My car won't start. I'm not sure if it's the starter or alternator.

Thank you!

From what my mechanic told me, my battery terminals are loose. I'm getting new ones tomorrow. Hopefully that will fix the problem. It doesn't make sense to me that O'Reilly's would say it's my alternator if it wasn't. I've had two different mechanics look at my alternator & they both said it looks fine. I just hope the new terminals will fix my problem.

Hope fully just the cables loose,if not you no what it is ,good luck with it.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback!

my car was running saturday and in the middle of driving it shut off. called my mechanic NOT THE HIGH PRICE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSING AND REPAIRING. FINDS OUT THAT what ever made my car shut down killed my starter and battery. i have a kia optima 2012. so they installed them and NOTHING. MY WARRANTY ONLY COVERS THE POWER TRAIN. I HOPE THIS INFO HELPS. IT IS AT THE KIA DEALERSHIP NOW. WAITING FOR THE DIAGNOSIS

Hi my Kia optima won't turn over at all I put the key in all of the lights are on but when I turn the key nothing

2001 Kia optima was running fine and today I put the key in to start I turn it and I could hear the fuel pump and all the lights on the dash are on but nothing no click

We have the same problem as Cmj57585, but ours is a 2011 Optima. Any ideas/suggestions?

2008 kia optima wont start, replaced original battery last week, ran fine, now wont start , have no interior lights , head or brake lights every thing is dead. only have door ajar light . tried jumping battery still nothing. no power anywhere. battery tested ok.

GuruZZSB. Do you have any updates I just had the same thing happened to me.

I am currently having the same issue. 2013 optima intermittently won't start until i jiggle the gear selector. Then it will start. Kia dealership "can't replicate" even though when I dropped it off, I made sure it wouldn't start. We are refusing to pick up the car until they find the issue and fix it.

I have the exact problem. Battery starter and alternator fine. Any updates?

I have a 06 optima i just replaced alternator. Ran fine then i thought battery was bad i replaced it drove fine then died i cant boost i recharged battery it drags starter on kia and will not start ..are starters known for going bad with alternators and batteries? Seems all three are connected through all the comments.

My 2011 push start Kia Optima GDI EX WONT START GOT THE ENGINE LIGHT STILL WAS MOVING BUT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AFTER PULLING OVER AND SHUTTING CAR COMPLETELY OFF WOULD NOT START EVERYTHING WORKS JUST WONT START

I have a 2013 Kia Optima! Out of nowhere the shift locks up. The car want start! The auto hold, trunk and bright lights symbol are blinking, but when I put it in park or drive it shows nothing

Had my 2011 Kia optima only a few weeks and this happened. I have a push start and brake hardens up and car won't start. It happens every day now. I get stranded in different places. Gotta get rid of this car

Non of the comments were helpful no one has a real answer to the questions being asked

My 2015 Kia Optima wont start I'm guessing its my ignition system

The problem may be a bad connector to the starter.

I had the same problem just got the switch fixed at KiA $243.00 car is fine now the switch was broke in my gear box

I had the same problem and had my 2014 optima ex towed to the dealer service department. Twice when they went to inspect the vehicle the car started and they ended the inspection and told me nothing was wrong with my car and they were unaware of optima start issues. I kept happening but used a trick I learned on the internet to get the car started. Last week it would not start and after 2 hours of tying the trick failed to work so I left the car in the grocery parking lot and walked home. The next morning the car started and I took the car back to the dealer after making an appointment the previous night. The dealer knew I was infuriated. They had a loaner waiting for me and performed a service and discovered the inhibitor switch was the culprit and replaced it. Car is good as new.

Ok so I have an old Kia Optima and it has this exact problem there is ONE THING that helps. Turn the car off, hold the break, put the key in and turn once. Put the car in neutral THEN turn on the engine. BOOM FIXES MY PROBLEM EVERY TIME

I have a Kia Optima 2013 EX. The car turn on fine the first time on Sunday. I went out to do some errands. By the 4th errand, I went to turn my car on but it was not turning on. The battery got switched about 3 months ago and all the lights were working. I let my car rest for about 2-3 hours and tried to turn it on again and nothing. It was as if it wanted to start but couldn't. The car is a push-on. After a long day of reading threats I got home and tried a tricks i learned in one of the readings. The car turned on fine but without pressing the break. I'm guessing it has to do with the break switch. But after reading that it may be the inhibitor switch I'm second guessing myself. My car is no longer any warranty. How would I know which switch i would need to replace. Any help?

Won't start Kia optima 2001 replaced everything still no start

I have an 05 kia optima. Been through 3 altenators and 3 batteries and im just now finding out the connection to the starter could cause all of the issues. So if anyone actually figured it out let me know because kia has officially lost my vote an entire century of these cars are defective and should be recalled just saying. Lol

I have a 2015 Kia and it would not want to start either. It eventually stop turning on. I had taken it to Kia dealership. 2 days before it stop turning on I took it to get looked at. So they paid for my tow back to Kia. Turns out the positive cord was loose on the battery. And it's been running fine since. I too had replaced my battery once thinking it was that but it wasn't. I hope this helps.

I have a 2011 Kia optima ex I was driving and it lost all power and it wont start at all or click or anything anyone have any ideas

Try inserting your key into the glove box compartment mine started right up no issues and after that everything was fine

My car is doing things very similar to this thread. It’s like my battery dies but I had it all checked and my battery and alternator are perfectly fine. I actually have someone a jump start and since then my car has to be jumped and after turning it off once or twice it won’t start again. Did anyone ever figure out a for sure about what was going on with their car?

Put your shifter into reverse then back to park. It should start. This has been happening to me about 1-2 times a week for the past year. Repair shops can’t find anything wrong. I guarantee Kia knows about it, can’t figure out why they haven’t addressed it yet.

Change the 30 amp fuse next to the starter relay I have a 2010 Kia Optima have changed the brake switch which worked for awhile but it happened again checked the starter and it was good. Traced it back to ignition and turned out the 30 amp fuse was bad.

I just got my car fixed today it is a Kia optima 2017. I had lights and everything but it just wouldn't start. It was the ignition starter fuse under my steering wheel column.

I have a 2013 Kia that cut off I’m the middle of me driving and it killed my starter and I replaced it and it still won’t start I need help

i have a 2013 kia optima ex push start.i toke it to the dealer and they dnt find nothing wrong with the car.my car is doing the same weather under 48 degrees it wont start.so i started changing parts ( battery,starter,alternator, inhibitor switch,brake pedal switch,3 main relays that make car start,the ground cable from the battery and still dealing with it for 4 years.i dnt let nobody mess with my car so i got used to the trick to star it up.some times is embarrassing everybody leave work and 10 mins after im still in the parking lot trying to start it up .its a shame that kia cant come out with something cause optimas are great cars