Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 11/30/2012 | 175000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 kia optima. the contact stated that he was trying to exit the vehicle but the doors would not unlock. the contact stated that he would have to climb out of another door in order to exit the vehicle. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 175,000. | |||
| 08/07/2012 | 77000 | 1 | |
| Kia optima 2003. can not open driver door. lock does not disengage with key or power lock button. lots of complaints and i am sure there lots more unreported. does 15 or twenty of us have to die before kia is forced to fix this issue. no injury, crash or fatally yet........ *tr | |||
| 07/07/2012 | 135001 | 1 | |
| I own a 2003 kia optima. i have been unable to unlock the driver side door. i have had to either climb out the window or the one of the other doors in order to exit the vehicle. when i lift the outside handle to enter the car all of the doors lock. when i unlock the door from the inside you can push and push on the door and it will not open. i see that several others have had this issue it needs to be corrected as if i get in an accident i will not be able to exit the car. *js | |||
| 08/01/2011 | 40000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 kia optima. the contact stated that the driver side door lock was inoperable and the contact was unable to enter or exit through the driver side door. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 44,000. | |||
| 05/15/2006 | 45000 | ||
| Power door locks re-lock after you unlock them and pull on the door handle to open the door. this can either trap you in your car, or trap you out. you have to go around to the other side, but crawling over the center console to the driver's side is almost impossible. had the switch and actuator replaced on the driver's side. about a year later, the same thing happened with the passsenger side door. kia doesn't seem to care since it gets them over $300 worth of business each time. | |||
| 01/01/2008 | 90000 | ||
| Power door locks instantly lock after unlocking continuously, prohibiting entry or exit to the vehicle. this poses a safety hazard if there were to be an accident locking me and my children inside the vehicle. sometimes it takes 5-10 minutes to get in or out of the car trying to catch the door handle at just the right time to be able to open it. | |||
| 06/17/2011 | 104000 | ||
| Once you lock the doors on a 2003 kia optima, you cannot unlock from either the inside or outside for long periods of time. if you keep locking and unlocking from inside, they will eventually stay unlocked. very unsafe if you need to get out of car quickly. | |||
| 06/15/2011 | 80000 | ||
| Owner of 2003 kia optima - driver door won't open from inside our outside. owner must use passenger door to gain access to vehicle. exterior door handle seems loose. unable to open door to remove door panel. | |||
| 06/17/2011 | 104000 | ||
| Once you lock the doors on a 2003 kia optima, you cannot unlock from either the inside or outside for long periods of time. if you keep locking and unlocking from inside, they will eventually stay unlocked. very unsafe if you need to get out of car quickly. | |||
| 06/15/2011 | 80000 | ||
| Owner of 2003 kia optima - driver door won't open from inside our outside. owner must use passenger door to gain access to vehicle. exterior door handle seems loose. unable to open door to remove door panel. | |||
| 06/17/2011 | 104000 | ||
| Once you lock the doors on a 2003 kia optima, you cannot unlock from either the inside or outside for long periods of time. if you keep locking and unlocking from inside, they will eventually stay unlocked. very unsafe if you need to get out of car quickly. | |||
| 06/15/2011 | 80000 | ||
| Owner of 2003 kia optima - driver door won't open from inside our outside. owner must use passenger door to gain access to vehicle. exterior door handle seems loose. unable to open door to remove door panel. | |||
| 01/01/2011 | 126000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 kia optima. the contact stated that the drivers side door would not open or close. the dealer informed the contact that since the vehicle was no longer under warranty that they would not be able to provide her with any assistance. the manufacturer advised the contact that if she repaired her vehicle and a recall was later issued that she would be entitled to a refund. the vehicle was awaiting repairs. the current mileage was 127,000. the failure mileage was 126,000. | |||
| 01/01/2011 | 126000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 kia optimum. the contact stated that the driver side door was unable to open or close. the dealer informed the contact that since the vehicle was no longer under warranty that they would not be able to provide her with any assistance. the manufacturer advised the contact that if she repairs her vehicle and if a recall was later issued that she would be entitled to a refund. the vehicle was awaiting repairs. the current mileages were 127,000 and the failure mileages were 126,000. bw | |||
| 02/01/2009 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 kia optima. the contact stated that the locking meganisum failed, causing the contact to remain stuck inside and outside the vehicle, not allowing her to enter nor exit. she had to crawl out the window to exit the vehicle. the failure began two years ago. the dealer was notified who referred her to the manufacturer since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. the manufacturer agreed to repair the driver side door only; however, the failure had affected all four doors and locks. the vehicle had not been repaired. the current mileages were 73,442 and failure mileages were unknown. the vin was unavailable. bw | |||
| 03/11/2010 | 76569 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns 2003 kia optima. the door latches are not functioning properly. the door latches on both driver and passenger side cannot open the door to get in or out of the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed her she has to pay the deductible on the warranty before they can replaced the latches. the manufacturer was contacted who informed her she has to pay for the repairs. they offered no other assistance. the failure mileage was 76,569...mw | |||
| 12/15/2006 | 70000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 kia optima. the contact stated the front passenger and driver seat doors remained locked without warning. the dealer was notified who advised the contact that there is an electrical defect. the contact did not inform the manufacture. the vehicle was not repaired. the current mileage was approximately 120,000. the failure mileage was approximately 70,000. the vin was unavailable. bw | |||
| 12/10/2010 | 84200 | ||
| Driver's door won't open. failed in shut position. | |||
| 12/15/2006 | 70000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 kia optima. the contact stated the front passenger and driver seat doors remained locked without warning. the dealer was notified who advised the contact that there is an electrical defect. the contact did not inform the manufacture. the vehicle was not repaired. the current mileage was approximately 120,000. the failure mileage was approximately 70,000. the vin was unavailable. bw | |||
| 12/10/2010 | 84200 | ||
| Driver's door won't open. failed in shut position. | |||
| 12/15/2006 | 70000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 kia optima. the contact stated the front passenger and driver seat doors remained locked without warning. the dealer was notified who advised the contact that there is an electrical defect. the contact did not inform the manufacture. the vehicle was not repaired. the current mileage was approximately 120,000. the failure mileage was approximately 70,000. the vin was unavailable. bw | |||
| 12/10/2010 | 84200 | ||
| Driver's door won't open. failed in shut position. | |||
| 10/10/2010 | 95000 | ||
| 2003 kia optima driver side door locked and won't unlock. cannot open door and i'm locked in vehicle. must climb through window or passenger side. key will not unlock drivers door. i cannot lock the rest of the doors to vehicle in fear i will be locked in or out for good. | |||
| 06/26/2010 | 84226 | ||
| Have 2003 kia optima.car stops while running.looks into google.is common problem.camshft position sensor.also locks on the driver side not working ,locks self inside the car. | |||
| 02/16/2009 | 90000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns 2003 kia optima. the contact stated that if you are inside the vehicle and the doors are locked, you have to roll down the window and use the key on the outside of the door open the diver side and passenger side door. once the door is unlocked the doors lock right back. the dealer was not able to give the contact a reason for the problem. the vin was not available at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage was 90000 and the current mileage was 10700 | |||
| 12/03/2009 | 54000 | ||
| The dooor locks would not work properly. sometimes the doors would unlock electronicaly and sometimes not. several times we could not unlock manually either. a few times the passenger had to climb over the center console and exit the car on the passenger side. i was able to take it a kia dealer january 28, 2010 and they replaced both door latch assemblys. the locks were working until this week, may 6, when there seems to be a problem beginning to appear. i understand that there may be a problem with an electrical component but the door should be able to be unlocked manually. | |||
| 06/22/2007 | |||
| Door locks - the door locks on my '03 optima have failed twice. first the driver's side locks failed. after unlocking the doors, the doors lock again when pulling on the door handle. kia dealer replaced the actuator and latch at a cost of $300+. within 1-1/2 years the same thing happend with the passenger side, with the same cost to repair. when it happens, you cannot open the door from the inside. it is a definite safety hazard. | |||
| 06/08/2008 | |||
| 2003 kia optima driver side door wont open from inside or out. no warrenty on the car, was told by kia dealership when i called that they have heard of the problem!! also the passenger door is doing the same thing. lots of blogs about this problem. what happens when my daughter has to get out of her car and cant? sometimes she has to get in and out through the back seat doors!! | |||
| 01/01/2010 | |||
| For the 2003 kia optima , the door locks fail and the doors cannot be opened from the outside or inside. this is a very common complaint about the car in the 2000-03 generation. | |||
| 03/06/2007 | 67288 | 1 | |
| I bought my 2003 kia optima new 5/24/03. sometime during the winter of 2004/06 noticed door locks clicked more than i was used to hearing, but they worked. i thought it might be due to cold weather as antenna doesn't go all the way done in cold weather (antenna noted to dealer 12/20/04). i thought i mentioned this to dealer prior to 60k miles while getting another service done and was told the problem could not be duplicated, but there is no record of it per dealer. in any case i brought the car to dealer 3/6/07 for oil change and asked they check door locks which were only working intermittently - per the invoice they checked lock relays, disconnected and checked switch, checked ground at jb-07, 0 ohms , etcs module all ok. the mileage at that point was 67288. i was told the electrical warranty expired at 60k. i did not have the money to get it repaired. by 10/24/07, the front passenger door could no longer be opened with driver door switch or remote, and key entry took several minutes while turning the key while the door unlocked then locked as i pulled up the handle. i was charged $35.55 to diagnose that there was a possible wiring etac or relay problem not covered by warranty - cost of repair would be over $1000. now the cover to the passenger door key hole just came off probably due to the excessive key play needed to open the door. i am concerned for safety of passengers getting stuck if the driver is incapacitated in an accident and can't run around the other side of the car with key in hand to let them out. right now car is in the dealership getting the recalled rusted subframe replaced. it will take 1 week to get the part. meanwhile, i am with out car, the dealer won't pay for rental and i drive 72 miles round trip to work . car lurches forward occasionally with high way driving, noted to dealer at 89346 miles - dealer can't duplicate problem. *tr | |||
| 05/15/2009 | 41000 | 1 | |
| Everytime i try to open the front passenger side door, from inside the car or outside, the entire car locks down. i can only open this door from the outside, with the key, while catching the locking mechanism between cycles. this takes a lot of timing and several attempts. no one can get in or out on the passenger side. this has been going on for about a year now. i bought the car used 2 years ago and it only has 41,000 miles. the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty only applies to the 1st owner. *tr | |||
| 04/04/2009 | 100000 | 1 | |
| Locking system failure causing all doors to lock on the vehicle with no means to get out of the vehicle. can not get out by the windows and the motor will not shut down for quit some time. we believe it also triggered or malfunctioned the anti-theft causing it to ingage which would prevent you exiting the vehicle as well. *tr | |||
| 06/04/2007 | 97000 | 1 | |
| 2003 kia optima power door locks stick & won't release, necessitating driver to crawl over console in order to exit and/or passengers cannot get out without crawling through window. in the event of a fire or other emergency serious injury could result. *tr | |||
| 07/31/2008 | 57000 | 1 | |
| Re:2003 kia optima power door locks stick & won't release, necessitating driver to crawl over console in order to exit. in the event of a fire or other emergency serious injury could result. *tr | |||
| 05/02/2005 | 1 | 07/16/2004 | |
| Dt: periodically the doors on the consumer's 2003 kia optima lock on there own. the consumer stated he never locks the doors. the vehicle has been taken to the dealership and they are currently waiting for parts. the dealership has not offered information as to why this happens. the consumer stated he bought the vehicle used and it started approximately two months ago. he also stated that this does not always happen. if the driver side door locked, the passenger side also locked. he has to work the key over and over. when he turns the key it feels like it is opening and the locks will start to go up inside and then it locks back. 8nm | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||
| 11/18/2007 | 34900 | 1 | 01/01/2007 |
| No crash, no known vandalism. driver's door lock just quit working out of the blue. can not open the door at all ! (not with the key in the door, not with the manual lock actuator, not with the power door lock button.) the door just will not open ! if i have a need to make an emergency exit from the car, i will be at a great disadvantage, having to jump over the shift lever to exit from the passenger side door. my other option would be to climb out through my door window. the dealer service department inspected the door and ordered parts for it. they will fix it on december 3rd at no cost to me, since the car is still under the factory warranty. the dealer did not consider the situation serious enough to give me a replacement vehicle while i am waiting for the repair. so i am going to work and picking up my 4 and 6 year old girls every day, just hoping i don't get into a wreck or have a vehicle fire. i would be very mad if i suffered a great loss because i could not get out through my door. *tr | |||
| 07/01/2004 | 3 | 04/15/2004 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 kia optima. the contact stated that she has been locked in and out of the vehicle on three occasions. she attempted to unlock the door to enter the vehicle and heard the locks unlock. however, when she grabbed the handle to open the door, all of the doors locked again. the first time this occurred was approximately three years ago. the current mileage is 73,800 and the failure mileage was unknown. | |||
| 1 | |||
| When pulling the door lock up to get out or pull the door handle, the locking mechanism fails to disengage. the consumer was trapped inside the vehicle. a tow company was called to assist the consumer in getting out of the vehicle. please provide any additional information. *nm | |||