My 2016 Kia Optima was in an accident over a year ago, with moderate damage to the front bumper. It ran fine for a year after the accident, but now it shows no signs of power, even though the battery is fully charged. None of the systems respond when I try to start the car. I’ve already checked the battery and connections. Any ideas on what could be causing this?
Did you check the fuse panel under the hood? Sometimes the accident could cause issues with the wiring or fuses over time.
howdyrobert said:
Did you check the fuse panel under the hood? Sometimes the accident could cause issues with the wiring or fuses over time.
I haven’t checked that yet. I’ll look at the fuses and see if anything’s blown.
Try jump-starting the car even if the battery seems fine. Sometimes a fully charged battery might still have an issue.
pancholo said:
Try jump-starting the car even if the battery seems fine. Sometimes a fully charged battery might still have an issue.
Good suggestion. I’ll give that a try and see if it helps.
If the battery and fuses are good, you might want to check the wiring to see if any connectors got damaged or came loose during the accident.
marthakrausen said:
If the battery and fuses are good, you might want to check the wiring to see if any connectors got damaged or came loose during the accident.
I’ll inspect the wiring next. Hopefully, it’s something simple like a loose connector.
Make sure to test the battery at a parts store, even if your charger says it’s fine. Sometimes a battery can have internal damage that a charger won’t detect.
renatahilda said:
Make sure to test the battery at a parts store, even if your charger says it’s fine. Sometimes a battery can have internal damage that a charger won’t detect.
Good call, I’ll take the battery in for testing if jump-starting doesn’t work.
It could also be an issue with the ground wire or connections to the engine. Make sure those are tight and not corroded.
Sophia said:
It could also be an issue with the ground wire or connections to the engine. Make sure those are tight and not corroded.
I’ll check the ground wire and connections. Thanks for the suggestion.