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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 →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

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
67,000 miles · Apr 5, 2021
Engine

ENGINE COILS KEEP GOING BAD. FIRST ENGINE COIL WENT BAD AT 60,000 MILES AND NOW MY SECOND ENGINE COIL HAS GONE UP AT 67,000 MILES.

NHTSA ODI #11406614

52,292 miles · Apr 4, 2021
Unknown Or Other

TRUNK OF CAR WILL NOT CLOSE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS BEFORE ONE DAY IT CLOSES THE NEXT DAY IT WON'T

NHTSA ODI #11406338

24,000 miles · Mar 27, 2021
StructureUnknown Or Other

TRUNK LID OPENS WHILE DRIVING

NHTSA ODI #11405134

26,594 miles · Mar 13, 2021
Unknown Or OtherCrash

MY CAR KEEPS SHUTTING DOWN...STOPS RUNNING, HAVE TO START IT AGAIN TO KEEP GOING

NHTSA ODI #11402779

79,900 miles · Mar 12, 2021
Air BagsCrashInjury

ON 3/9/2021 I WAS INVOLVED IN A HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT AND MY KIA WAS HIT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. IT WAS HIT SO HARD THAT THE IT LEFT A HOLE IN THE DOOR AND MY TODDLER WAS SITTING IN HIS CAR SEAT. WHEN THE FORE DEPT ARRIVED THEY NOTICED THAT THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY. I WAS ADVISED THAT MY AIR BAGS SHO…

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ON 3/9/2021 I WAS INVOLVED IN A HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT AND MY KIA WAS HIT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. IT WAS HIT SO HARD THAT THE IT LEFT A HOLE IN THE DOOR AND MY TODDLER WAS SITTING IN HIS CAR SEAT. WHEN THE FORE DEPT ARRIVED THEY NOTICED THAT THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY. I WAS ADVISED THAT MY AIR BAGS SHOULD'VE DEPLOYED. I WAS TRAVELING NORTH ON A CITY STREET AT ABOUT 35 MILES AND HOUR WHEN I WAS HIT.*DT*DT*JB*JB

NHTSA ODI #11402586

40,577 miles · Feb 18, 2021
Electrical SystemExterior Lighting

I BOUGHT THIS CAR BRAND NEW AT THE END OF 2017. I HAVE TAKEN EXTREMELY GOOD CARE OF THE CAR. A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, I TOOK IT INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO GET SOMETHING COSMETIC FIXED ON THE INTERIOR. I PICKED UP MY CAR AND WHEN I GOT HOME I REALIZED BOTH HEADLIGHTS AND ONE BRAKE LIGHT WERE NOT WORKING. I TOOK MY CAR BACK IN AND T…

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I BOUGHT THIS CAR BRAND NEW AT THE END OF 2017. I HAVE TAKEN EXTREMELY GOOD CARE OF THE CAR. A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, I TOOK IT INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO GET SOMETHING COSMETIC FIXED ON THE INTERIOR. I PICKED UP MY CAR AND WHEN I GOT HOME I REALIZED BOTH HEADLIGHTS AND ONE BRAKE LIGHT WERE NOT WORKING. I TOOK MY CAR BACK IN AND THEY INSISTED THAT WHEN ONE LIGHT GOES OUT, THEY ALL GO OUT WHICH ISN'T TRUE. I INSISTED THAT THERE MUST BE AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE AND THAT I WANTED A TECHNICIAN TO CHECK IT SINCE MY LIGHTS WERE WORKING JUST FINE WHEN I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE IN. AFTER MANY DIFFERENT APPOINTMENTS AND INSPECTIONS IT WAS DETERMINED THAT IT WAS MY WIRING HARNESS THAT WAS BROKEN ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. WARRANTY DIDN'T COVER IT. LESS THAN A YEAR LATER SAME THING HAPPENED ON THE LEFT SIDE, WARRANTY DIDN'T COVER IT. THE TECHNICIAN EVEN STATED THAT THE ENGINE GOT TOO HOT AND MELTED THE WIRES. HE WAS SURPRISED WARRANTY DIDN'T COVER THIS ISSUE SINCE IT HAPPENED ON BOTH SIDES WITHIN A YEAR TO A CAR THAT IS FAIRLY NEW AND REALLY WELL TAKEN CARE OF. HAVING BOTH HEADLIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHT NOT WORKING IS VERY DANGEROUS. ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVING IN A DARK AND RAINY AREA. HOW HAS THIS HAPPENED TO SO MANY PEOPLE AND THIS VEHICLE HASN'T BEEN RECALLED? I AM EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED IN KIA AND THINK THERE SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR RECOURSE. AFTER READING ALL OF THESE COMPLAINS THAT ARE THE SAME, I AM SHOCKED KIA HAS NOT TAKEN CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS.

NHTSA ODI #11396868

50,000 miles · Feb 10, 2021
Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 KIA FORTE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START-UP. NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO KIA AUTOSPORT OF PENSACOLA (6637 PENSACOLA BLVD, PENSACOLA, FL 32505). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DEALER CLAIMED THAT THE VEHICLE STARTED WITH NO PROBLEM. THE CONTACT ALSO MEN…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 KIA FORTE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START-UP. NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO KIA AUTOSPORT OF PENSACOLA (6637 PENSACOLA BLVD, PENSACOLA, FL 32505). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DEALER CLAIMED THAT THE VEHICLE STARTED WITH NO PROBLEM. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE IGNITION COIL AND SPARK PLUG MAY HAVE CAUSED THE VEHICLE NOT TO START OR MISFIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURE WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 50,000.

NHTSA ODI #11395531

104,000 miles · Feb 5, 2021
Engine

IN MOTION ON HIGHWAY GOING 70. 2017 KIA STARTED MAKING TICKING NOISE NO OIL LIGHT ON OR ANY WARNINGS AFTER FEW MILES ROD WENT THROUGH SIDE OF BLOCK THEN INTO STARTER DAMAGING IT LEAVING CAR DISABLED. REMOVED ENGINE FROM CAR TO REPLACE OPENED THE ENGINE UP AND FOUND TO BE A RESULT OF A RECALL ISSUE CAR HAS 104000 ON IT. FOUND SUM…

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IN MOTION ON HIGHWAY GOING 70. 2017 KIA STARTED MAKING TICKING NOISE NO OIL LIGHT ON OR ANY WARNINGS AFTER FEW MILES ROD WENT THROUGH SIDE OF BLOCK THEN INTO STARTER DAMAGING IT LEAVING CAR DISABLED. REMOVED ENGINE FROM CAR TO REPLACE OPENED THE ENGINE UP AND FOUND TO BE A RESULT OF A RECALL ISSUE CAR HAS 104000 ON IT. FOUND SUMP FILTER CLOGGED WITH BEARING MATERIAL RESTRICTTING OIL FLOW. THE DEALER OR KIA WONT DO ANYTHING REFUSING TO FIX IT. I NOW HAVE A NEW ENGINE ORDERED AND GETTING IT WENSDAY, THE CAR IS NOT EVEN PAID OFF AND AS A RESULT I CAN NOT MAKE IT TO WORK TO MAKE A LIVING TILL I GET THE ENGINE INSTALLED. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR 4 MONTHS.

NHTSA ODI #11394870

37,000 miles · Feb 2, 2021
Unknown Or Other

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.

NHTSA ODI #11394277

50,000 miles · Jan 29, 2021
EngineUnknown Or OtherVehicle Speed Control

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.

NHTSA ODI #11390714

Official recalls

3

22V031000 · 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.