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EnginePart report

2013 Kia Optima Hybrid Engine Problems

Complaints
14about this part
Share
25%of 56 total for the year
Median mileage
69,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 14 complaints about the engine of the 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid, 25% of the 56 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 69,000 miles. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“The engine revs while idle periodically and the engine revs still when u let go of the gas. I believe this car was affected by kias latest recall... And causes issues with me being able to brake and such cuz the car engine revs when the gas isnt bein touched. This has been ongoing”

NHTSA complaint #11051644, filed 2017-12, 68,000 miles

“Vehicle would't start the engine randomly. Kia dealer wasnt able to find the issue since I brought my vehicle in and it was running at that time. Randomly shows hybrid system is not properly working.”

NHTSA complaint #11141677, filed 2018-10, 40,000 miles

“Hybrid warning light suddenly came on indicating that I should pull over while I was driving on the freeway. I immediately veered to my left to get to the shoulder, as the car had already died, and I was moving only on momentum. I was almost hit by a car behind me. I waited a while, and the car restarted. The engine light came on and went away later that day. This was a saturday, and I took the car to the dealership on monday. This was not the first occurrence. The first time I experienced the same scenario and also almost got hit by a car as I was trying to get to the right shoulder. …”

NHTSA complaint #11210065, filed 2019-05, 67,000 miles

“Shortly after purchase took a trip to texas to see my daughter. On three separate occasions on that trip; was going down the interstate with the cruise control set, all of the sudden it started accelerating all on it's own... The 1st time I questioned if I had accidently bumped something, the 2nd also and the 3rd allowed it to act on its own and before I knew it was almost 100mph. Thankfully the brake engages.. When I returned home I immediately took it in for check and was told they could not recreate the problem so nothing could be done.. …”

NHTSA complaint #10747724, filed 2015-08, 500 miles

“1. Driving vehicle on freeway and the engine blew. Kia rebuilt the top half of the engine. 2. Driving vehicle on street and the power steering went out. Took a lot of strength to steer to the side of the road. Kia reset main control unit to fix issue. 3. Driving vehicle on street and the power steering went out again. Kia wants to replace main control unit. Car has passed the warranty by 10k miles. Not covered.”

NHTSA complaint #11128714, filed 2018-09, 70,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
20171662%
2015542%
20141652%
20131425%
20127266%
20111956%

Other parts of the 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid

Electrical system
22 complaintsBrakes
16 complaintsOther or unknown
9 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
7 complaintsHybrid propulsion system
5 complaintsVehicle speed control
5 complaintsSteering
4 complaintsElectronic stability control
3 complaintsExterior lighting
3 complaintsSuspension
2 complaintsAir bags
1 complaintsEngine cooling
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology