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2018 Kia Forte

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Kia Forte do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 141.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

51 reports with mileage · 85 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 57 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

13 crash reports3 fire reports8 injury reports

Air Bags complaints

16 reports
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Mileage unknown · Apr 29, 2025
Air BagsEngineUnknown Or Other

The engine went out in the middle of a busy highway road leading to a dangerous situation that I almost lost my life the vehicle was purchased in 2021. There shouldn’t be no reason that the engine should have went out that quickly when maintenance was kept up not only that there was an airbag defected issue, which is a safety ha…

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The engine went out in the middle of a busy highway road leading to a dangerous situation that I almost lost my life the vehicle was purchased in 2021. There shouldn’t be no reason that the engine should have went out that quickly when maintenance was kept up not only that there was an airbag defected issue, which is a safety hazard as well. It was the most scariest situation ever when the engine shut off in the middle of the road. Also, there was many concerns of my vehicle being reported of also being almost stolen by Kia boys I have a report on that.

NHTSA ODI #11657445

Mileage unknown · Nov 18, 2024
Air Bags

The switch needed to be replaced by kia in prescott valley because it was a recall, they replaced my switch, and a few weeks later now my airbag light is on and they no longer work, and they won't take care of it, the lady proceeded to tell me they didn't replace the switch when I have the proof that they did indeed do it, and n…

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The switch needed to be replaced by kia in prescott valley because it was a recall, they replaced my switch, and a few weeks later now my airbag light is on and they no longer work, and they won't take care of it, the lady proceeded to tell me they didn't replace the switch when I have the proof that they did indeed do it, and now my airbags no longer work, if I get into an accident because they messed it up and my airbags no longer work I will have a lawsuit against them for not wanting to take care of a recall they couldn't do right in the first place.

NHTSA ODI #11626069

Mileage unknown · Apr 18, 2024
Air BagsSeat BeltsCrashInjury

I got into a car accident and my air bags never deployed and the seat beat didn’t lock so I cause me to get jerked and my head hit the side door and I messed up my left shoulder and arm in the process of holding myself from hitting the steering wheel and my breaks didn’t stop when I got hit and pressed down my car got stuck on d…

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I got into a car accident and my air bags never deployed and the seat beat didn’t lock so I cause me to get jerked and my head hit the side door and I messed up my left shoulder and arm in the process of holding myself from hitting the steering wheel and my breaks didn’t stop when I got hit and pressed down my car got stuck on drive accelerating on its own after I had my foot on break to stop the car

NHTSA ODI #11583731

Mileage unknown · Feb 11, 2024
Air BagsService BrakesCrashInjury

Brakes completely locked up during my attempt to stop the vehicle does have abs and that is supposed to allow the wheels to keep moving so that you can try to maneuver and when I made contact with the other vehicle the airbag never deployed

NHTSA ODI #11571352

Mileage unknown · Feb 9, 2024
Air BagsStructureUnknown Or Other

Trunk opens unexpectedly

NHTSA ODI #11571085

Mileage unknown · Feb 3, 2024
Air Bags

The airbag lights indicator on the dash are going on and off periodically as I used the vehicle

NHTSA ODI #11569646

Mileage unknown · Aug 29, 2023
Air BagsEngineUnknown Or Other

2018 kia forte kept stalling out, 3 times in 2minutes. Drove it home, had it towed to Kia Spitzer West, it'd been there since May27, 2023. They will not repair, they will not replace, they won't even call me back. It's a disgrace

NHTSA ODI #11541396

Mileage unknown · Jan 15, 2023
Air Bags

I toke the car in for the recalls it had on it back in the fall of 2022 to don Franklin kia in Somerset, Ky. The airbag light still goes on and off intermittently. It has been on steady for nearly 3weeks straight now. Since that did the recall of the clock spring of the air bag, they are wanting me to pay for the repair out righ…

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I toke the car in for the recalls it had on it back in the fall of 2022 to don Franklin kia in Somerset, Ky. The airbag light still goes on and off intermittently. It has been on steady for nearly 3weeks straight now. Since that did the recall of the clock spring of the air bag, they are wanting me to pay for the repair out right. It could be as much as $3500.00 for the air bag and module. I don't know why it's not covered since it didn't fix my problem the first time. Please help, any advice would be appreciated. Thank you Sincerely, Ricky Frazier 364 highway 26 Williamsburg, Ky 40769 606-234-5104

NHTSA ODI #11501847

108,998 miles · Dec 1, 2022
Air BagsElectrical System

I initially submitted a complaint on Nov 6 with my 2018 kia about engine failure /possibly, my car was towed to Darcars kia Urbana pike in frederick md, I had just made an appointment with them b4 my car broke down to get the trunk & air bag recalls taken care of 11/09 my car sat there until yesterday, they never took care of th…

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I initially submitted a complaint on Nov 6 with my 2018 kia about engine failure /possibly, my car was towed to Darcars kia Urbana pike in frederick md, I had just made an appointment with them b4 my car broke down to get the trunk & air bag recalls taken care of 11/09 my car sat there until yesterday, they never took care of the recalls? REGARDLESS my engine /break down shouldn't they have fixed those issues? And I was told they would run diagnostic test on my car to figure out what happened, I never received anything other than them wanting me to pay 7,000 to fix my car ,or they would give me 500.if I wanted to sell they told my insurance agent I had engine failure from normal wear and tear? I didn't know they only expect their kias to run 100,000k also got a bill with absolutely no explanation of why I was charged,they clearly are playing a game- I called kia America who left me on hold over 2 hrs until I hung up,also emailed them about my recalls not being taken care of - they said it's not their problem, I'm assuming I should get a lawyer now

NHTSA ODI #11495674

64,000 miles · Aug 16, 2022
Air BagsCrashInjury

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, the contact stated he rear-ended the vehicle in front of him causing damage to the front end of his vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. The contact had several cuts and bruises, but no medical attention was required and he stated that no one else…

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The contact owns a 2018 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH, the contact stated he rear-ended the vehicle in front of him causing damage to the front end of his vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. The contact had several cuts and bruises, but no medical attention was required and he stated that no one else was injured. It was unknown if a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The contact stated he later find out that his VIN was under recall NHTSA Campaign Number:22V031000(Air Bags) The dealer was not contacted, and the manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 64,000.

NHTSA ODI #11479543

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.