NHTSA Complaint #11540915 — 2016 KIA OPTIMA

Both rear windows, independently and at different times, have needed to have the gear inside the door panel that rolls the windows up and down replaced due to spontaneous stripping and total failure. The dealer has replaced the offending parts, which are sold only as part of a much larger / very large component panel, i.e. it is not possible to replace only the small plastic stripped-out gear. My safety was at risk both times because the window would not go up, resulting in my inability to lock and secure my car. If I had small children who ride in the back seat (I don't, but surely others who have this car do), I would not be able to secure their safety inside the vehicle. The problem has been inspected, confirmed, and repaired by the dealer. It is a known recurring problem by the manufacturer Kia, but they refuse to issue a recall. The first time it happened the car was still under warranty so there was no charge to me. With the second window the car was no longer under warranty and I had to pay the full cost of the repair. There were no warnings of pending failure; the windows were rolled down and just failed to roll up. I wish to state for the record that although this is a 2016 model and therefore is now 7 years old (in 2023), it has only 14,000 actual miles on it, i.e. I drive the car only around town for errands, etc. From 2017 (when we purchased the car) through mid-2020, I drove it 18 miles per week to my part-time job very near my home. I retired in mid-2020 and drive the car even less now. Furthermore, I've had riders in the back seat probably less than a dozen times in 7 years, my point being that the rear windows are rarely used. Mostly they have been used by me as the driver when I want to release built-up heat from the car when it has been sitting all day in the NC summer sun and I'm going out once or twice a week to drive it somewhere (like the grocery store). This failure should not be happening with a car with so little usage on it!