2007 Kia Optima: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2007 Kia Optima
On the 2007 Kia Optima, the failure owners report most often is airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault, and the reports cluster around 80,000 miles. The earliest to appear is parking brake failure, reported by a median of 60,000 miles. Overall it scores 63 out of 100, high risk for a 2007.
High risk for a 2007 — 313th riskiest of the 365 2007 vehicles we can rate. 217 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 37 named failure modes on the 2007 Kia Optima, and the three most-reported carry 32% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault leads with 29 reports, about 1.0 per 1,000 vehicles and with the middle half of reports between 150 to 120,000 miles.
Other visibility problem follows with 27 reports, usually reported between 59k to 80,000 miles.
Headlight failure or clouding follows with 13 reports, usually reported between 77k to 160,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into airbag (39), glass (27) and lighting (26).
When these failures get reported
169 of the reports on the 2007 Kia Optima came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 79,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 31% by 50,000 miles, 68% by 100,000 miles and 91% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed, with 4 filed above the top of the chart.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 11% of the dated reports.
22% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.
In the order they tend to show up: parking brake failure around 59k, other visibility problem around 67k, airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault around 80k and other engine problem around 98k.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 37. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A further 4 reports came in above that, which is why the line stops short of the top. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
Severity, and what it costs
Across the named modes, 16 mention a crash, 6 a fire and 5 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.76, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault at $300–$1,600, other visibility problem at $150–$1,400, headlight failure or clouding at $150–$1,800 and other engine problem at $300–$4,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
12% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault | airbag | 29 | 21 | 150 | 80k | 122k | 1.0 | $300–$1,600 | High |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 27 | 25 | 59k | 67k | 80k | 0.9 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Headlight failure or clouding | lighting | 13 | 8 | 77k | 133k | 162k | 0.4 | $150–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Other engine problem | engine | 12 | 11 | 84k | 98k | 120k | 0.4 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Parking brake failure | brakes | 8 | 8 | 51k | 59k | 108k | 0.3 | $250–$1,300 | Moderate |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 8 | 7 | — | 110k | — | 0.3 | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Seat belt or retractor failure | airbag | 7 | 3 | — | 23k | — | 0.2 | $200–$900 | High |
| Tail light, brake light or signal failure | lighting | 5 | 5 | — | 118k | — | 0.2 | $100–$900 | Moderate |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 5 | 3 | — | 145k | — | 0.2 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Engine sensor failure | electrical | 4 | 4 | — | 95k | — | 0.1 | $180–$900 | Moderate |
| Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure | electrical | 4 | 4 | — | 82k | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,500 | High |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 4 | 3 | — | 97k | — | 0.1 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 4 | 4 | — | 69k | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 4 | 3 | — | 90k | — | 0.1 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Oil leak | engine | 3 | 3 | — | 147k | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,200 | Moderate |
| Wiring harness or short circuit | electrical | 3 | 1 | — | 61k | — | 0.1 | $400–$3,500 | High |
| Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure | electrical | 3 | 2 | — | 32k | — | 0.1 | $700–$3,000 | High |
| Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure | suspension | 3 | 3 | — | 67k | — | 0.1 | $400–$2,200 | High |
| Tire pressure monitor failure | wheels | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $80–$600 | Low |
| Blower motor or climate control failure | hvac | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 3 | 2 | — | 124k | — | 0.1 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 3 | 2 | — | 45k | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Shifter, linkage or stuck-in-park failure | transmission | 2 | 2 | — | 49k | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,400 | High |
| Loss of braking | brakes | 2 | 2 | — | 11k | — | 0.1 | $400–$3,000 | Critical |
| Airbag failed to deploy in a crash | airbag | 2 | 1 | — | 134k | — | 0.1 | $1,000–$5,000 | Critical |
| Cruise control failure | adas | 2 | 2 | — | 6k | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,400 | High |
| Catalytic converter failure | emissions | 2 | 2 | — | 187k | — | 0.1 | $900–$3,500 | Moderate |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 2 | 1 | — | 167k | — | 0.1 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Excessive oil consumption | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 151k | — | 0.0 | $900–$6,500 | High |
