# 2015 Kia Optima Hybrid, experience or tips or advice?



## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

I am seeing a dealership in a few days about this car, anyone has any advice or experience or tips about this car? Is it good? Does it drive good? Does it last a long time?


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## aroundtheworld (Jun 11, 2017)

Stay away from kia and hyundai.i have sonata poor gas milage,uncomfortable,noisy ...main problem is engine. My friend 15 sonata hibryd at 35000 water pump gone. Kia is the same crap.


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## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

aroundtheworld said:


> Stay away from kia and hyundai.i have sonata poor gas milage,uncomfortable,noisy ...main problem is engine. My friend 15 sonata hibryd at 35000 water pump gone. Kia is the same crap.


Yeah. Sonata and Kia basically from the same company. I saw some youtube videos on the Kia hybrid 2015 and people seem to kinda like it but I don't know. I am still doing more research


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## Shaunizzle42 (Jul 27, 2017)

Honda Accord Hybrid or Toyota Camry Hybrid is probably a better choice.


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## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

Shaunizzle42 said:


> Honda Accord Hybrid or Toyota Camry Hybrid is probably a better choice.


Trust me I'll go that route but even used it is pretty expensive compared to the Kia I'm looking at


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## Chris1973 (Oct 9, 2017)

It's tempting to save a few grand upfront or $75 a month if financing, BUT one important factor that has not been mentioned so far is resale value.

A high mileage Toyota or Honda is going to fare MUCH better vs. a Kia/Hyundai when it comes time to sell, and be much easier to sell.


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## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

Chris1973 said:


> It's tempting to save a few grand upfront or $75 a month if financing, BUT one important factor that has not been mentioned so far is resale value.
> 
> A high mileage Toyota or Honda is going to fare MUCH better vs. a Kia/Hyundai when it comes time to sell, and be much easier to sell.


I'm not the type of person that sells to get a new thing. I'm planning to keep this car as long as it is running well. I'm more concern about the powertrain reliability


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## aroundtheworld (Jun 11, 2017)

htboston said:


> I'm not the type of person that sells to get a new thing. I'm planning to keep this car as long as it is running well. I'm more concern about the powertrain reliability


Well if you want the car only for you..,but you post in uber forum so if you want to buy car for ridesharing do not buy hyundai or kia, go with prius or camry hibryd, less 10 k,or buy prius for around 5 k only for uber and another car only for you


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## Shaunizzle42 (Jul 27, 2017)

htboston said:


> Trust me I'll go that route but even used it is pretty expensive compared to the Kia I'm looking at


It is more expensive, but you get what you pay for. Personally I don't trust Kia or Hyundai, I'm not a big fan of Korean car companies.


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## ReyesMX6 (Dec 31, 2016)

Use this website to look up car complaints and issues reported by owners to the website and to the NHTSB. Class action law firms sometimes use it to look for possible class action suits based on severity of complaints. Read it for what it is worth but ultimately the decision needs to be yours based on your research.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/

I can say from personal experience Kia tends to be a cheap car, but the Optima is like their flagship vehicle. Those tend to be bigger investments for the company in quality and reliability. I have a coworker who recently had his engine replaced under an extended warranty due to a design issue. They did some test to see if it was necessary and it failed, supposedly the first car the dealer had fail. Kind of scary when you think about it, you shouldn't need a new engine at 105,000 miles, but at least they fixed it. However, you can always get a lemon no matter what brand you get.


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## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

ReyesMX6 said:


> Use this website to look up car complaints and issues reported by owners to the website and to the NHTSB. Class action law firms sometimes use it to look for possible class action suits based on severity of complaints. Read it for what it is worth but ultimately the decision needs to be yours based on your research.
> 
> https://www.carcomplaints.com/
> 
> I can say from personal experience Kia tends to be a cheap car, but the Optima is like their flagship vehicle. Those tend to be bigger investments for the company in quality and reliability. I have a coworker who recently had his engine replaced under an extended warranty due to a design issue. They did some test to see if it was necessary and it failed, supposedly the first car the dealer had fail. Kind of scary when you think about it, you shouldn't need a new engine at 105,000 miles, but at least they fixed it. However, you can always get a lemon no matter what brand you get.


What's amazing is... I just checked out the website and all the used car brands and models I am thinking about buying, there seems to be a problem with almost every car even the ones I am not planning to buy. Even brands like Toyota and Honda seem to have a lot of complaints


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## ReyesMX6 (Dec 31, 2016)

All cars have issues, even if just really minor ones. Read each complaint and determine if it’s worth your time or not to invest. The issues are reported by consumers, who may complain about everything and anything, so if it’s just an issue one time you may never experience it. If you’re really interested in a Kia there are Kia owner forums (just like this one for Uber) and you can read through actual owners compliments or complaints. Sometimes you can even find all the TSB (technical service bulletins) that tell you about problems and fixes for them. If you buy the car under warranty you can look for the issue and typically get it repaired at no cost to you under a TSB. Some items may even have an extended warranty from the manufacturer, like my coworkers car.


