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BrakesPart report

2011 Kia Optima Brakes Problems

Complaints
47about this part
Share
8%of 594 total for the year
Median mileage
72,000miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 47 complaints about the brakes of the 2011 Kia Optima, 8% of the 594 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 72,000 miles. 5 of these say a crash was involved and 1 a fire, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

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

“Kia Optima 2011 took a turn for the worst on july 2 2018, my Kia Optima caused me to plummet into traffic after my brake didn't perform l. That's car had been taken to Kia for all service need and car still perform poorly. Have to restart my car multiple time just for it to act right. Car stops one me in the middle of the street one day. I have a 3 old and that day she could have been with me. I lost my license and my money I invested for a safe car for me and my child.”

NHTSA complaint #11326474, filed 2020-05, 130,600 miles

“I have a 2011 Kia Optima lx, 2.4 liter engine. Always keep up on the maintenance and oil changes, car is in great shape. I was not experiencing any issues, warnings, no check engine/oil lights, no noises, absolutely nothing. Then last night my car just sputtered and cut off while being driven. Apparently when the engine cuts off, so does the brakes. There was no way to push the brakes, so I had to try to safely coast to the side of the road, with no brakes and no power steering. …”

NHTSA complaint #10722186, filed 2015-05, 66,670 miles

“While parked in various locations (on street, at gas pump, in parking lots), and on about 8-10 occasions, I was unable to get the car to start after depressing the brake and start button on my car. All the lights lit up on the instrument panel and the radio went on as well - the rest of the car electrical system worked fine. The brake pedal became very stiff and was hard to depress. I put my key fob into the bypass in the trunk and it still would not start. The only way to get the car to start was to depress the stiff brake pedal, then shift from p to d and back again. …”

NHTSA complaint #11267541, filed 2019-10, 43,193 miles

“Travelling at approximately 30 MPH (had just turned onto road)when engine seemed to accelerate on its own. Pressed brake pedal (hard) and did not slow car at all. Continued to press brake and also pumped but nothing slowed vehicle. Although saw truck well ahead of me stopped, I could do nothing to stop or even slow down. I wrecked into back of truck stopped ahead of me waiting to turn. Approx 8000.00 damage to my car mostly due to truck having a sizable trailer hitch on back that busted through a lot of front end plastic, cooling system, etc and buckled hood. …”

NHTSA complaint #10823248, filed 2016-01, 38,000 miles

“On september 7, 2016, I was driving down the highway at 70 MPH in my 2011 Kia Optima when all of a sudden the engine shut off and all of the lights on the dashboard came on. I could hear the engine rev slightly when I stepped on the gas, but the car would not accelerate. The engine just shut off. It was 7:30am when this occurred so luckily there were not many cars on the road yet. I was able to get the car over, however, because the engine was off, the breaks would not work well. I was finally able to get the car to stop by continuing to hit the breaks and applying the emergency break as well. …”

NHTSA complaint #10904615, filed 2016-09, 101,500 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Brakes: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202085%
2019199%
2018177%
201762%
2016243%
2015909%
2014427%
20131148%
20128810%
2011478%
201045%
20092118%
200875%
200785%
200521%
200473%
200343%
20021211%
20011410%

Other parts of the 2011 Kia Optima

Engine
256 complaints
Steering
100 complaints
Exterior lighting
88 complaints
Electrical system
63 complaints
Other or unknown
41 complaints
Air bags
31 complaints
Fuel system
26 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
25 complaints
Body and structure
21 complaints
Vehicle speed control
19 complaints
Suspension
18 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
11 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2011 Kia Optima

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