Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2007 Kia Optima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I bougjt this car in 2014. I have replaced both low-beam headlights, twice, a brake light, both rear blinkers, a front blinker, as well as both highbeams. I have never replaced even half the number of lights in the entire lifetime of ownership of any vehicle I have owned in the past. This is an obvious recall issue based on safety as well as quality if Kia cared. When the lights are working I have to drive with my high-beams on and I never get flashed or pulled over. It is extremely hard to see vs. Any other vehicle. I have had many friends and family in the car and have shared the story. And everyone says the same thing, its like the brights in this car is everyone else's regular lights. In fact, many people say the high-beams are not as bright as most vehicles low-beams. It is ridiculous and unfair that us owners have to spend $10-$35 on a bulb or two an average of every 5-8 weeks. …
My low beam lights have no visibility and I have been researching online used headlight assembly because it costs $400 for both sides that I dont have I replaced my low and high beam bulbs the high beams work just fine but as I was doing research a high percentage of this make and model have the same reoccurring problem I seen where they have recalled 2011 and up for this problem but I guess decided to not worry about the older models I can understand that but that is my only means of transportation for work and my daughters now it is getting darker earlier and I can't afford to drive around with my bright lights on and the air bag light will not go off
[VIN] I took my car in today because of a letter I received for a service campaign. There are all several problems regarding my brakes loss of fluids severe corrosion flaking or scaling of metal brake pipes and I was told the weather has caused that when I called the consumer Kia phone number. I have oil leak from the back of the engine and rogers very very rusty. Both front struts leaking. I took my car back to Kia summit place in waterford michigan. This is where I bought my car. They told me that all of that corrosion was because I live in michigan.
The air bag light stays on all the time 1 the passenger airbag light will say on with an adult sitting in the seat!!1 visors do not stay up! Headlights are very dim . I've changed them out to a few different types still dim cannot see at night
The visor on the driver side all of a sudden does not stay in the upright position. It just hangs obstructing my view. This should be recalled because I have read that this is a known problem for Kia Optima's. The dealership is going to charge me over $200 to replace it and I did nothing to break it. I just use the visor normally and do not hang anything from it. I was driving normally one day and it just fell down. My car is a little over 5 years old so it is no longer under warranty and I just finished paying it off so this is very upsetting. I feel that if the driver's view is obstructed then it should be recalled and replaced with a new working part. It is very distracting to drive with the visor down all the time. It gets in the way. Many people probably do not realize they can report this issue so I am providing some links for forums where people are stating similar problems. …
Driver side visor ceased to remain upright when flipped up out of the way. Only way to keep from blocking my view was to flip it over to the left side. A few months later, same thing happened with the passenger side sun visor. Kia never recalled this item, but it has failed on thousands of their vehicles. Dealer wanted over $500 to repair. Instead, I searched online and found new replacement parts for $206.50. I ordered them and replaced the visors myself--I searched and found diagrams from Kia's parts inventory and found posts online from others who'd had to replace theirs who explained that you pop off the oval-shaped piece holding the arm of the visor with a butter knife (slip it underneath) or flat-blade screwdriver to access the screw underneath and unscrew to remove the old visor and screw in the new one in its place. …
My 2007 Kia Optima has had both sun visors break making them unable to remain in the upward position. Initially the driver side visor broke and several months later the passenger side broke. It made it difficult to see traffic lights when stopped at an intersection so I held them up with straps. Now I cant use them to block the sun. I would replace them but they are expensive and I feel that this problem should not have occurred because they were used normally, I do not attach anything to the visors and they were usually up. Additionally when I sit in the passenger front seat the airbag light comes on indicating that the passenger airbag is off. This is supposed to only happen when there is no occupant in the seat. Im not sure why but it only seems to happen when I am in the seat. I wear my seatbelt and sit normally in the chair. This has happened since the car was bought used in 2008.
How many consumers have to complain about the air bags in 2007 Kia Optima (mostly passenger) before a recall is issued. This is a dangerous situation. I've already brought my vehicle to dealer during warranty period and they could not duplicate problem. What is the point of airbags if they don't deploy when needed? Someone, if not already, will be seriously hurt or killed. There are numerous complaints about the airbags, and those are just the ones that consumers took the time to report. What about the visors with the defective internal piece that shatters and leaves the visors in a hanging position. This is dangerous!! These issues have been going on since the vehicle was manufactured and no recall was ever issued. Again, these are severe safety issues. What does it take and how many complaints and injuries does it take to have a manufacturer correct a safety issue?
My 2007 Kia Optima has had both sun visors break making them unable to remain in the upward position. Initially the passenger side visor broke and several months later the driver side broke. It made it difficult to see traffic lights when stopped at an intersection so I held them up with the extended visor in the visor. I would replace them but they are expensive and I feel that this problem should not have occurred because they were used normally, I do not attach anything to the visors and they were usually up. I have read many complaints on this issue and do not understand why there has not been a recall on the visors. This is a matter of safety in my opinion.
Passenger air bag does not activate when passenger is in seat. Brought in to dealer, while still under warranty, could not find anything wrong. Passenger visor broke and hangs in line of vision. Researched and found this to be a common problem with this vehicle on both visors. There is a defective piece used in the arm of visor that shatters. This is a very dangerous problem, as the visor will not stay in upright position and drops down into line of vision. Both of these issues are a common complaint of this vehicle. Vehicle is no longer under warranty, therefore, can't afford to repair defective visor that should have been redesigned with stronger parts.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Optima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2007 Kia Optima?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2007 Kia Optima, 20% of the model year's 167 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2007 Kia Optima window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof recall for the 2007 Kia Optima, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2007 Kia Optima window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 67,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.