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
What owners actually said
301 reports
130,000 miles · Oct 11, 2022
Engine
MY 2017 KIA FORTE HAS MAJOR ENGINE PROBLEMS AFTER ONLY 130,000 MILES. THE CAR JUST DIED ON MY SON GOING DOWN THE ROAD AND AFTER IT STARTED MAKE LOUD KNOCKING NOISE. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS ON AT ALL. THE ENGINE IS DONE FOR. I AM THE ONLY OWNER OF THIS CAR AND HAVE KEPT IT MAINTANCED WELL. I HAVE REALIZED AFTER READING ALL TH…
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MY 2017 KIA FORTE HAS MAJOR ENGINE PROBLEMS AFTER ONLY 130,000 MILES. THE CAR JUST DIED ON MY SON GOING DOWN THE ROAD AND AFTER IT STARTED MAKE LOUD KNOCKING NOISE. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS ON AT ALL. THE ENGINE IS DONE FOR. I AM THE ONLY OWNER OF THIS CAR AND HAVE KEPT IT MAINTANCED WELL. I HAVE REALIZED AFTER READING ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE WITH ISSUES THAT THE OIL PUMP ON THE CAR HAVE CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE AND KIA HAS REPLACED ENGINES. I DO BELIEVE THIS IS WHAT HAS CAUSED MY TROUBLES
NHTSA ODI #11488798
130,000 miles · Sep 28, 2022
Service Brakes, AirService Brakes, Hydraulic
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the hydraulic electronic control unit (HECU) needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that t…
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The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated that the ABS warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the hydraulic electronic control unit (HECU) needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
NHTSA ODI #11486885
25,258 miles · Sep 7, 2022
Electrical SystemEngine
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power and the engine was sputtering. The contact stated she pulled off the road and turned the vehicle off and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed and determined that the ignition…
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The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power and the engine was sputtering. The contact stated she pulled off the road and turned the vehicle off and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed and determined that the ignition coils needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not taken back to an independent mechanic or dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,258.
NHTSA ODI #11483382
Mileage unknown · Aug 30, 2022
EngineUnknown Or Other
Ongoing acceleration and shaking issues. Lose power randomly and has stalled randomly. Now is frequent. I was told it is normal for cars to have some shaking however this is not normal. I try to accelorate and cannot, I had my own diagnostic test done and asked for the coil to be replaced. Kia said it was the spark plugs. Took t…
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Ongoing acceleration and shaking issues. Lose power randomly and has stalled randomly. Now is frequent. I was told it is normal for cars to have some shaking however this is not normal. I try to accelorate and cannot, I had my own diagnostic test done and asked for the coil to be replaced. Kia said it was the spark plugs. Took the car back the next day because I again couldn't accelerate. Over a week later and no communication and I called and left a message. Now kia said it is the coil. Car now at approx 71K miles.
NHTSA ODI #11481992
Mileage unknown · Aug 23, 2022
Engine
In mid July 2022, the engine light was flickering on and off and my car started shaking. The KIA dealership told me the car needed the spark plugs to be replaced so I replaced the ones that they recommended. Then 2 weeks after that service the engine light came on again and my car began to shake so I took it in and they found a …
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In mid July 2022, the engine light was flickering on and off and my car started shaking. The KIA dealership told me the car needed the spark plugs to be replaced so I replaced the ones that they recommended. Then 2 weeks after that service the engine light came on again and my car began to shake so I took it in and they found a recall on the the ignition coils. They replaced those and then the next day the engine light came on and my car started shaking but this time, I started loosing acceleration in the car and the engine light stayed on. The KIA dealership tried to charge me $364.55 per ignition coil. It is scary to drive because I still have to go to work and church.
NHTSA ODI #11480711
94,777 miles · Aug 17, 2022
Fuel System, Gasoline
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while making a stop the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the fuel pump, but the failure occurred several times. On a different occasion the vehicle stalled and shut down completely. The vehicle would not start. The vehicle was to…
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The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while making a stop the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the fuel pump, but the failure occurred several times. On a different occasion the vehicle stalled and shut down completely. The vehicle would not start. The vehicle was towed to a repair facility where they replaced the vapor canister purge valve and the canister solenoid, but it did not repair the vehicle. The vehicle then was towed to a Kia dealer where they did a fuel injector service and clear codes and a transmission fluid flush on the vehicle, but the failure reoccurred. The dealer was not able to determine the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 94,777.
NHTSA ODI #11479835
Mileage unknown · Aug 16, 2022
EnginePower Train
Powertrain, engine light on, losing power
NHTSA ODI #11479685
Mileage unknown · Aug 15, 2022
Engine
While son was driving on I10 at 65-70 mph engine died. Was able to restart to pull off the side of the highway. Car driven to Kia dealership with loud knocking noise, using side roads with another driver following. Kia confirmed that engine needs replacement and is a known issue. Our vehicle was in the Kia system under a diffe…
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While son was driving on I10 at 65-70 mph engine died. Was able to restart to pull off the side of the highway. Car driven to Kia dealership with loud knocking noise, using side roads with another driver following. Kia confirmed that engine needs replacement and is a known issue. Our vehicle was in the Kia system under a different owner's name/address so we did not receive the 'courtesy notification' to have a fix that would extend warranty to cover engine problem. Many calls to Kia have not resulted in an agreement to fix or acknowledge severity of issue as far as engine failing while driving at a high rate of speed with an issue that is known to them.
NHTSA ODI #11479365
Mileage unknown · Aug 13, 2022
Engine
My car stalled in the middle of a busy rotary …no lights or warning…never had an issue with the car until that day …I always was on top of all maintenance…was very dangerous as I was in traffic and it just stopped working..,was luckily not rearended…when brought to a mechanic he inspected it and stated it was the engine and tha…
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My car stalled in the middle of a busy rotary …no lights or warning…never had an issue with the car until that day …I always was on top of all maintenance…was very dangerous as I was in traffic and it just stopped working..,was luckily not rearended…when brought to a mechanic he inspected it and stated it was the engine and that it was no good anymore…I did some research and found a lot of other Kia Forte of this year have had same issue but dealership said it’s not recalled and they would not replace until the government recalls it..This is a major safety issue as there was no warning at all that the engine had an issue, and this has happened to my last Kia …that was a 2015 optima and that engine was recalled so was able to get it replaced by dealership and I still have the car …I love my Kia but this is unexceptionable and DANGEROUS The car is currently at a mechanic waiting for a new engine to be installed at my expense…extremely expensive …do not have invoice yet as it’s not a completed job but I will be keeping in the event that this does become a recall as it is a hazard as there is no warning at all
NHTSA ODI #11479101
Mileage unknown · Aug 4, 2022
Engine
I was driving in the highway in front of a semi truck and the car engine failed. I couldn’t accelerate or slow down and I could barely turn the wheel. The semi just barely missed me. This is the second engine failure in a year. Kia replaced my engine with a brand new one in January of 2022 but have not added my vin number to the…
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I was driving in the highway in front of a semi truck and the car engine failed. I couldn’t accelerate or slow down and I could barely turn the wheel. The semi just barely missed me. This is the second engine failure in a year. Kia replaced my engine with a brand new one in January of 2022 but have not added my vin number to the engine recall.
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.
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.
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
0
No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
2017 Kia Forte Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year