How many miles will a 2004 Kia Optima last?
Half of the 187 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2004 Kia Optima that list mileage came after 82,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 133,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 225 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 187 complaints on the 2004 Kia Optima that list mileage, the middle half came between 57,000 and 105,000 miles; 56 (30%) came after 100,000 miles, 8 (4%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2004 Optima last?
The 187 mileages owners gave run from 30 to 180,060 miles. A quarter are at or under 57,000 miles, half at or under 82,500, three quarters at or under 105,000 and nine in ten at or under 133,200; 56 (30%) came after 100,000 miles, 8 (4%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2004 Optima wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 30 miles |
| 25th percentile | 57,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 82,500 miles |
| 75th percentile | 105,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 133,200 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 180,060 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 56 (30%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 8 (4%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 4,530 NHTSA owner complaints on the Kia Optima that list mileage came after 76,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Kia Optima last? →
Common problems with the 2004 Optima
NHTSA's file holds 225 owner complaints on the 2004 Kia Optima. Owners named the door latches most often: 81 complaints, and half of the 75 that list a mileage came after 91,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latches/locks/linkages | 81 | 75 | 92,000 |
| Electrical System | 45 | 35 | 85,000 |
| Structure | 42 | 34 | 102,800 |
| Air Bags | 26 | 22 | 57,000 |
| Suspension | 19 | 15 | 68,954 |
Of the 225 complaints, 8 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 7 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2004 Optima a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2004 is a good or a bad Optima: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2004 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 225 complaints, the 2004 ranks 9th of the 20 Kia Optima model years from 2001 to 2020 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2013 (1,444). The fewest: the 2010 (75).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Optima | 143 | 84 | 81,000 |
| 2002 Optima | 107 | 87 | 85,000 |
| 2003 Optima | 141 | 105 | 84,200 |
| 2004 (this page) | 225 | 187 | 82,500 |
| 2005 Optima | 144 | 112 | 75,000 |
| 2006 Optima | 155 | 128 | 61,787 |
| 2007 Optima | 167 | 130 | 75,000 |
| 2008 Optima | 144 | 108 | 61,000 |
| 2009 Optima | 116 | 97 | 64,000 |
| 2010 Optima | 75 | 61 | 70,500 |
| 2011 Optima | 628 | 450 | 90,000 |
| 2012 Optima | 1,032 | 740 | 80,800 |
| 2013 Optima | 1,444 | 816 | 82,000 |
| 2014 Optima | 622 | 363 | 68,000 |
| 2015 Optima | 1,023 | 505 | 79,000 |
| 2016 Optima | 766 | 284 | 67,278 |
| 2017 Optima | 308 | 113 | 50,000 |
| 2018 Optima | 244 | 80 | 41,000 |
| 2019 Optima | 215 | 52 | 30,000 |
| 2020 Optima | 155 | 28 | 60,000 |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Optima year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Kia Optima years to avoid →
2004 Kia Optima recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 1 recall campaign that names the 2004 Kia Optima. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 09V183000 | May 27, 2009 | SUSPENSION:FRONT |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2004 Optima lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2004 Optima.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 38 of the 225 complaints on the 2004 Kia Optima give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: OPTIMA, OPTIMA HYBRID and OPTIMA PHEV. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: OPTIMA, OPTIMA HYBRID and OPTIMA PHEV.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2004 Kia Optima questions
How many miles will a 2004 Kia Optima last?
Half of the 187 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2004 Kia Optima that list mileage came after 82,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 133,000 miles. Of the 187 complaints on the 2004 Kia Optima that list mileage, the middle half came between 57,000 and 105,000 miles; 56 (30%) came after 100,000 miles, 8 (4%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2004 Optima that never had one.
What are the most common 2004 Kia Optima problems?
NHTSA's file holds 225 owner complaints on the 2004 Kia Optima. Owners named the door latches most often: 81 complaints, and half of the 75 that list a mileage came after 91,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 225 complaints, 8 report a crash, 3 report a fire and 7 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2004 Kia Optima a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2004 is a good or a bad Optima: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2004 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 225 complaints, the 2004 ranks 9th of the 20 Kia Optima model years from 2001 to 2020 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2013 (1,444). The fewest: the 2010 (75).
How many recalls does the 2004 Kia Optima have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 1 recall campaign that names the 2004 Kia Optima. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2004 Kia Optima before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2004 Kia Optima.