The 2018 Kia Optima Phev has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 330,167 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 12 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Rio, 2016-2018 Optima, 2017-2018 Optima Hybrid and Optima Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. The trunk latch base may crack, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety…
Consequence
A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the trunk latch base subassembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC278.
ENGINE21V8440002021-10-2910,731 affected
Defect
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Optima Hybrid and Optima Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. The connecting rod bearings inside the engine may wear prematurely, which can result in engine damage.
Consequence
A damaged engine can increase the risk of a fire or it can cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the engine. If bearing damage is found, the engine will be replaced. Dealers will also install a software update containing a Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS). Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 29, 2021. Owners may contact Kia…
Complaints by component
ENGINE
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
1
POWER TRAIN
1
STEERING
1
VISIBILITY/WIPER
1
Total complaints12
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The contact owns a 2018 kia optima phev. The contact's daughter stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the high systems temperature switching to hybrid mode message was displayed. The contact stated that there was a two-hour delay for a full charge. The vehicle was taken to the dealer…”
“The plastic coupling for the steering is broken in my 2018 kia optima the same issue that the 2011-2014 issue optima’s have my car has this same issue.”
“See attached document for complaint.”
“I was told by the dealership that my 2018 kia optima phev was repaired but after I drove it off the lot and got on the freeway the warning light came on again and lost all power. I almost got into another accident because of this. The dealership said they worked with kia technical support to fix…”
“I was told by the dealership that my 2018 kia optima phev was repaired but after I drove it off the lot and got on the freeway the warning light came on again and lost all power. I almost got into another accident because of this. The dealership said they worked with kia technical support to fix…”
“I was told by the dealership that my 2018 kia optima phev was repaired but after I drove it off the lot and got on the freeway the warning light came on again and lost all power. I almost got into another accident because of this. The dealership said they worked with kia technical support to fix…”
“When I was driving on the highway on 2/14/2011 a "check hybrid system" warning came on, check engine light, triangle hev light, a red battery light came on and car lost engine power. After my vehicle slowed traffic down due to not having power I was barely able to pull over to the side of the road…”
“When I was driving on the highway on 2/14/2011 a "check hybrid system" warning came on, check engine light, triangle hev light, a red battery light came on and car lost engine power. After my vehicle slowed traffic down due to not having power I was barely able to pull over to the side of the road…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP22003 Opened 2022-09-12 · closed 2023-12-12
Loss of Motive Power
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…
InvestigationDP22005 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2023-08-07
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for…
InvestigationEA21003 Opened 2021-12-22 · closed 2024-02-05
Engine Fires
On March 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened two Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year Hyundai and Kia vehicles. During the PE…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 Kia Optima Phev as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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