENGINEER DID NOT INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER REFUSED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE BECAUSE THEY STATED THERE WERE NO DEFECTS WITHIN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11,000.

FOR 3 TO 5 SECONDS, NO RESPONSE FROM ENGINE AT IDLE WHEN ACCELERATOR DEPRESSED AND THE CAR IS STOPPED (E.G., FOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL). THEN, WITHOUT WARNING, THE ENGINE WENT FROM IDLE (ABOUT 800 RPM) TO RAPID (SURGING) ACCELERATION, OFTEN WITH SCREECHING TIRES. THIS OCCURRED EACH TIME I STARTED FROM A STOPPED POSITION DURING A 493-MILE TRIP. THERE WAS NO PROBLEM AFTER I REACHED MY TARGET DRIVING SPEED. *TR