2020 Kia Optima

Name: 2020 Kia Optima owner-filed safety complaints per 1,000 sold
Creator: YearsTell

Too few owners filed complaints about the 2020 Optima in its first three years to say whether it is a better or a worse year than the others. Among the 13 Optima years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2016 (0.37 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2023 (1.10).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.27 per 1,000

too few complaints to rank against its other years

Counted from 24 complaints filed in the first three years, of 154 ever. 95% lower bound 0.16.

Every Optima model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years

This yearOther yearsToo few complaints to rankTypical year, 0.55

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.62	28
2009	0.41	17
2010	0.34	11
2011	0.86	73
2012	0.95	112
2013	0.96	148
2014	0.55	86
2015	0.50	80
2016	0.37	53
2017	0.38	44
2018	0.44	46
2019	0.41	41
2020	0.27	24
2021	0.57	49
2022	0.66	52
2023	1.10	72

Issues owners of the 2020 Optima report

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 105 complaints

knock	17	16%
flashing	17	16%
knock sensor	15	14%
limp mode	14	13%

When it breaks

29% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 60,000 miles, from 28 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

2 investigations covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Loss of Motive Power

Questions buyers ask about the 2020 Kia Optima

Is 2020 a good year or a bad year for the Optima?

What problems does the 2020 Optima have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Engine (105), Power Train (28), Unknown Or Other (17). The phrases they used are listed above.

Is the 2020 Optima reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other Optima years: too few owners filed complaints about the 2020 Optima in its first three years to say whether it is a better or a worse year than the others.

Which Optima year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2016, at 0.37 per 1,000 sold. Every Optima year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the Optima.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is checked by hand against its source table, not against an outside figure.