2017 Kia Forte
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 302 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 2nd highest complaint count among 16 Forte model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 23 involved a crash and 9 involved a fire. 21 people were injured and 4 people died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bagsJan 25, 2022
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result in deactivated air bags that will not deploy in a crash.
Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.
Campaign 22V031000 on NHTSA.gov
Latches/locks/linkages, trunk lid, latchAug 9, 2021
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."
A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.
Campaign 21V622000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engine, oil/lubrication, pumpApr 13, 2021
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Forte vehicles equipped with a 2.0L Nu MPI engine. Foreign particles may stick inside the oil pump, which may cause an oil pump failure and engine damage.
A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the oil pan, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed August 16, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC210.
Campaign 21V260000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: other or unspecified
49 reports, newest first. Show all
Other or unspecified, Oct 29, 2021, crash
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while reversing out of a parking spot with the vehicle in reverse, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle inadvertently drove forward speedily. The brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond and crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no warning lights illuminated. A police report was filed. The contact sustained neck, shoulder, and back injuries and sought medical assistance. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
Other or unspecified, Oct 16, 2021
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.
Other or unspecified, Oct 11, 2021
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.
Other or unspecified, Aug 18, 2021
Trunk latch apparently broke and trunk popped opened on it's own while driving. We have not been able to tie it down due to broken latch. Obscures view and cannot be driven safely at this time. Has not been seen or confirmed by a repair shop yet
Other or unspecified, Aug 6, 2021
My vehicle is stalling out while I am driving. Also I have to at times try too start it twice wont turnover on first try.Has been reported to dealer they dont seem to know what the problem is. I called 2 months ahead of April 2021 and Kia told me they were so booked up they couldn't see me till almost 2 months later. Car is still doin the same.
Other or unspecified, Apr 4, 2021
TRUNK OF CAR WILL NOT CLOSE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS BEFORE ONE DAY IT CLOSES THE NEXT DAY IT WON'T
Structure, Other or unspecified, Mar 27, 2021
TRUNK LID OPENS WHILE DRIVING
Other or unspecified, Mar 13, 2021, crash
MY CAR KEEPS SHUTTING DOWN...STOPS RUNNING, HAVE TO START IT AGAIN TO KEEP GOING
Other or unspecified, Feb 2, 2021
THE TRUNK OF MY VEHICLE JUST OPENS ON ITS OWN WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND THEN WHEN I PULL OVER TO CLOSE IT WON'T. THE LATCH IS NOT ENGAGING, ONCE I GET THE LATCH TO CATCH THEN I CAN'T GET MY TRUNK TO RE-OPEN. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE HAPPENED ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2021.
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jan 29, 2021
I WAS STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. MY VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD WITH MY FOOT STILL ON THE BRAKE SO I PULLED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE UP AND MY VEHICLE STOPPED, THANKFULLY I DID NOTHING HIT ANYONE OR ANYTHING. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN I DROVE FORWARD AND MY ENGINE LIGHT TURNED ON; AFTER NO MORE THAN 30 SECONDS, THE LIGHT TURNED OFF. ALL HAS BEEN FINE SINCE, HOWEVER I LOOKED UP THIS PROBLEM AND APPARENTLY KIA HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH CARS LUNGING FORWARD AND CAUSING MAJOR ACCIDENTS. I HONESTLY AM TERRIFIED FOR THIS TO HAPPEN TO ME.
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Other or unspecified, Jun 14, 2020, fire
MY CAR WAS PARKED OUTSIDE LIKE IT ALWAYS IS. WENT FOR A WALK AND WHEN I CAME BACK, MY CAR HAD BEEN ON FIRE. AFTER FIRE DEPARTMENT DID THEIR INVESTIGATION, IT WAS DEEMED ELECTRICAL. THE LIGHT IN MY VISOR OR THE WIRING TO IT HAD GONE WRONG. MY WHOLE FRONT OF THE SEATS IS TOTALED.
Other or unspecified, Electronic stability control (ESC), Engine, Apr 30, 2020
I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE DEC. 2017 WITH 318 MILES. VEHICLE BEGAN TO SPUTTER WHEN TRYING TO START. FIRST TIME, TOWED IN WAS TOLD NOTHING WAS WRONG. WENT HOME, NEXT MORNING THE VEHICLE SPUTTERED TO START. AFTER 3RD TRY & LOUD SOUNDING, I POPPED THE HOOD & THE ENTIRE ENGINE WAS SHAKING IN ITS CRADLE. TOWED IN AGAIN, DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED COILS MISFIRE & REPLACED. VEHICLE DUPLICATED THE SAME PROBLEM A WEEK LATER. I REPLACED THE BATTERY. VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AGAIN THE NEXT DAY. THIRD TIME, DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED FUEL PUMP BUT ENDED UP REPLACING THE ENTIRE FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM BECAUSE REPLACING THE FUEL PUMP DID NOT FIX THE MATTER. THEY HAD MY VEHICLE FOR 2 FULL WEEKS. HAD THE VEHICLE BACK 2 DAYS, VEHICLE WOULD NOT START BUT CONTINUED TO SPUTTER. DEALERSHIP HAS NOW HAD MY VEHICLE 5 WEEKS, FIRST SAID THEY COULDN'T GET IT TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM BUT KEPT MY VEHICLE ANYWAY. THEN SAID COILS WERE BAD EVEN THOUGH THEY JUST REPLACED THEM 3 MONTHS AGO SOMETHING IS CAUSING THE COILS TO MISFIRE. I HAVE NO ANSWERS. EVEN WITH KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS INVOLVED, NO ONE HAS AN ANSWER. AT ONE POINT KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS CALLED TO ASK ME HOW THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING BECAUSE THE DEALERSHIP TOLD THEM THEY DID NOT EVEN HAVE MY VEHICLE ANYMORE. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A REPORT TO MY INSURANCE CARRIER. MY VEHICLE HAS 30,000. I'VE MAINTAINED REGULAR OIL CHANGES & OTHER REQUIRED MAINTENANCE AS SUGGESTED, FAITHFULLY.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Mar 6, 2020
I WAS PULLING OUT ONTO A MAIN ROAD. MY CAR COMPLETELY LOST POWER AND ALMOST STALLED. THE CAR BARELY MOVED FORWARD AND TBE RPMS WERE ERRATIC. I ALMOST GOT HIT BY A TRACTOR TRAILER. WHEN I FINALLY SPUTTERED INTO WORK, THE RPMS IN PARK WERE JUMPING BETWEEN 1000 AND 2000 RPMS. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN THIS CAR.. IT ONLY HAS 8,700 MILES...
Other or unspecified, Nov 18, 2019, crash
HAD A SMALL SCRATCH TO FRONT OF VEHICLE STOPPED AEB SYSTEM FROM WORKING. HUTCHINSON KIA, ALBANY, GA CAN'T REPAIR IT BACK TO ORIGINAL AND WON'T REPLACE CAR OR REFUND MY INSURANCE MONEY, GOT TO CLOSE TO A STATIONARY OBJECT AT NIGHT HITTING IT WITH A SCRATCH ON FRONT GRILL
Other or unspecified, Nov 10, 2019
ON 11/10/2019 IN N.C. THE TEMP DROPPED DOWN TO 29 DEGREES THE NEXT MORNING I GET UP TO START MY CAR AND THE BATTERY DRAGGED SO I HAD TO GET A BOOST. IT RAN ALL THAT DAY, THEN SUNDAY THE SAME THING APPENED AGAIN I HAD TO GET A BOOST. I WENT TO BUY A BATTERY AND ONCE THE BATTERY WAS TAKEN OUT WE NOTICED THE POSITIVE SIDE BOX (BOTTOM) HAD MELTED ONTO THE TOP OF THE BATTERY, SO MY BATTERY WAS DAMAGED BY THE BATTERY CABLE BOX.
Structure, Other or unspecified, Sep 25, 2019
THE TRUNK LOCK LATCH BROKE, WHEN I WENT TO KIA ABOUT THE PART THEY KNEW THE MAKE MAKE AND MODEL SAYING IT'S BEEN HAPPENING TO A LOT OF THOSE CARS .
Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 17, 2019
EVERY TIME I HOT A BUMP THE REAR END GOES ALL OVER THE PLACE. ALSO AT A SPEED OF 40 TO 50 MPH THE VEHICLE HESITATE, FOR 10 TO 15 SECONDS FOR NO APARENT REASON. WHILE I'M DRIVING, ESPECIALLY GOING UP A HILL.
Other or unspecified, May 14, 2019
CAR TURNS OFF WHILE DRIVING HAVE TO KIDS DEALERSHIP WONT DO ANYTHING BEEN GOING ON FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS
Other or unspecified, Mar 17, 2019
THE FUEL DOOR WILL NOT OPEN WITHOUT ASSISTANCE. PULLING THE LATCH THE FIRST TIME WILL NOT OPEN THE FUEL DOOR. I MUST INSERT SOMETHING SUCH AS A CREDIT CARD, OR TRY TO PRY THE FUEL DOOR WITH MY FINGERS, AND THEN TRY THE LATCH AGAIN BEFORE THE FUEL DOOR WILL OPEN. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR MORE THAN 12 MONTHS.
