Kia Forte Complaints

2,563 consumer complaints on file.

#11437382October 19, 2021
ENGINE
The contact leased a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would stall. The contact was uncertain if any warning lights were illuminated during the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer on multiple occasions and was initially informed that repairs were needed to the transmission. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under warranty. Despite the repair, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the contact was informed that sludge was found in the engine and that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000. Consumer stated transmission problem affected the engine.*JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11437111October 18, 2021
ENGINE
My motor blew at 63k miles in Nov 2018. I was driving and it make a loud awful sound and was on fire and smoking and there was a huge hole in my engine. The kia warranty had just passed and they refused to cover the replacement
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436987October 16, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Trunk latch on my vehicle gets stuck can only open after jumping down on hood while pulling lever at the same time intermittently happens. Lately been happening more often than not.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436791October 14, 2021
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who reset the air bag warning light; however, the warning light immediately returned. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed her that there were no recalls on the VIN. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436639October 13, 2021
POWER TRAIN
My expectant granddaughter was driving the vehicle on a trip. The transmission started intermittently slipping en route. She stopped and when she returned to the vehicle she discovered it would no longer go forward or backwards. It is still under warranty. The vehicle is still in Colorado. This happened Sept 4, 2021. It is now 10/13. I have contacted Kia multiple times speaking with different people. I escalated the call and was told someone named Melissa was my escalations person. I have never spoken to her. I have requested a buy back of the vehicle due to possibility of reoccurrence. My granddaughter was stranded for a week. The car is at a dealership, Ft Collins Kia. We have had to pay for hotel, car rental, and a flight out of pocket. I requested reimbursement. They have not responded. I filled out the information for the buy back, but I do not have all of the paperwork. It is in the car in Colorado. We live in South Texas. No way to get access to it. This is wrong on so many levels. We are at a loss as to what to do. If the transmission had quit while she was moving the results could have been disasterous. Kia says the part is sitting on a dock somewhere waiting to be picked up. Is there an expected timeline? We had to replace the vehicle due to the cost of car rentals.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436406October 12, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
UNKNOWN My 2014 Kia Forte Ex has been having randon acceleration problems. I just bought it from an O'Brien dealership a couple months ago. It has also caused the breaks to not want to work. I was in an accident due to this and crashed into the car in front of me pretty hard. My infant and boyfriend were in the car. I noticed the cruise control turned itself on right before the crash and I was trying to turn it off. The damage luckily wasnt that bad. But the car keeps driving itself and the brakes not working. This happens almost every time I turn the car on now. The break pads are still brand new, as I and my dad have checked them. I have tried contacting the dealership about it but they haven't got back. This car is unsafe and I will not continue to drive it. There are no warning lights or messages popping up.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436496October 12, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES
I’ve been having problems with my 2017 forte5 Lx for the last few months. The brake calipers tend to lock up from time to time causing my pads to smoke like crazy. I’ve had my brakes serviced 6 times within the last year. Nothing seemed to help and I’ve barely used the vehicle out of concern for safety. Recently, I spoke with a tech at my local dealership. He informed me that my forte has rubber bushings on one of the caliper pins that swells and gets stuck. His solution was to replace the defective pin with another pin that doesn’t include the bushing. Since I followed his advice, my brakes haven’t locked up at all. The original intent for the bushing was to reduce caliper noise but it does not help, instead hindering performance. The reason for my complaint is that this can cause the brakes to overheat and start a fire, while decreasing the ability to brake.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11436326October 11, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Leaving work last week and noticed my trunk was open. Thought maybe I had accidentally pressed the release button and went to close but trunk latch wouldn not latch down and close. Had to fold the back seats down and crawl into the trunk while a coworker held the trunk shit and use a flathead screwdriver to manually lock the latch. After doing so now the trunk will not open.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435839October 7, 2021
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
My head lights keep shutting off and stop working, they have replace it twice already and again today Oct 7th 2021ir stopped working again, now I just replaced the bulbs on Sept 15th 2021 there shouldn't be any reason to change it out this soon. I keep calling the dealership about it and nothing back from them. Today I ended up not seeing and hit into a curb and smashed up the side by my tire on the passenger side, I'm very upset with kia they are putting my family in danger by not fixing it correctly.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435845October 7, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start up. The contact stated that the ABS, the check engine and traction control warning lights, and an unknown warning light were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where she was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. Additionally, there was an ABS module electrical short. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 116,136.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435768October 6, 2021
