Kia Optima Stopped Running while Driving
Kia Optima Stopped Running while Driving
Here are the details:
2015 Kia Optima automatic 75k miles
I was driving today and my car turned off out of the blue. A bunch of lights came on in the instrument cluster and I was able to coast to a safe spot.
When trying to start the car there is a very short sound indicating it is trying to turn over, but maybe 1 second of this then silence. No clicking or whiring.
My friend came and tried to jump start my car. Before attaching jumper cables I checked my battery voltage and it was 12.4V. After 15 minutes of charging my car would still not start. Even with the jumpers still attached from his battery.
I went to AutoZone and borrowed their code reader, but it came up with 0 codes.
I checked every fuse and they all appear fine.
My thoughts are it could be the ignition coils or starter, but wanted to get another opinion before swapping things out.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
Edit: it turned out to be the engine has seized and it is being replaced for free under the recall. Got a 2023 Stinger as a loaner and very happy with how this turned out. Such a relief. I am considering selling my Optima and going Subaru or Toyota.
If the entire car stopped while actively driving, it's not coils or your starter. All 4 ignition coils don't just die at the same time, youd have one go out which would result in a misfire, not complete shutdown. And your starter has zero impact on the engine while engine is already running.
Being that it's a Theta II engine with 75k miles that no longer turns over, it's likely had a catastrophic bearing failure and has completely locked up. They were a flawed engine design with poor machining and a very high percentage of them die at that mileage, so much so that Kia recalled millions and has been sued over them hundreds of times.
Don't waste your money parts cannoning that shit, especially when you aren't experienced. Take it to a real mechanic for a quick inspection, it could potentially be an electrical issue, but there's a high chance your car is basically totalled unless a Kia dealer is willing to replace the engine under warranty.
Why would it be the starter since the car was already running? If you really think it is the starter, before you replace anything, an old trick is to tap the side of the housing to see if you can get it spinning again.
You have probably already checked, but did you try the fuses? A popped fuse wouldn't show up under any engine codes but it might explain why it was dead.
A popped fuse wouldn’t show up under any engine codes
It will on a car this new, since losing power to one of the electrical systems will at least show up as a CANbus fault when the ECU can't talk to a subsystem.
Good to know!
Yeah I checked each fuse one-by-one
Check the grounding stud. The neg terminal of the battery probably is wired straight to it. On my kia soul the whole area was painted. Remove the bolt and connector, sand everything and put it back. May not solve your issue but can't hurt.
Kia dealership checked it out and it was the engine, replacing it under the recall of theta II engines.
Very relieved to know I won't be paying a dime for this.Also they gave me a 2023 Stinger as a loaner that is so damn fun to drive and so high tech. I joked at the counter saying "I get a stinger right?" and I think they assumed I had a stinger getting repaired and gave me the same for a loaner
They can take their sweet time with my Optima lol