2015 KIA OPTIMA — Complaint #1964625
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:TRACTION BATTERY:MANAGEMENT SYSTEM/ENERGY CONTROL MODULE (BMS/BECM) filed February 5, 2024
NHTSA complaint #1964625 (ODI reference 11570004) concerns a 2015 KIA OPTIMA and was filed on February 5, 2024. The owner reports the failure occurred on November 15, 2023. The vehicle had 152,451 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Michigan based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as electrical system:propulsion system:traction battery:management system/energy control module (bms/becm), one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same KIA OPTIMA cohort independently describe similar electrical system:propulsion system:traction battery:management system/energy control module (bms/becm) failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2015 KIA OPTIMA shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle lost power and the check engine light was illuminated. The vehicle was parked at the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that a handheld diagnostic machine provided code: P1326 where the knock sensor needed to be replaced. On another occasion, while driving at 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact attempted to start the vehicle again but observed smoke and flames emanating from the engine compartment and exited the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the knock sensor needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 152,451.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1964625 |
| ODI Number | 11570004 |
| Date Filed | February 5, 2024 |
| Failure Date | November 15, 2023 |
| VIN | 5XXGN4A7XFG |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.