Kia Forte Complaints

2,563 consumer complaints on file.

#11551662October 24, 2023
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
My Kia Forte is from Puerto Rico, and I am currently having engine issues. The codes for the engine issues (and light) are P0014 and P0300. It can be inspected upon request. Kia America refuses to honor or attempt to look up the possible recalls for the engine, which is currently burning oil, and I've been advised that it's a safety hazard. I've been told that the engine is at risk of catching on fire, or exploding. This problem has been confirmed by an independent service center. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others. I have not had to get my car inspected as I am originally from Texas, living in New York, and can update my registration via online as long as the car is inspected as soon as I return to Texas. I have spoken to Kia Puerto Rico and have been told that it's the job of Kia America to transfer the VIN number over so that it may be looked up in the warranty and recall system. The warning lamps first appeared in August. I'm the third owner of the vehicle, and was not made aware of the Puerto Rican VIN number prior to purchase, but Kia Puerto Rico insists that it IS Kia America's job to fix recall items.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11551284October 23, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Headlights started to flicker off and on after using the blinkers. Just randomly. The alarm won't arm or disarm unless I put the key into the ignition, the alarm (and horn) is set off, I have to take the key out and disarm the alarm it with the remote. The car still starts, all the alarm does is make noise. The dashboard displays FUSE and the clock is always displayed at 1:00 when I start my car. They couldn't diagnose my car when I Took the car in for a recall software update, after the update hours later the headlights and dashboard lights turned off while I was on the freeway-no blinkers used when this happened. It happened several times after that. The dealer said they would need to keep my car and though it is under the extended warranty I pay for, there wouldn't be a rental car until it was diagnosed and if it is covered then they would reimburse me or my car rental. I had to wait several weeks until I could get an appointment, and my own car rental. Now the dealer said they couldn't find anything wrong. They kept the car because they had not addressed the inside fuse display on dashboard, clock, or alarm issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11551310October 23, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The car keeps stalling out while stopped. No check engine lights or anything . It will then sit for a minute ot two then start back.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11550969October 20, 2023
ENGINE, STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the instrument panel, radio, and A/C were inoperable. The contact also stated that the steering wheel had become firm. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was a faulty wiring harness, steering, instrument cluster, and additionally the oil drain plug was leaking. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and determined that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 1,100.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11550633October 18, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owned a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while parked, a passerby observed fire emanating from the engine compartment. The origin of the fire was unknown. The police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to a lot where it was deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11550427October 17, 2023
STEERING
My car was in for a recall repair on another item and the repair of the steering coupler part was noted to be needed. The parts personnel stated they informed me that the steering coupler was in need of repair and that I had declined this service. My vehicle did not have 100,000 miles on it yet. They in fact said nothing to me about this repair needed to be be done. It affect the steering of the vehicle and causes a lot of play in the car’s steering.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11550488October 17, 2023
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the oil warning light was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic test was performed but no errors were found. Out of an abundance of precaution, the oil pressure sensor was replaced; however, the failure persisted. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V260000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) which he linked to the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11549729October 13, 2023
ENGINE
Car repeatedly has leaks and knocking engine sound, 5 repairs no resolve. Told different solutions paid for repairs. Engine noise still continues. Took in at 149,000. Why isnt there a recall on the engine?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11549753October 13, 2023
ENGINE
My daughter was driving it and all of a sudden the engine light came on then the oil it started to loose power so she pulled over right away so we had it towed to a mechanic and the motor needs to be replaced. We never had problems at all with it until then its been well taken care of.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11549105October 10, 2023
AIR BAGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I believe that airbags/ airbag sensors have failed or malfunctioned and they are available for inspection. My safety as well as the safety of others was put at risk because the airbags should have deployed and they didn’t putting us further at risk. The problem hasn’t been confirmed or reproduced by anyone professional. The vehicle has not been inspected as of yet. There were no warning signs or lamps of any kind.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11548829October 7, 2023
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Service engine light turns off then comes back on. Get message engine failure. Scanner at dealership scanned 15 codes relating to misfires on all cylinders. Positive battery terminal caked up real bad causing arcing and melting plastic. Last I heard from dealership was possibly a engine replacement.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11548585October 6, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The car is extremely easy to steal costing myself and others thousands of dollars. The vehicles should be recalled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11548272October 4, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after each failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 109,705.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11548173October 4, 2023
STEERING
New 2023 Kia Forte LXS (barely 1020 miles) steering wheel feels stiffer and steering the car becomes challenging when driving at or above 45 mph with lane-assist feature set to 'Warning only'. Vehicle starts to steer away (wander) automatically. This issue is subtle when driving at lower speed such as 20 -30 mph. Passengers in the back seat felt unsafe including the driver at the time of this occurrence. I emailed the dealer twice but didn't hear back for 2-3 weeks. Then I called dealer to vent out the frustration over the issue then they asked me to visit the Service center for inspection of the problem. Right from the beginning, service dept. was in denial of such an issue after test driving the car. In the first visit, they checked the wheel alignment which was OKAY. In the second visit, they sent me back saying no appointments were available. In third appointment the technician turned blind-spot feature to 'warning only' and sent me back. So far these visits or appointments were atleast a week or more apart. I drove the vehicle again with the damn features off such as Blind-Spot, Lane-assist still the issue persists with steering wheel being felt stiffer at higher speed and softer or loose at lower speed. I have another car, the steering wheel of which remains softer when driving at 50 mph or more however the new 2023 Kia Forte does not.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11547751October 2, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Light in trunk exploded and melted. This was the original light that came with the car. Thankfully the trunk was empty and it did not catch fire.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11547867October 2, 2023
AIR BAGS
Air bag light is on and dealership can't find cause. There is obvious reason for this and the kia dealership is at a loss. They've Replace coil/spring and acm it didn't fix it. Now they think it's a possible wire issue. Im the original owner and My car is a 2012 with about 75000 miles on it. I understand that older cars have issues but I still don't feel like there's enough "wear" for all this "tear"
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11547728October 2, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving my 2023 Kia Forte GT My Driver Side door came unlatched. The door was locked and fully closed when this happened while turning from the 2nd Street bridge to E Main Street in Louisville, KY which is a busy road at times. I was going about 10-15mph at about 11:15ish, temp was around 70 degrees F when this happened and the car started to set off the warnings. I don't know what caused this to happen considering the door(s) were locked when I started to drive 15 minutes prior. There was nothing in the door frame or latch that could've made this happen.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11547448September 30, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Break line, have to continue to fill break fluid, the smell of something burning when stopping or stopped , passenger right light keeps going out , continues need to be replaced
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11547451September 30, 2023
STEERING
The steering wheel makes a clunking sound and can be felt when turning the wheel. There appears to be a recall/extended warranty for this part for other years of this car but not sure why mine was not included.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11547250September 29, 2023
AIR BAGS
The air bag light came on. I brought it to the dealer and was told it was the clock spring. I was charged over $700.00 for this repair. It appears that other years of the same make and model had problems with the clock spring as well and received an extended warranty. I want to know since my car had the same issue why my car 's clock spring is not covered in this class action suit for the extended warranty.. Thank you for any assistance . I contacted Kia USA and they would not refund the cost.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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