There are 5 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2003 Kia Optima in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 5 of 5 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DOOR LATCHES ON BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE WERE NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY; THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO OPEN THE DOORS TO GET IN OR OUT OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE LATCHES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER WHO STATED THAT SHE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIR COSTS. THE CONSUMER ALSO STATED THE CV JOINTS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, BUT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. UPDATED 02/16/11 UPDATED 3/8/11 *CN
AFTER STOPPING AT A STOP SIGN I TRIED TO ACCELERATE AND TURN LEFT. MY CAR WOULD NOT "GO". SO I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR HARDER AND IT FINALLY AND SLOWLY MOVED FORWARD. I HAVE AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, BUT IT WAS LIKE I WAS DRIVING A MANUAL AND HAD TRIED TO START IN 3RD GEAR INSTEAD OF 1ST. IT'S ALMOST LIKE MY CAR HAD TO CATCH UP FOR A MINUTE BEFORE IT WOULD GO. IT HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THAT TO DIFFERENT DEGREES. IT IS A 2003 WITH ONLY 41,000 MILES AND NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY SINCE I BOUGHT IT USED. I AM AFRAID IT WILL DO THIS ON THE INTERSTATE OR WHEN I AM TRYING TO MERGE AND COULD BE DANGEROUS. *TR
PURCHASED A 2003 KIA OPTIMA AND AFTER 3 MONTHS OF DRIVING VEHICLE, THE CLUTCH WENT OUT. I AM AN EXPERIENCED DRIVER AND HAVE BEEN DRIVING MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLES FOR SEVERAL YEARS. *JB
WHILE TURNING IN EITHER DIRECTION THERE WAS HEAVY VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE CONSUMER ALSO HEARD A LOUD CLICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP/MECHANIC INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT THE PROBLEM WAS DUE TO CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT FAILURE. DEALERSHIP MECHANIC DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
I JUST BOUGHT THIS CAR AUGUST 14. THAT NIGHT IT WOULD NOT START. I HAVE NOT HAD THIS CAR OVER 4 HOURS AND PUT ABOUT 60 MILES ON IT.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.