Owners have filed 2,381 complaints on the Kia Forte, covering 2010–2024. The system named most often is Engine (773 reports). Worst years by volume: 2014, 2017, 2012; cleanest: 2024, 2022, 2023. 212 reports describe a crash, 125 a fire, 10 a death. On average the car was 5.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Kia Forte
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,381 Forte complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 773 Read
The car caught fire on the highway. Per firemen there was a problem with the engine and fuel and it caught fire in under 3 minutes
While driving I heard a pop then the lights on my dash lit up my car came to a stop i.e cut off tried to start back up the engine caught fire burned the whole front end off total loss
October 2, 2025 @ approximately 7:30a. I was heading east on I-10 on my way to work when I seen white smoke coming from under my car. I pulled over, noticed it was on fire. There was a man passing by who seen me & was nice enough to stop & put the fire out. The firefighter then stated my oil pan came a loose and…
Electrical System 257 Read
The NECU system failed and blew the engine and caused a fire no longer available for inspection. No move running. No warning lamps at all of any sort
Good morning, I want to report extreme safety concerns about my KIA Forte GT - Line 2023.When I first came home with the car days later the car shut off in the middle of the street while driving just one house up from my house. I attempted to turn it back on and the car would not turn back on and it automatically…
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…
Air Bags 229 Read
Date of Incident: [XXX] Location: [XXX] To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting this letter to report a potential airbag malfunction involving my 2024 Kia Forte GT. On [XXX], I was the driver and sole occupant of my vehicle when I was T-boned on the driver’s side while traveling [XXX] on [XXX] at the intersection of…
Vehicle was involved in an accident. No air bags were deployed. Vehicle was declared a total loss. Have reached out to KIA manufacturing regarding issue
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The Airbsgs failed to deploy when I was hit on my driver side by a car going going between 45-50 miles an hour. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? My safety was out at risk because my airbags did…
Power Train 195 Read
The contact owns a 2024 Kia Forte GT. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH on an off-ramp and making a right turn, the lane assist feature had malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to steer and crash into the guard rail. During the incident, the passenger side of the vehicle was damaged along with…
The contact owns a 2020 kia forte. The contact stated that while attempting to get out of the garage, the contact placed the vehicle in park and removed themselves to the vehicle in order to open their garage door when the vehicle began to reverse hitting the contact and the garage door. The contact received injuries…
Note: the individual submitting this statement of facts is prepared and willing to testify before congress or any court of law that all of which that is contained within this submission is based on facts and truth . Also let it be known a degree in "applied science in automotive & diesel technology and advanced drill…
Steering 156 Read
My father was in a fatal vehicle accident in which the car was going very fast and then he crashed into a building. The car then started on fire. The black box was unable to be recovered to check car function. There were no medical findings
The lane assist stopped working properly and pulled me into the guardrail
Unknown Concerning the front passenger steering component. Carfax showed prior accident with minor damage to the front passenger bumper. I purchased the car not long ago and and was hit in the same exact spot. When I looked up the VIN for more information online I came across the safety issue with some other 2023…
Service Brakes 115 Read
We have contacted the kia dealer where we bought the car multiple times about brake issues. The car was still under warranty. Well today it happened. When my husband hit the brakes the car pulled to one side, almost flipped and hit a guard rail
I was attempting to park in a parking spot that I use regularly at Dollar General. As it was coming to a stop, the brakes failed. I was pushing the brake pedal down. The car started to rev up and speed forward on it's own. It lunged forward jumping the curb and into the pillar. It wouldn't stop going forward. So I had…
Yesterday my brake pedal did not engage and had an accident. I had reported to kia that the brake pedal was sticking and I would have to flip it back up however when I took it in they informed me they could not recreate the problem. Kia should really look into to this costly problem. I have looked at reviews and I see…
Exterior Lighting 101 Read
On May 13, 2023, I was involved in a severe frontal collision on the passenger side while driving my 2021 Kia Forte. The impact caused significant damage, and my insurance company declared the vehicle a total loss. Despite the severity of the crash, none of the airbags deployed. I experienced body pain for several…
The contact owns a 2019 kia forte. While driving approximately 20 mph at night, the headlights were very dim and the contact did not see an animal in the road. To avoid the animal, the contact veered off the road and crashed into a ditch. The frontal air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report…
The air bag did not deploy, lighting was limited, the sensors did not work
Engine And Engine Cooling 47 Read
The contact owned a 2016 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle caught fire. The vehicle was burning an excessive amount of oil and fuel. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. While his wife was driving, the vehicle was making abnormal engine noises. The contact stated he sustained…
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte EX. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 55 MPH, she noticed smoke emerging from the vehicle. The driver pulled over and called roadside assistance. All the warning lights illuminated. Upon arrival, roadside assistance informed the driver the engine had caught fire…
The contact owns a 2022 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly started revving without driver input. The battery and high engine temperature warning lights illuminated before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and diagnosed with engine…
Forte years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Air Bags,seat Belts | 5 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 9 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 10 | — | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 8 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 11 | 4 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 13 | 3 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 20 | 9 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 16 | 5 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 16 | 18 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 29 | 34 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 16 | 13 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 17 | 18 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 21 | 11 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 18 | 3 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 631 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.8 |
| Worst single series | 24 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.6 years |
A model average of 3.8 hides a worst series at 24. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Forte?
By complaint volume, 2014, 2017, 2012 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Forte years are the cleanest?
2024, 2022, 2023 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Kia Forte have?
2,381 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2010–2024. Of those, 212 describe a crash and 125 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.