Other or unspecified, Jan 25, 2019
THERE WERE SOME PARTS RECALLED, WHICH I HAS REPLACED AT 20,000 MILES. AT 23,000 MILES ON A TRIP THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE ENGINE BEGAN TO SPUTTER AS IF NOT GETTING ENOUGH GAS OR AS IF THE TIMING WAS OFF. THIS ISSUE HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY, EVEN AFTER RETURNING CAR TO DEALERSHIP FOR 4 DAYS AFTER WHICH THEY COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM. WHILE OUT OF TOWN ON A TRIP THE ENGINE LIGHT AND SPUTTERING CONTINUES. I HAVE ALWAYS BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP EVERY 5,000 MILES OF OIL CHANGE/MAINTENANCE. NOW AT 24,400 MILES I'M HESITANT ABOUT DRIVING A CAR I PURCHASED BRAND NEW.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 28, 2018, fire
VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, SMELLED SOMETHING "OFF", WITHIN SECONDS ENGINE BURST INTO FLAMES. ENTIRE VEHICLE GUTTED. KIA LITERALLY JUST INSTALLED A NEW ENGINE, STARTER, BATTERY, AND INTAKE 2 DAYS PRIOR DUE TO ENGINE LOCKING UP - WITH 22000 MILES.
Electrical system, Structure, Other or unspecified, Jul 22, 2018, crash
THE CAR WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY INFORMED THE LIENHOLDER THAT THE VEHICLE WAS POSSIBLY A TOTAL LOSS AND THE LIENHOLDER IGNORED THEM AND SOLD THE VEHICLE TO A PUBLIC AUCTION WITHOUT CONTACTING THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE CAR TO PAY ON THE VEHICLE EITHER. THE OWNER OF THE CAR WAS INJURED IN THE VEHICLE IN QUESTION AS WELL AS A PASSENGER AND THE LIENHOLDER IS AWARE AND STILL SOLD WITHOUT PROPER NOTICE AND THEY CHANGED THE LOCKS OF THE VEHICLE TO PREVENT THE INSURANCE COMPANY FROM DOING A PROPER INSPECTION OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE CANNOT BE DRIVEN ON A HIGHWAY AND SHAKES AT 30 MILES AT AN IN LESS THAN 10 MINS. THE VEHICLE ALSO OPERATES ON ITS OWN. THE LIENHOLDER HAD BEEN AWARE OF THE ISSUE SINCE APRIL 2018. LESS THAN 2 WEEKS AFTER THE ACCIDENT.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Jan 9, 2018
THE AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING (AEB) AND FORWARD COLLISION WARNING (FCW) SYSTEMS ON MY VEHICLE NEVER ACTIVATE WHEN TRAFFIC SITUATIONS ARE OBVIOUS FOR THE AEB AND FCW TO ACTIVATE. EVEN HOME-SPUN SYSTEM TESTS DON'T SHOW THE SYSTEMS TO BE OPERATIONAL. THE LOCAL KIA DEALERSHIP AND REPAIR CENTER CANNOT VALIDATE THE SYSTEM'S INTEGRITY BECAUSE THEY CANNOT ACCOMPLISH DEFINITIVE TESTS TO VERIFY THE SYSTEM. THEY SAY "WE DON'T KNOW." THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT MUST BE RESOLVED. THIS ISSUE IS ONGOING.
Other or unspecified, Jun 9, 2017
MY 2017 KIA FORTE S HAS FORWARD COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM (FCWS) AND AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM. THE FCWS DOES NOT WORK IN THAT IT DOES NOT WARN ME OF IMPENDING COLLISION HAZZARDS. I HAVE NO IDEA IF THE AEBS WORKS AS THE FCWS TRIGGERS THAT SYSTEM. KIA TECHS HAVE NOT SHOWN ME THAT IT WORKS; I.E. WARNING AUDIBLE NOR WARNING IMAGE ON LCD DISPLAY. I HAVE TRIED RUNNING UP ON A CAR IN FRONT OF ME UNTIL ABOUT 10 FEET BACK AT 50-60 MPH WITH NO WARNING THEN I MANUALLY APPLIED THE BRAKES.