2015 Kia Optima · symptom sheet

Vehicle fire

70owner reports
92,000median miles
1involved a crash

Newest report Aug 24, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

70 of the 1,005 complaints on this car describe fire.

Tick what matches of 70 reports

while parked and off

while driving

it started under the hood

a recall existed for the cause

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the battery (3 reports) and the fuel line or pump (3 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the this problem covers the 2015 model year as of Sep 9, 2026.

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 60,000 and 123,000 miles, from the 47 reports that gave a mileage.

116

418

1219

920

721

522

923

724

725

926

What owners wrote

“My car caught on fire just sitting under the carport. The investigator said that it was electrical. Our neighbor seen it and told us to get out the house and started popping. I tried to get in for the brake line but no one would call me back to see about it. When I go thru water and get on the brake it jerk like.”
Filed Jun 28, 2025

“I was driving on the freeway when I noticed smoke coming out of my hood. I immediately exited the freeway, pulled over, popped the hood open, and my engine was on fire. There were no warning lamps on my dash. I donât know which components were involved and inspection of the components after was not possible, because everything under the hood burned by the time firefighters responded.”
Filed Jun 2, 2025

“I was driving to a new job , it was about 5:45am when I noticed my car wouldnât go faster or stop. I seen fire , tried to stop car, I was going about 15-20 mph when i decided to just get out of the car and run , care went into complete flames”
Filed Feb 14, 2025

“Vehicle lots brakes while driving, smell of gas and caught fire under hood. Engine had been completely replaced due to recall in January 2022 Vehicle was a complete loss, luckily son was able to get out.”
Filed Feb 19, 2022

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 1 of 70 reports involved a crash and 5 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.