| No-start or intermittent start failure | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 8k | — | 0.0 | $200–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Transmission will not engage a gear | transmission | 1 | 1 | — | 71k | — | 0.0 | $1,500–$6,000 | Critical |
| Differential or transfer case failure | drivetrain | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $900–$4,200 | High |
| Alternator or charging system failure | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 88k | — | 0.0 | $450–$1,600 | High |
| Airbag inflator rupture | airbag | 1 | 1 | — | 74k | — | 0.0 | $0–$0 | Critical |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 122k | — | 0.0 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 1 | — | 35k | — | 0.0 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other driver assistance problem | adas | 1 | 1 | — | 122k | — | 0.0 | $250–$1,800 | High |
| Unclassified problem | other | 38 | 29 | 33k | 74k | 95k | 1.3 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2007 Kia Optima draws about 7.4 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 85th percentile of complaint rates among 2007 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 29,151 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2007 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 kia optima. While driving 40 MPH, the passenger side air bag light remained illuminated. The dealer reprogrammed the switches, but the failure recurred. The light dims when the vehicle is shut off and restarted. The vehicle will be taken back to the dealer for inspection. He also stated that the radio antenna was malfunctioning and the radio stations have a lot of static. The manufacturer stated that the antenna was not the cause of failure. The current mileage was 100 and failure mileage was 50. Updated 01/09/08. *lj updated 12/12/07 *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 kia optima. While driving 40 MPH, the passenger side air bag light remained illuminated. The dealer reprogrammed the switches, but the failure recurred. The light dims when the vehicle is shut off and restarted. The vehicle will be taken back to the dealer for inspection. He also stated that the radio antenna was malfunctioning and the radio stations have a lot of static. The manufacturer stated that the antenna was not the cause of failure. The current mileage was 100 and failure mileage was 50. Updated 01/09/08. *lj updated 12/12/07 *tr
Other visibility problem
Passenger air bag does not activate when passenger is in seat. Brought in to dealer, while still under warranty, could not find anything wrong. Passenger visor broke and hangs in line of vision. Researched and found this to be a common problem with this vehicle on both visors. There is a defective piece used in the arm of visor that shatters. This is a very dangerous problem, as the visor will not stay in upright position and drops down into line of vision. Both of these issues are a common complaint of this vehicle. Vehicle is no longer under warranty, therefore, can't afford to repair defective visor that should have been redesigned with stronger parts. *tr
How many consumers have to complain about the air bags in 2007 kia optima (mostly passenger) before a recall is issued. This is a dangerous situation. I've already brought my vehicle to dealer during warranty period and they could not duplicate problem. What is the point of airbags if they don't deploy when needed? Someone, if not already, will be seriously hurt or killed. There are numerous complaints about the airbags, and those are just the ones that consumers took the time to report. What about the visors with the defective internal piece that shatters and leaves the visors in a hanging position. This is dangerous!! These issues have been going on since the vehicle was manufactured and no recall was ever issued. Again, these are severe safety issues. What does it take and how many complaints and injuries does it take to have a manufacturer correct a safety issue? *tr
Headlight failure or clouding
I purchased a 2007 kia optima lx last friday [8/5/11] and when I drove it that night, it was impossible to see the road. The headlights are a dangerous and possibly a fatal hazard, while driving at night. I am writing to inform you about this matter. I would like to explain what the problem is and a solution to the problem. I sent an email to kia on 8/5 addressing this issue. I haven't received a reply yet. Please let me explain. The kia model I purchased, has two headlights on each side. There is a top light and a bottom light. The top light is the low beam headlight on the car and the bottom light is the high beam. The bottom light points out in the correct direction, as with cars that only have one headlight on each side. The low beam light is located'up and to the side of the car! It is absolutely impossible to have lights work correctly, when the low beam light is located'up and to the side of the car! There is a 'black spot' area'on the road, anything in front of the car, to cars in front of you, and to the sides of the road is impossible to see. The 'black spot' area means just that'everything in that area is black. The…
Low beam headlights, keep replacing bulbs, exact bulbs required by kia. Alternating either the driver's side or the passenger. Beside this problem, the headlights are so low that at night I have been running with high beams on for over a year now; on-coming cars don't seem to be bothered by the high beams. Usually high beams cause on coming vehicles to flash their high beams, but this is not the case, we've discussed with firestone, they tested the bulbs and believe it is electrical. Since reviewing your on-line complaints on this issue, we'd expect a recall by kia! We'd like to see that, at no cost, instead of it being our expense. I had several chevy camaro for years, never experienced this problem. Only recalling headlights being replaced one or twice! *tr
