There are 24 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2010 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 24 of 24 matching reports. The list controls page through the loaded reports only.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)The car lurches or jerks when slowing down or stopping at about 20 mph . Lurch or jerking is enough to jerk to the driver . Has anyone got answer to why the Kia Optima 2010 does this.
Car has very hard downshift at low speed going from 2nd gear to 1st. Seems to be alot of these complaints and would be nice to know of a fix for this problem!
VEHICLE JERKS WHEN DOWNSHIFTING AT ABOUT 20 MPH.
TAKATA RECALL - HARD DOWNSHIFT FROM 2ND TO 1ST, USUALLY AROUND THE 20MPH MARK! IT'S A SUDDEN JERK AS IF IT HAS BEEN SLAMMED INTO A A LOWER GEAR
TAKATA RECALL TRANSMISSION HAS A GRINDING AND WHINING NOISE!! BUT TRANSMISSION SHIFT GEAR SMOOTHLY. THESE NOISE WORSE AT COLD CONDITION AND TURN TO THE LEFT, AND PASSING OVER SPEEDBUMP. AS I HEARD IN THE SOUTH KOREA, THIS IS COMMON OFTEN REPORTED BY DRIVERS WHO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE. I AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS GOING ON BUT ALL CAR MECHANIC COULD NOT FOUND IT. I AM VERY SCARY WHEN I DRIVING. I THINK IT COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE IN THE FUTURE.
THE CAR HAS A LURCHING ISSUE WHEN IT SLOWS DOWN TO 20MPH WHEN THE CAR LURCHES WITH A HARD DOWN SHIFT TO 1ST GEAR. THIS PHENOMENA IS ESPECIALLY ACUTE WHEN THE CAR IS COLD OR WHEN YOU FIRST START DRIVING IT.
WHILE DECELERATING, EITHER BRAKING OR COASTING, THE CAR WILL LURCH VIOLENTLY WHEN REACHING APPROXIMATELY 22 MPH. THE SEVERITY OF THE LURCH VARIES BUT IN MOST INSTANCES IT IS HARD ENOUGH TO SNAP MY NECK FORWARD. *JS
HARD JERK WHEN DOWNSHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR AT 20-22 MPH. I AM CONCERNED THAT THIS COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT ON WET, ICY OR SNOW COVERED ROADS. WHEN I ASKED THE DEALER ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, HE SAID HE HAD NOT HEARD OF IT. *TR
VEHICLE KICKS FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR WHEN SLOWING DOWN FROM 20MPH. *TR
VEHICLE KICKS FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR WHEN SLOWING DOWN FROM 20MPH. *TR
VEHICLE KICKS FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR WHEN SLOWING DOWN FROM 20MPH. *TR
VEHICLE KICKS FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR WHEN SLOWING DOWN FROM 20MPH. *TR
VEHICLE KICKS FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR WHEN SLOWING DOWN FROM 20MPH. *TR
VEHICLE KICKS FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR WHEN SLOWING DOWN FROM 20MPH. *TR
VEHICLE KICKS FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR WHEN SLOWING DOWN FROM 20MPH. *TR
VEHICLE KICKS FROM SECOND GEAR TO FIRST GEAR WHEN SLOWING DOWN FROM 20MPH. *TR
WHEN BRAKING AT LOWER SPEEDS OF LESS THEN 20MPH THE CAR LURCHES OR JERKS LIKE THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES ARE ENGAGING OR THE TRANSMISSION IS DOWNSHIFTING HARD. *TR
WHEN BRAKING OR NOT AROUND 20 MILES AN HOUR CAR JERKS FORWARD. *TR
THE CAR BUCKLES WHEN REDUCING YOUR SPEED TO AROUND 20 MPH. ALSO THE REAR SEAT DOOR LOCK STOPPED WORKING AND MY CAR IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY AND KIA WANTS TO CHARGE ME AROUND 700 DOLLARS TO FIX IT. *TR
THE CAR LURCHES WHEN DOWN SHIFTING FROM 18 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR. HARD DOWN SHIFT AT EVERY STOP. *TR
Showing 1-20 of 24 loaded complaints
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.