NHTSA Safety Recalls
2016 Kia Optima Recalls
The 2016 Kia Optima has 5 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on August 24, 2023.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2016 Kia Optima. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 5
- Owner complaints
- 760
- Crashes reported
- 27
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
20 fires
overall, 5 stars max
On a 2016 Kia Optima, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
5 recalls on the 2016 Kia Optima
Latches/locks/linkages: trunk lid: latch
- Campaign
- 23V594000
- Reported
- August 24, 2023
- Vehicles affected
- up to 319,436
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury
- Federal standard
- FMVSS 401, interior trunk release
- Same campaign
- also 2017–2018 Optima, 2 other models
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
- Campaign
- 18V907000
- Reported
- December 19, 2018
- Vehicles affected
- up to 71,653
- Risk NHTSA names
- fire
- Same campaign
- also 2011–2015, 2017 Optima, 2 other models
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 17V007000
- Reported
- January 6, 2017
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- only the 2016 Kia Optima
Power train: axle assembly: axle shaft
- Campaign
- 16V705000
- Reported
- October 3, 2016
- Vehicles affected
- up to 12,214
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- only the 2016 Kia Optima
Air bags: frontal
- Campaign
- 16V231000
- Reported
- April 21, 2016
- Vehicles affected
- up to 17
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- only the 2016 Kia Optima
2016 Kia Optima complaints by year
NHTSA has received 760 owner complaints about the 2016 Kia Optima, the newest on October 22, 2026. Of these, 27 describe a crash (4%) and 20 a fire; owners reported 21 injuries and 1 death.
In complaints about the 2016 Kia Optima, the component group named most often is the engine (56%), followed by the electrical system (14%) and the power train (10%).
1 of the 2016 Kia Optima's 5 recalls also concerns the power train.
Where 2016 Kia Optima owners gave the mileage (282 complaints), the median was 68,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Engine426
- Unknown Or Other121
- Electrical System104
- Power Train74
- Fuel/Propulsion System53
- Exterior Lighting47
Complaints received, by year
| 2016 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 19 | |
| 2018 | 30 | |
| 2019 | 63 | |
| 2020 | 60 | |
| 2021 | 67 | |
| 2022 | 109 | |
| 2023 | 162 | |
| 2024 | 121 | |
| 2025 | 76 | |
| 2026 | 50 |
Complaints about the 2016 Kia Optima peaked in 2023, when NHTSA received 162. 15% arrived between 2015 and 2019, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2016 vehicles, the 2016 Kia Optima drew 2.2× the complaints of the median Kia Optima year in the same window: 4th highest of the 20 ranked years.
That makes 2016 one of the Kia Optima years to avoid by our method.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: ★★★★★
- Frontal: 5/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 5/5
The 760 complaints about the 2016 Kia Optima are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Kia Optima by model year
Other 2016 Kia models
Newest record on this page: October 22, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted