There are 6 stored owner reports matching the lighting leading-label group for the 2009 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 6 of 6 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)BRAKE LIGHT STAYS ON AND DRAINS BATTERY. REAR BRAKE LIGHT NOT FUNCTIONAL.
SRS LIGHT CAME ON WHILE STATIONARY AND CONTINUED WHILE VEHICLE IS RUNNING..NOW IT STAYS ON ALL THE TIME. NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THEY RESET IT COMES BACK NEXT DAY AND STAYS ON.
CONSTANTLY BLOWING THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS. HAVE REPLACED 4 BULBS IN 4 MONTHS. ON 04/03/16 I LEFT TO START MY CAR TO GO HOME AT APPROXIMATELY 9:30 PM TO DISCOVER I HAD NO LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS AND MY HIGH BEAM WOULD NOT STAY ILLUMINATED UNLESS I HELD THE LEVER THAT CONTROLS THE HEADLIGHTS. BOTH BULBS ARE OUT AGAIN! THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED FOR APPROXIMATELY 3 HOURS.
WHILE I WAS NOT NOTIFIED ABOUT A RECALL, UNTIL RECENTLY, THE DEALER ADVISED MY INFORMATION WAS PROBABLY NOT PASSED ON TO THE PROPER AUTHORITIES FROM THE PREVIOUS OWNER. I WENT TO THE KIA DEALER IN CRYSTAL RIVER AND THEY SUPPOSEDLY PUT A NEW BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH ON MY VEHICLE AND WHEN I LEFT THE DEALERSHIP MY ABS/ESC LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH AND MY CAR STARTED DOING ALL KINDS OF FUNNY THINGS LIKE VIBRATING AND SHUTTERING UNDER THE GAS PEDAL. YOU KNOW YOU COULD FEEL THE SHUTTERING ON THE GAS PEDAL. AT THAT POINT I HAD NO BRAKES AND BARELY STOPPED. I THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY A TEMPORARY THING BUT NOW ITS DOING IT ALL THE TIME AND I CAN'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING THE CAR AT ALL. I STILL OWE ALMOST 9000.00 DOLLARS AND CAN'T AFFORD A COSTLY REPAIR FROM A RECALL.. I HAVE SPOKE WITH SOME PEOPLE AND THEY ADVISED THAT THE RECALL HAS BEEN CAUSING THE ECS TO MALFUNCTION IN MANY CASES AND CAUSED THE STABILITY OF THE CAR AND ABS TO ACT UP.
I RECEIVED A LETTER REGARDING A SAFETY RECALL FOR MY VEHICLE'S STOP LAMP SWITCH. I SUBMITTED A REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF MY REPAIRS ON JANUARY 22, 2014. I RECEIVED A CHECK FOR PARTIAL PAYMENT OF $101.34. THIS AMOUNT WAS JUST FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE STOP LAMP SWITCH. HOWEVER, I SUBMITTED AN ADDITIONAL RECEIPT AND REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST FOR THE ACTUAL BRAKE LIGHT REPLACEMENT. THIS WAS DUE TO THE MALFUNCTION OF THE STOP LAMP SWITCH. THE TOTAL COST OF THE REPLACEMENT WAS $28.10. I CONTACTED KIA AT 1(800) 333-4542 WHICH WAS THE NUMBER INDICATED ON THE LETTER. I WAS TRANSFERRED TWICE WITH NO ASSISTANCE. I JUST WANTED CLARIFICATION AS TO WHY I WASN'T PAID THE ENTIRE AMOUNT OF $129.42 (THE COST OF THE INSTALLATION AND BULB REPLACEMENT). *TR
SECOND FAILURE OF BRAKE SWITCH. ESC OFF LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING. UNSURE IF BRAKE LIGHTS ARE WORKING, IF THE ESC IS WORKING, OR IF THE CRUISE CONTROL WILL SHUT OFF DURING THESE EPISODES. THERE IS A RECALL ON OTHER MODELS AND YEARS OF KIA AUTOMOBILES BUT NOT ON THIS MODEL. IT SEEMS IT MAY HAVE SAME PROBLEM. *TR
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.