Recalls on the 2007 model year
NHTSA has issued 2 recall campaigns covering the 2007 Kia Optima, affecting an estimated 52,522 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover air bags:frontal and power train:automatic transmission:lever and linkage:column . Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
145,755 vehicles 2012-01-17- Defect
- Kia motors america, inc. (kia) is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 kia optima vehicles manufactured from september 29, 2005, through january 29, 2008, and model year 2007 and 2008 kia rondo vehicles manufactured from september 13, 2006, through march 21, 2008. The clock spring contact assembly for the driver's side air bag supplemental restraint system (SRS) may become damaged through usage over time. If the clock spring contact assembly becomes damaged, the driver's air bag electrical circuit will experience a high resistance condition potentially causing the…
- Consequence
- If the clock spring develops high resistance, in the event of a crash, the drivers air bag will not deploy and will not be able to properly protect the driver, increasing the risk of injuries.
- Remedy
- Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the vehicle's air bag clock spring contact assembly, free of charge. The safety recall began on july 11, 2012. Owners may contact kia customer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:COLUMN SHIFT
70,115 vehicles 2011-03-09- Defect
- Kia is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 optima vehicles manufactured from september 29, 2005, through june 13, 2007. There is a possibility that the shift cable may have been installed incorrectly, causing tension in the cable. If present, this condition could cause the cable to detach from the shifter assembly's dowel pin preventing the transmission from being shifted. The shift lever can then be moved into the park (p) position while the vehicle's transmission is still in the last used gear before detachment.
- Consequence
- If the driver leaves the vehicle without engaging the parking brake, there is a possibility that the vehicle can roll injure a person in its path or cause a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the shift cable and reinstall if necessary free of charge. The safety recall began on march 23, 2011. Owner may contact kia at 1-800-333-4542.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2007 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Where 2007 sits in the model line
High risk for a 2007 — 313th riskiest of the 365 2007 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
Across the 20 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2005 comes out best at 57 and 2019 worst at 80, with 2007 itself at 63.
If the model year is negotiable, 2005 scores lower than 2007 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2005–2010 generation specifically, 2005 is the strongest year at 57 and 2008 the weakest at 70.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2005-2010 generation, 2005 Kia Optima scores best at 57 and 2008 Kia Optima worst at 70.
What to look at before buying one
The mileages below are where the first quarter of reports for each mode had already been filed, which makes them the point at which a fault is worth looking for rather than the point at which it happens: airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault from about 150, parking brake failure from about 51k, other visibility problem from about 59k and headlight failure or clouding from about 77k.
On a 2007 Kia Optima with more miles than that on it, the useful question to put to a seller or a mechanic is whether airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault has been dealt with, and if so with what parts and at whose expense. A car that has already had the repair is in a different position from one that has not.
None of this is a diagnosis. It is a list of what other owners of the same model year reported, ordered by when they reported it, which is a good place to point an inspection and a poor place to stop.
What this page cannot tell you
217 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 217 reports, 169 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 78% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2007 Kia Optima?
The most-reported failures are airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault (29 reports, median 80,000 miles), other visibility problem (27 reports, median 67,500 miles) and headlight failure or clouding (13 reports, median 135,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
At what mileage do 2007 Kia Optima problems start?
Parking brake failure is the earliest failure mode to show up, with a median reported mileage of 60,000 miles and a quarter of reports before 50,000 miles. Across all failure modes on this year, the median report sits at 79,000 miles.
Is the 2007 Kia Optima reliable?
It scores 63 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 313th riskiest of the 365 2007 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2007 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Kia Optima is best?
Within the 2005–2010 generation, 2005 scores best at 57 out of 100 and 2008 worst at 70. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed