There are 5 stored owner reports matching the visibility & wipers 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)PASSENGER MIRROR FALLS OFF. *TR
RUSTING OF WINDSHIELD WIPERS. *TR
VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE DEFROSTER. WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN THE ELEMENTS THE WINDOWS ON THE LEFT SIDE FOG UP BADLY, CONSUMER MUST ROLL THE WINDOW DOWN TO SEE WHAT IS ON LEFT SIDE. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, AND WAS TOLD THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING FINE. *AK...*AK
THE DESIGN OF THE LARGE OVER VIEW MIRROR, ONLY ALLOWED THE CONSUMER TO SEE HALF OF THE FRONT WINDSHIELD. *JB THE FRONT WINDSHIELD VISIBILITY TO THE RIGHT WAS BLOCKED BY THE FRONT REARVIEW MIRROR DUE TO LARGE SIZE OF THE MIRROR AND INABILITY TO LOWER THE DRIVERS SEAT ENOUGH AND ALMOST HIT THE OTHER VEHICLE. THE REAR VIEW MIRROR BLOCKED THE VISIBILITY OF THE RIGHT HALF OF THE WINDSHIELD AND DID NOT SEE THE VEHICLE TRAVELING FROM RIGHT TO LEFT UNTIL IT WAS IN FRONT OF THE CONSUMER. SCC *JB
THE LOCATION OF THE DRIVER SIDE MIRROR AND SUN VISOR IS OBSTRUCTING THE VIEW THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. THIS RESULTS IN POOR VISIBILITY, ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. SEAT CANNOT BE LOWERED TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM.*AK
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.