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## yoyolate (Dec 2, 2015)

I write you from the seat of an Hybrid EX 2015 with every single option available including the gorgeous panorama roof.

The car drives really good, it is of excellent built quality. For reference I also own a 335d and an S60, again both of them top trim and as far as built quality the Kia does not fall far behind the BMW.

Infinity stereo that is truly amazing, even better than the Harman on my BMW, lots better than whatever the crap is on the Volvo.

The 2015 has car play too. Seats are heated AND ventilated, both my "luxury" vehicles are only heated.

Even the passenger back seats are heated in the Kia.

The trunk is adecuate even for airport runs but the Hybrid battery does take a large chunk and you lose the fall down seats.

The energy saving tires are absolute crap, I got rid of them as soon as I could, put some all weather performance tires and I didn't see any mileage drop.

You don't get a spare tire so be sure to get AAA.

I've had several warranty repairs. They replaced the tail lights 2 times because they allowed water in them, the 3rd time they applied some retrofit solution and haven't had a problem since 

All repairs have been minor and less than 2 days and I have always got a ride or a loaner. No charge.

If you buy it new, which you can still find a 2015 new you get the 100,000 mile warranty. If you buy used you get only 60,000.

The drive is meh. It is very wimpy but then again, so are most Hybrids. It is not slow, just slow to accelerate and it is heavy so although the chassis is superb, it struggles a little on tight curves. 

It brakes a lot faster than it accelerates, that is for sure.

It is superbly comfortable. I can sit here for hours and hours with no pain or issue. The driver seat has ajustable lumbar support and headrest.

Passengers appreciate it. Many are surprised and say they didn't know Kias were this nice.

There is ample room in all seats. 

Gas mileage is where it suffers. I recently rented a Sonata 2017 with the non turbo engine and got almost the same MPG I get on the Optima Hybrid which is not amazing.

Right now I am averaging 32 MPG, which is solid for a car this size and comfort but crap for a Hybrid.


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## Chris1973 (Oct 9, 2017)

yoyolate said:


> I write you from the seat of an Hybrid EX 2015 with every single option available including the gorgeous panorama roof.
> 
> The car drives really good, it is of excellent built quality. For reference I also own a 335d and an S60, again both of them top trim and as far as built quality the Kia does not fall far behind the BMW.
> 
> ...


No spare tire? 32 mpg for a hybrid? No thanks.


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## htboston (Feb 22, 2016)

yoyolate said:


> I write you from the seat of an Hybrid EX 2015 with every single option available including the gorgeous panorama roof.
> 
> The car drives really good, it is of excellent built quality. For reference I also own a 335d and an S60, again both of them top trim and as far as built quality the Kia does not fall far behind the BMW.
> 
> ...


So, no powertrain problems yet? How many miles have you put on it so far? I'm planning to purchase the 2015 base model with around 14k miles on it. Can't afford to get a used or new loaded one (EX). It's a big maybe still because still looking around. I'm more concerned about the powertrain than anything else. I heard the foggy taillights are a problem for others as well.

I heard the headroom for the rear passengers is somewhat limited, can you elaborate on this for me?


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## yoyolate (Dec 2, 2015)

htboston said:


> So, no powertrain problems yet? How many miles have you put on it so far? I'm planning to purchase the 2015 base model with around 14k miles on it. Can't afford to get a used or new loaded one (EX). It's a big maybe still because still looking around. I'm more concerned about the powertrain than anything else. I heard the foggy taillights are a problem for others as well.
> 
> I heard the headroom for the rear passengers is somewhat limited, can you elaborate on this for me?


I am 5'9'' and I sit just fine in the back and this model I have has a lower roof than the basic one. The reason is because the panorama roof takes a lot of space. If you get three adults on the back, the center one will be a little crammed on the roof, but other than this, the seats are kind of deep to aid with the headroom.

The foggy taillights issue has been fixed, KIA sent out a TBS and a kit to repack them, and they did a good job on mine. I've had some real Noah's Ark kind of weather in DFW and no fogging since the last fix nearly a year ago.

I bought this car zero miles, it is a lease that expires on November 11, so keep your eyes open, you might see it on the market come December.

Powertrain has been absolutely no problem. 44,000 miles and still ticking like a clock. I would have used it earlier for Uber but I only had a 15k mile per year lease. You can drive that in a couple of months in this racket.

It has been towed once because I didn't drive it for a week and I left the dashcam on automatic outside of my house which is a semi busy street, so it kept turning on and drained the battery. The Kia dealer wanted 500 and change for a new battery but all I did was drive it after they jumped it, and have had no issues, that was 8 months ago.

Great car. The MPG is what annoys me. I am almost possitive you can get the same kind of MPG on a basic NA Optima.


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