POWER TRAIN
My vehicle would not start moving. I am unable to ignite the engine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435800October 6, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Driving down a country road at night when my abs light came on. After a few seconds my power steering went out and the main console died. The headlights began to dim and the dashboard lights sputtered on and off. The car shuttered strongly and then died. We were stuck on the side of the road in the middle of the night for over forty five minutes with a screaming infant with no warning that this was going to happen or that this part needed to be serviced or replaced for the milage of my car (90,000).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435366October 4, 2021
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I got this car in January, it's only October and my speed doesn't accelerate. When I step on the gas pedal there is a huge kick and my RPM goes from under one to 4 or 5 to get to 20mph. I noticed that I could change the drive to D1 and D2 but when driving and going over 30mph my car is in D6. I have yet to find a solution. No warning lights have come on yet but I don't want it to get to that point before having the car for a year.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434979September 30, 2021
TIRES:TEMPORARY/EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE
I rented a Kia Forte from Avis. I got a flat tire that was not repairable. I called AAA. There was no spare tire. I learned that Kia and many other manufacturers now do not provide a spare tire. This is exceptionally dangerous because you could get trapped in a remote location, in a desert, wilderness or very cold area and die. I propose that NHTSA require all rental cars to have spare tires (The Kia had a space for one), and further that new cars disclose prominently that there is no spare tire.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434262September 24, 2021
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Airbag light stays on all the time. Brake lights constantly burning out breaking system system will skidvover grates at bumps. Car will scrape over roads. All steering wheel functions not working
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434141September 23, 2021
ENGINE
Coils are repeatedly breaking despite being replaced. Seems to be a common issue with this make/model but hasnt been recalled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433898September 21, 2021
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH, when the contact heard a loud popping noise coming from the vehicle, the contact noticed that when depressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact saw the check engine light warning light illuminated on the vehicle. The contact had to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and attempted to restart the vehicle which it did and contact smelled something burning from the interior of the vehicle and noticed smoke coming from the front hood of the vehicle. The contact was able to continue to drive to their work. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after work and continue drive to their destination, however, the failure persisted, The contact check the vehicle later that day and noticed the there was no oil in the engine and a major oil leak underneath vehicle undercarriage. The contact had the vehicle towed to the local dealer to have inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the failure engine sensor was damaged and the fuel pump was damage on the vehicle as well failure where the trunk latch will not open on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage approximately 75,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433431September 18, 2021
POWER TRAIN
I got this car from the dealer at auction , so I am the second owner , power train warranty voided for 2nd owner , at my 90k miles , my transmission shaft has been broken due problem with the same year 2019 recall , dealer refused to fix it because I am out of warranty . I bought another transmission and still have the same problem , the car is unuseable at all .
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11433195September 16, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The contact owns 2021 Kia Forte. The contact stated the brakes would constantly squeak when making a stop. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that it was not a failure. The contact stated while she was parking the vehicle in a parking lot, the brake pedal was depressed and failed to respond. The contact stated the vehicle inadvertently accelerated on its own and crashed into a building. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact sustained injuries on the chest but she did not seek medical assistance. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The dealer was made aware of the failure and did not provide any assistance. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 3000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11433013September 15, 2021
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle there was an exhaust odor present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle would lose power and did not properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the catalytic convertor however, six months later the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the catalytic converter was faulty and needed to be replaced. After replacing the catalytic convertor for the second time the failure recurred approximately six months later. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,506.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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