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2022 Kia Forte

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2022 Kia Forte are lower than the model-year median of 141.5.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected 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

Limited mileage data: 4 of 26 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports1 fire reports2 injury reports

What owners actually said

26 reports
Mileage unknown · Jul 26, 2023
Engine

The car hesitates to accelerate when going from my stop and then suddenly accelerate. The check engine comes on and when I’m gonna take it to the dealership. It turns off. Dealership claims they can’t work on it because the endcheck light is no longer on.

NHTSA ODI #11534520

12,800 miles · Apr 19, 2023
EngineFuel System, Gasoline

The contact owns a 2022 Kia Forte. The contact stated while his son was driving 5 MPH, the engine seized. A message indicating that the vehicle was off and to restart the vehicle was displayed. The contact’s son veered to the side of the road. The contact’s son was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. The contact s…

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The contact owns a 2022 Kia Forte. The contact stated while his son was driving 5 MPH, the engine seized. A message indicating that the vehicle was off and to restart the vehicle was displayed. The contact’s son veered to the side of the road. The contact’s son was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while his wife was driving 5-10 MPH and approaching a traffic light. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer could not duplicate the failure. A case was opened with the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V519000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 12,800. The VIN was unavailable.

NHTSA ODI #11517860

Mileage unknown · Oct 6, 2022
Back Over PreventionForward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

Hi, On multiple occasions, the car slams on brakes in the middle of traffic, its like it has a mind of its own, I can back up and a car can be passing by all the way across the street and the car will beep and slam on brakes, sometimes while I'm driving and may not be close to a car, the car will just slam on breaks. That has al…

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Hi, On multiple occasions, the car slams on brakes in the middle of traffic, its like it has a mind of its own, I can back up and a car can be passing by all the way across the street and the car will beep and slam on brakes, sometimes while I'm driving and may not be close to a car, the car will just slam on breaks. That has almost caused me multiple accidents and I'm afraid that one day it will. The safety feature on this car is very dangerous.

NHTSA ODI #11488159

608 miles · May 17, 2022
Engine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2022 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly started revving without driver input. The battery and high engine temperature warning lights illuminated before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and diagnosed with engine damage due to…

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The contact owns a 2022 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly started revving without driver input. The battery and high engine temperature warning lights illuminated before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer and diagnosed with engine damage due to the overheating caused by a faulty engine pulley bolt. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 608.

NHTSA ODI #11464989

Mileage unknown · Dec 29, 2021
Unknown Or Other

My wife's older car needed a new engine, so we decided on buying a new car since her work requires a good deal of driving. One week after the purchase, we discovered there was no spare tire! This IS a major safety issue, and although the car has many good safety features, this lack is really frightening. I read that AAA begged…

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My wife's older car needed a new engine, so we decided on buying a new car since her work requires a good deal of driving. One week after the purchase, we discovered there was no spare tire! This IS a major safety issue, and although the car has many good safety features, this lack is really frightening. I read that AAA begged car makers NOT to get rid of this, but the brand we bought has had this at least since 2017. This affects all those who can LEAST afford it, since the more expensive larger cars mainly have spare tires. Why hasn't this been a bigger issue? Other popular competitive makes still have the spare, and if we had known this problem we likely would have gone to another make, although our choices are limited. I can't believe that this has been going on with this car model since at least 2017 and that more people haven't complained.

NHTSA ODI #11445494

Mileage unknown · Dec 2, 2021
Unknown Or Other

KIA FORTE 2022 Complaints A/C isn't working KIA FORTE 2022 AC condenser we just bought a *New Black 2022 KIA FORTE FE/L on 09 Nov 2021 already having problems the AC stopped working so we took it to the KIA Dealership in Katy when it happens the parts dept. the supervisor says it has no Freon in it and it was safe to drive home…

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KIA FORTE 2022 Complaints A/C isn't working KIA FORTE 2022 AC condenser we just bought a *New Black 2022 KIA FORTE FE/L on 09 Nov 2021 already having problems the AC stopped working so we took it to the KIA Dealership in Katy when it happens the parts dept. the supervisor says it has no Freon in it and it was safe to drive home and it was a Structural Design Flaw that caused the problem. So we took it to where we bought it to get it checkout they claim it was due to a HOLE IN THE CONDENSER, NOT WARRANTY RECOMMEND TO REPLACE CONDENSER Estimated PARTS, AND LABOR IS $1,351.13+ TAX. Kia dealership won't fix it unless we pay $1300 ++++ saying it's not covered under the warranty it's a brand new car parts manager in another Kia Dealership says it was caused by a Structural Design Flaw but the KIA Dealership where we bought the car says we have to pay to get it fixed. They claim a little rock or something from the road caused the damage however there is no way for a little rock to reach the AC condenser from the bottom. As you can see in the pictures the bottom is covered by a shield to prevent anything from getting in. If anything got in it's due to a Structural Design Flaw due to the opening in the bumper design where there is an opening just below where they claim the damage is. I took picture of the car before taking it to the shop and the picture they sent us looks like a different vehicle. There was no residue or anything to show it was a leak. Then they had the nerve to charge me $132.69 to get my car back the receipt says labor $50.00 Parts $90.00 what parts did they replace? It’s still broken. Then they even charged me tax on this Is this how they treat customers who have bought several cars from them I hope someone gets their act together and do what’s right and fix our car and refund me the $132.69 and fix the problem so it won’t happen again.

NHTSA ODI #11442448

Official recalls

1

22V304000 · Steering:column

May 5, 2022

Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Rio and Forte vehicles. A bolt in the steering column may not be secured properly, which can cause the steering column to detach from the steering rack and result in a loss of steering control.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Loss of steering control can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will tighten the lower steering column u-joint retention bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 27, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall SC235.

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.