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2019 Kia Forte

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2019 Kia Forte do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 141.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

68 reports with mileage · 79 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.

  • Power Train. Review the 47 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 36 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

11 crash reports4 fire reports5 injury reports

What owners actually said

147 reports
Mileage unknown · Jul 22, 2024
EngineForward Collision AvoidanceLane Departure

Have had the car since it had 30,000 on it. It was one year old when we bought it. We changed the oil every three months faithfully. The car has 77,000 miles on it now and needs a new engine. The Kias with this type of engine have been recalled, but this car was not. I have had three mechanics tell me that Kia just built th…

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Have had the car since it had 30,000 on it. It was one year old when we bought it. We changed the oil every three months faithfully. The car has 77,000 miles on it now and needs a new engine. The Kias with this type of engine have been recalled, but this car was not. I have had three mechanics tell me that Kia just built this engine poorly. Is there anything that can be done?

NHTSA ODI #11603854

Mileage unknown · Jul 17, 2024
Unknown Or Other

On Saturday, July 13th, 2024 my engine light came on. I stopped, checked all my fluids and hoses and all were good. I took my car into the shop on 7/16 (I did not drive it after the 13th until I could get into the shop). They used their machine to check the codes and it is showing P0867 - Transmission Fluid Pressure code. This h…

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On Saturday, July 13th, 2024 my engine light came on. I stopped, checked all my fluids and hoses and all were good. I took my car into the shop on 7/16 (I did not drive it after the 13th until I could get into the shop). They used their machine to check the codes and it is showing P0867 - Transmission Fluid Pressure code. This has never happened before and as I research it, thousands are having this problem which after the update that needs installed on the customers dime, if it does not fix the problem, we all need new transmissions. How is this not a federal recall on all 2019+ KIA Forte's. I did find the TSB for the update so hopefully the dealership will not charge for the update. This is a huge issue and KIA should be made to take care of the people who purchased their product, especially since they know about it and are acting like they do not see all of these cases of their defective products. Is this just being allowed to happen?

NHTSA ODI #11602860

73,000 miles · May 17, 2024
Engine

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact …

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The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle started to lose motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer was not contacted, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.

NHTSA ODI #11589245

Mileage unknown · Apr 30, 2024
Exterior Lighting

See attached document for complaint

NHTSA ODI #11586062

Mileage unknown · Apr 27, 2024
Engine

Rod ripped thru oil pan and blew the Engine

NHTSA ODI #11585625

Mileage unknown · Mar 24, 2024
Power Train

I accelerated from a stop to turn onto the a road. Upon doing so, the car made loud sputtering and grinding noises. So I pulled it off the road and checked it out and that’s when I noticed that the engine was sunk towards the driver’s side. I got it towed to a local repair shop for them to take a look at it. When they called me …

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I accelerated from a stop to turn onto the a road. Upon doing so, the car made loud sputtering and grinding noises. So I pulled it off the road and checked it out and that’s when I noticed that the engine was sunk towards the driver’s side. I got it towed to a local repair shop for them to take a look at it. When they called me I was told the transmission mount had snapped in half as well as the front drive axle and the water pump was broken. So then I called Kia and asked if there were any recalls on my car for any of those parts as this was not normal wear and tear. Of course there wasn’t so I asked if there’d be any way that I could get these repairs refunded because this is not normal, the car was never in an accident nor do I jump on the hood and kick the crap out of my car, they told me to take into a Kia repair center for them to take a look at it and send pictures to Kia to get them to possibly refund it. So I towed from the first repair shop to the Kia repair center for them to look into it. The guy at the Kia repair center took a look at it and communicated with Kia on his end about the parts that were broken to try and get a refund issued. The Kia repair center told me the transmission mount bolts snapped which caused the engine to fall and break the front drive axle as well as the water pump. They told me I was lucky I wasn’t going faster when it happened because the engine would’ve just fallen out, which would’ve cause myself and potentially others to get into a serious wreck. I drive on the interstate every day for work, so I can imagine how bad that would’ve been. Of course Kia didn’t want to refund the repairs because my car wasn’t under warranty and they said something would’ve had to have happened recently to cause the bolts to break. That is ridiculous because short of a collision I don’t know anything that would’ve caused the bolts to just snap. Again, I just pressed the gas and that happened. It’s not normal wear and tear. $1600 repair cost

NHTSA ODI #11579161

70,000 miles · Mar 21, 2024
Suspension

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle would pull to the right direction and drift to the left direction. Also, while driving at highway speeds the vehicle would shake and rattle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who recommended replacing the front tires. T…

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The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle would pull to the right direction and drift to the left direction. Also, while driving at highway speeds the vehicle would shake and rattle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who recommended replacing the front tires. The front tires were replaced but the failures continued to occur. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ODI #11578670

Mileage unknown · Mar 7, 2024
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

While driving, I've observed that my vehicle's forward collision alert system triggers prematurely. It brakes suddenly, as if I'm approaching another vehicle too quickly or on the verge of a collision, despite there being a significant distance between us. Two days ago, the FCA warning lights came on stating to "Check Forward Co…

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While driving, I've observed that my vehicle's forward collision alert system triggers prematurely. It brakes suddenly, as if I'm approaching another vehicle too quickly or on the verge of a collision, despite there being a significant distance between us. Two days ago, the FCA warning lights came on stating to "Check Forward Collision Avoidance Assist System" .

NHTSA ODI #11575988

Mileage unknown · Mar 5, 2024
Power Train

suffered an immediate loss of engine while driving due to the crankshaft wearing a hole in the block

NHTSA ODI #11575574

Mileage unknown · Feb 28, 2024
Engine

ENGINE KNOCK AND THEN ENGINE SEIZED

NHTSA ODI #11574460

Official recalls

2

20V459000 · Power Train:axle Assembly:axle Shaft

Aug 5, 2020

Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2019 Forte vehicles. The left front axle driveshaft may not have been heat-treated, which can cause it to break.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A broken driveshaft can result in a sudden loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the left front axle driveshaft for a heat treatment verification code, and replace it if the code is missing, free of charge. The recall began September 2, 2020. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC195.

18V771000 · Exterior Lighting:headlights

Oct 31, 2018

Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2019 Kia Forte vehicles equipped with LED headlights. The headlights may not have been manufactured with the correct low beam aiming. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the headlights are not properly aimed, the driver may have reduced visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the headlight aiming and replace the headlights, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 30, 2018. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC171.

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.