Vehicle report
2012 KIA OPTIMA HYBRID
This model year
What the record shows
The 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid is a midsize car, and the 2nd model year of a nameplate NHTSA records from 2011 to 2020.
The EPA rated one configuration: a single 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine, front-wheel drive only, a single transmission, Automatic 6-spd and running on regular gasoline.
Combined fuel economy is 36 mpg.
NHTSA's best overall crash rating for this model year is 5 out of five stars.
The federal record holds 109 owner complaints, 3 safety recalls and 131 service bulletins for it.
Counts are reports, not rates. A complaint is something an owner chose to file; it is unverified and unadjusted for how many of these cars were sold, so the useful comparison is against other model years of the same car. Recalls and investigations carry more weight because a manufacturer or regulator acted on them.
Reading this report
Complaint counts are reports filed with NHTSA, not failure rates. A common model collects more of them than a rare one that breaks more often.