2003 Kia Optima Engine cooling Problems
- Complaints
- 7about this part
- Share
- 5%of 141 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 41,668miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 7 complaints about the engine cooling of the 2003 Kia Optima, 5% of the 141 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 41,668 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved and 1 a fire, according to the filers.
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.
“I was driving my 2003 Kia Optima on i85 at 65 MPH when the vehicle suddenly lost power and slowed quickly to less than 10 MPH. The vehicle continued to sputter and backfire until I was forced to pull over and wait approximately. 15 minutes before proceeding normally. My wife has also experienced the same problems and is afraid of being involved in an accident. The vehicle has been in the shop for this issue 4 times. …”
NHTSA complaint #10107846, filed 2005-01, 33,000 miles“It was raining hard in our area( 1 inches in 1 our). I live 3 miles in on a county dirt road and it was muddy with standing water. When all the water and mud was splasted in the engine compartment the was idleing rough. This is the (2) second time this happened. The first time was about 2 months ago in april when we had same type of weather. Took the car to my dealer service dept and was told they could not find nothing wrong and that I had water in my gas. I put atleast two bottles of dry gas in tank. …”
NHTSA complaint #10075412, filed 2004-06, 33,335 miles“- the contact stated that the 2003 Kia Optima's with 50000 failure mileage lights, locks, radio did not work. The vehicle would not start. The vehicle was towed to the dealer multiple times. The dealer installed a new engine. The vehicle did not work properly. The current mileage was 56,000.”
NHTSA complaint #10186713, filed 2007-04, 50,000 miles“While driving 55 MPH on the highway, consumer lost control of vehicle and hit the guard rail. The driver was injured and transported by ambulance to the hospital. Injuries unknown at this time. A police report was taken and the vehicle was towed to the dealer for analysis. Mechanic detected both frontal upper ball joints cracked.”
NHTSA complaint #10044891, filed 2003-10, 11,000 miles“2003 Kia Optima with 70,000 miles just burst into flames and burned totally up while driving down the road. Fire started somewhere in engine compartment per the fire department. Vehicle was running fine prior to incident. Very dangerous situation for passengers and surrounding property.”
NHTSA complaint #10143300, filed 2005-11, 70,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10133170Mar 2, 2018PITSTOP - ENGINE COMPONENT RE-USE GUIDELINES - In general, parts and components removed during engine repairs should be considered serviceable, and should be thoroughly cleaned…
- 10034246May 1, 2010Kia: intermittent mil on with no fault code stored; information about dtc p1330. Provides information relating to certain vehicles. In affected vehicles an intermittent short to…
- 10033464Nov 1, 2009Kia: ecm upgrade with tp sensor replacement-mil on with dtc p2135/p0638. Information related to ecm software and tp sensor upgrade on some vehicles with 2.7l engines which may…
- 10023626Nov 1, 2007This bulletin provides information relating to an engine hesitation or the illumination of the malfunction indicator lamp (mil) for p0123 (throttle position sensor / switch (a)…
- 10017768Oct 1, 2005Hesitation for a short period of time after an initial cold start. Ecm reprogramming/upgrade.
- 10015272Jan 1, 2005Improved timing belts for the kia rio and optima.
Engine cooling: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 8 | 5% |
| 2019 | 3 | 1% |
| 2018 | 14 | 6% |
| 2017 | 8 | 3% |
| 2016 | 24 | 3% |
| 2015 | 31 | 3% |
| 2014 | 16 | 3% |
| 2013 | 42 | 3% |
| 2012 | 20 | 2% |
| 2011 | 8 | 1% |
| 2010 | 2 | 3% |
| 2009 | 2 | 2% |
| 2008 | 5 | 3% |
| 2007 | 4 | 2% |
| 2006 | 9 | 6% |
| 2005 | 6 | 4% |
| 2004 | 11 | 5% |
| 2003 | 7 | 5% |
| 2002 | 7 | 7% |
| 2001 | 24 | 17% |
Other parts of the 2003 Kia Optima
53 complaintsElectrical system
25 complaintsBody and structure
25 complaintsAir bags
17 complaintsFuel system
12 complaintsSuspension
9 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
8 complaintsOther or unknown
7 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
5 complaintsBrakes
4 complaintsExterior lighting
3 complaintsEngine
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2003 Kia Optima
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 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