IllustrationTRUNK OF CAR WILL NOT CLOSE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS BEFORE ONE DAY IT CLOSES THE NEXT DAY IT WON'T
2017 Kia Forte
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Forte years
Owner complaints for the 2017 Kia Forte are substantially higher than the model-year median of 141.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Forte years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
430–25K
3425–50K
1850–75K
1875–100K
16100–150K
6150K+
135 reports with mileage · 166 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine. Review the 144 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 43 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
23 crash reports9 fire reports14 injury reports
Unknown Or Other complaints
49 reportsTRUNK LID OPENS WHILE DRIVING
MY CAR KEEPS SHUTTING DOWN...STOPS RUNNING, HAVE TO START IT AGAIN TO KEEP GOING
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.
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, T…
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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.
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.
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 DIAG…
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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.
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…
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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...
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
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 (B…
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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.
Official recalls
322V031000 · Air Bags
Jan 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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy: 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.
21V622000 · Latches/locks/linkages:trunk Lid:latch
Aug 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."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy: 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.
21V260000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/lubrication:pump
Apr 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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: 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.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.