Complaint 2238810

2015 KIA OPTIMA • ENGINE • incident Aug 14, 2026

Crash
No
Fire
Yes
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Complaint ID
2238810
Make
KIA
Model
OPTIMA
Model Year
2015
Component
ENGINE
Incident Date
Aug 14, 2026
Date Received
Aug 24, 2026
Data As Of
Sep 1, 2026

Complaint Summary

ENGINE

Owner Narrative

My 2015 KIA optima experienced a catastrophic engine fire while I was driving. There was no warning, I just heard a boom in the engine bay the breaks stopped working and all electrical cut out. As I'm coasting, because I'm unable to stop, flames started to come in through under the dash. I couldn't turn the car off, nor put it in park so the doors stayed locked. The driver window was opened just enough for me to grab the top and break it, allowing me to crawl out. The car coasted itself to the shoulder then blew up (I had a full tank of gas.). All this happened in the manner of 30 to 35 seconds. It's important to note that KIA just replaced the engine 2 months prior to this incident.

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.