2011 Kia Optima Exterior Lighting

BOTH LOW BEAM LIGHTS HAVE MELTED THE REFLECTORS. TOOK INTO DEALER AND THEY HAVE NO CLUE WHAT HAPPENED. IT SEEMS A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THIS SAME ISSUE. THE LIGHTS ARE SO DIM, ARE MELTED INTO OTHER POSITIONS AND DON'T EVEN SHINE ON THE ROAD. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS, AND THE EATER WANTS ME TO PAY FOR 2 NEW LIGHTS SYSTEMS FOR THE CAR

LOW BEAMS ARE VERY DIM DUE TO INTERNAL HEAD LIGHT CUP CHROME WORN OUT , CAN'T SEE MORE THAN 3 FEET AHEAD AT NIGHT , UNLESS I USE HI BEAMS .

THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE VERY DIM EVEN WITH NEW BULB REPLACEMENTS. FOUND THAT THE REFLECTIVE MATERIAL INSIDE THE HEADLIGHTS MELTED. NOT SAFE TO DRIVE AT NIGHT NEED TO USE THE HIGH BEAMS ALL THE TIME.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED IN THE RAIN, THE FLOOD LIGHTS DID NOT TURN ON WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 87,000.

BOUGHT 2011 KIA OPTIMA NEW. WIFE DRIVEN TO WORK DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. RECENTLY DROVE IT AT NIGHT AND NOTICED DIM LOW BEAMS AS WELL. TOOK CAR TO DEALER FOR CRANKSHAFT RECALL AND HAD THEM LOOK AT HEADLIGHT LOW BEAMS. SURPRISE, WE NEED 2 NEW HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES PLUS INSTALLATION.. ABOUT $1000+. REFLECTIVE MATERIAL MELTED/DETERIORATED. DEALER CLAIMS IGNORANCE AND TRIES TO SAY WE HIT A BUMP CAUSING ISSUE . DENY, DENY, DENY. I WON'T WAIT FOR ANY RECALL OR RESTITUTION, I'M GONNA TRADE THE PROBLEM DOWN THE ROAD. BUYER BEWARE !!! BTW , WE HAVE REPLACED INTERIOR LIGHTING SWITCH AT $300+ AND ALSO A/C COMPRESSOR AT $1700. THE CAR HAS 68,000 MI ON IT AND HAS COST US $2000 OUT OF POCKET IN WHAT I CONSIDER PREMATURE FAILURES. NOT TO MENTION THE HEADLIGHT COST. NOT HAPPY WITH KIA ,,!!!!

(DIMMED HEADLIGHT) I HAVE OWNED MY 2011 OPTIMA SINCE 2013 AND SUMMER OF 2016 NOTICE MY HEADLIGHTS WERE REALLY DIMMED TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CANT SEE PAST 10-20 FEET IN FRONT OF YOU. REPLACED 2 HEADLIGHT BULBS W/ SYLVANIA SILVERSTAR BULBS AND HEADLIGHTS ARE STILL VERY DIMMED. LOOKS LIKE THEY REFLECTORS INSIDE THE BEAMS ARE BURNT/MELTED CAUSING THE LIGHTS TO LOOK DIM. I WOULD DEFINITELY CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY HAZARD SINCE I CANT REALLY SEE ANYTHING ON THE ROAD. IT WOULD BE NICE IF KIA LAUNCHED A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT FOR HEADLIGHT PROBLEM SINCE I WOULD CONSIDER THIS A DESIGN/ENGINEERING FLAW SINCE IT WAS FACTORY BULBS WERE ORIGINALLY IN THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES. UNSAFE HEADLIGHT VISIBILITY.

THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS LOOK LIKE FLASHLIGHTS WITH WEAK BATTERIES, YOU CAN ONLY SEE ABOUT 6 FEET IN FRONT OF CAR. THE LENS ON THE HEADLIGHTS ARE CLEAR LIKE NEW ONES, BUT THE HEAT FROM THE BULBS DESTROY THE REFLECTIVE MATERIAL INSIDE THE HEADLIGHT. THE ONLY WAY TO DRIVE AT NIGHT IS WITH THE BRIGHT LIGHTS ON. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE BOTH HEADLIGHTS. WHEN YOU GOOGLE THIS PROBLEM MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME COMPLAINT.

THIS 2011 KIA HEADLIGHT BULB WAS REPLACED, HOWEVER THE LIGHT QUIT WORKING. WAS INFORMED THAT LIGHTBULB MELTED AND ENTIRE HEADLIGHT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ALSO HAVE TO DRIVE WITH HIGH BEAMS AT NIGHT FOR BETTER LIGHTING

2011 KIA OPTIMA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE PROJECTOR HEADLIGHTS VISIBILITY ISSUES AT NIGHT. CONSUMER USES HIGH BEAM LIGHTS AT NIGHT. *SMD THE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER, THE CONSUMER PROVIDED IS INVALID. *JB

MY WIFE TOLD ME SHE COULDN'T SEE GOING TO WORK IN THE EARLY MORNING. I TOOK HER CAR OUT IN THE EVENING TO FIND YOU COULD ONLY SEE A FEW FEET IN FRONT OF THE CAR. I AM AN ELECTRICIAN AND RAN A COUPLE OF TESTS ONLY TO FIND EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT. I READ IN A KIA CAR FORUM ABOUT THE REFLECTIVE PAINT MELTING INSIDE THE LOW BEAM CUP. I ORDERED AN AFTERMARKET REPLACEMENT AND THINGS WORKED GREAT. I TOOK APART THE ORIGINAL AND SENDING A PHOTO OF THE MELTED PAINT. HERE IS A WEBSITE WITH OTHERS HAVING THE SAME ISSUES. HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/KIA/OPTIMA/2011/LIGHTS/EXTERIOR_LIGHTING.SHTML

CAN BARLEY SEE 2 FEET AHEAD OF THE VEHICLE AFTER DARK. HEADLIGHTS ARE VERY DIM. VEHICLE HAS ABOUT 62000 MILES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA OPTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH, THE HEADLIGHTS WERE ACTIVATED HOWEVER, THE ILLUMINATION WAS EXTREMELY DIM. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHO INFORMED THAT BOTH HEAD LAMPS OVERHEATED WHICH CAUSED THE REFLECTOR TO MELT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

POLICE OFFICER POINTED OUT MY CAR'S TAIL LIGHTS WERE OUT WED NIGHT (WHILE HEADLIGHTS WERE ON). THURS, CHECKED ALL FUSES, ALL OK. DID WEB SEARCH TO FIND FUSE FOR TAIL LIGHTS. FOUND INSTEAD DESCRIPTION OF KLUDGE FIX OF REMOVING MEMORY FUSE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. REMOVED MEMORY FUSE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, PUT IT BACK IN, TAIL LIGHTS THEN CAME ON WHEN HEADLIGHTS WERE ON. *TR

TAIL LIGHTS, DASH BACK LIGHTING BECAME INOPERATIVE. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD. THIS MODEL DOES NOT HAVE A SMART KEY SYSTEM SOLUTION FOUND ON-LINE 1.OPEN IN-DASH FUSE BOX 2.PULL YELLOW MEMORY FUSE 3.WAIT A FEW MINUTES 4.REPLACE FUSE 5.CHECK TO SEE IF THINGS ARE WORKING RIGHT (IF NOT, REPEAT PREVIOUS STEPS WITH A LONGER WAIT BEFORE REPLACING THE FUSE). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN, THE CONTACT INADVERTENTLY DEACTIVATED THE HEADLIGHTS WHEN THE TURN SIGNAL LEVER WAS PUSHED DOWN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE END POINT OF THE TURN SIGNAL LEVER INCLUDED A KNOB THAT CONTROLLED THE HEADLIGHTS, WHICH EASILY ROTATED TO DEACTIVATE THE HEADLIGHTS WHILE MAKING A TURN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE TECHNICIANS ADVISED THAT THERE WAS NOT A REMEDY AVAILABLE FOR THE ISSUE AND THE DESIGN OF THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE COMPROMISED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,300. UPDATED 02/15/12*BF THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER, THERE WAS NO FIX FOR THE PROBLEM. UPDATED 02/29/12