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: 7 of 61 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.
Steering. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electrical System. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Engine. Review the 9 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
61 reports
Mileage unknown · Jul 10, 2023
Visibility/wiper
I’m an owner of a brand new a 2023 Kia for less than one year. While driving home from work which is 8 miles drive on a Friday, while sitting at a red light I heard a crack or pop to see that my windshield had spontaneously cracked on the driver side. When I got home, I measured it to be 8 inches, starting at the frame. It’ll pr…
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I’m an owner of a brand new a 2023 Kia for less than one year. While driving home from work which is 8 miles drive on a Friday, while sitting at a red light I heard a crack or pop to see that my windshield had spontaneously cracked on the driver side. When I got home, I measured it to be 8 inches, starting at the frame. It’ll probably need replacing as opposed to repair. It is and always has been garage kept.
NHTSA ODI #11531289
80 miles · Jun 23, 2023
Steering
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Forte. The contact stated while pulling out of the driveway and making a left turn, there was an abnormal clunking sound coming from underneath the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and test driven the vehicle and diagnosed but no issue was found. How…
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The contact owns a 2023 Kia Forte. The contact stated while pulling out of the driveway and making a left turn, there was an abnormal clunking sound coming from underneath the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and test driven the vehicle and diagnosed but no issue was found. However, the contact stated that the failure reoccurred increasingly while making left turns with a clunking sound coming from the floorboard. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V906000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80.
NHTSA ODI #11528558
Mileage unknown · Jun 12, 2023
Back Over Prevention
The 2023 Kia Forte LXS model rear camera often fails to identify people, objects, or other vehicles presenting a hazard to vehicles that are backing up. It fails to identify people and vehicles in the blindspots and is quite unreliable leading to several serious close calls in the vehicle. Due to construction of the vehicle it…
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The 2023 Kia Forte LXS model rear camera often fails to identify people, objects, or other vehicles presenting a hazard to vehicles that are backing up. It fails to identify people and vehicles in the blindspots and is quite unreliable leading to several serious close calls in the vehicle. Due to construction of the vehicle it is important to have these features working correctly but they do not work correctly in the rear camera. This is especially true if it is night, if it is sunny, cloudy, or if there is precipitation. It also happens under normal driving conditions as well. These failures render the safety feature hazardous as they mislead a driver into believing that they are safe when using the camera and warnings as a secondary feature to assist looking around the vehicle. Even when looking back physically due to certain blindspots and using the camera features to augment this activity it often fails again causing many close calls and creating potentially hazardous situations especially when backing up in parking lots or garages, in driveways, and on the street.
NHTSA ODI #11526564
Mileage unknown · Jun 11, 2023
Electrical SystemEnginePower Train
Never been in a accident on my second engine and had the transmission replaced now I have oil in my coolant and my screen stoped working but think it’s grime be dealership be I took it some ware and there found wires that was cut
NHTSA ODI #11526440
Mileage unknown · May 29, 2023
Exterior LightingVisibility/wiper
The headlights and rain don’t mix at all I can’t see 3 feet i from it me and the wipers don’t clear the windshield fast enough they need to have led bulbs or design a new headlight
NHTSA ODI #11524318
Mileage unknown · May 21, 2023
Forward Collision AvoidanceLane Departure
The car is slamming on breaks at random no warning it is going to cause a reck a 18 wheeler almost killed us that was behind us. And I can be driving down the road and the wheel try to jerk me into another lane. This car is not safe. But is not having any warning lights going off that anything is wrong
NHTSA ODI #11523080
Mileage unknown · May 19, 2023
Power Train
I’ve had my car at the dealer four times now within the first 10k miles to get its FOURTH transmission replacement. Kia will not replace the transmission with a brand new one however settles for used refurbished transmissions with Used parts. Which have been failing on average of 1000 to 1500 miles later
NHTSA ODI #11522816
Mileage unknown · May 8, 2023
Steering
Issue seems to be with the steering of the car. It is very stiff and difficult to maneuver. Steering needs to be hold tightly to keep car in the lane, else car keeps on going towards the right side. I took the car to service center as well and they also acknowledged the problem and as per my understanding they fixed some steerin…
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Issue seems to be with the steering of the car. It is very stiff and difficult to maneuver. Steering needs to be hold tightly to keep car in the lane, else car keeps on going towards the right side. I took the car to service center as well and they also acknowledged the problem and as per my understanding they fixed some steering angle issue. But, issue is still persisting and I tried to take the appointment but seems like no Kia service center has appointment available before one month. Requesting to look into this issue so that it can be fixed or I can return the car.
NHTSA ODI #11520953
Mileage unknown · Mar 8, 2023
Power Train
I have had two transmission replacements within the first 6000 miles on the vehicle. And now the 3rd transmission is whining after only 600 miles.
NHTSA ODI #11510745
Mileage unknown · Feb 26, 2023
Air BagsCrash
Vehicle was involved in an accident. No air bags were deployed. Vehicle was declared a total loss. Have reached out to KIA manufacturing regarding issue.
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles. The right front lower control arm may have been improperly welded, which can cause it to fail.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Front lower control arm failure can cause a sudden loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Dealers will replace the right front lower control arm, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 17, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC306. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 23V-649.
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles. The right front lower control arm may have been improperly welded, which can cause it to fail.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Front lower control arm failure can cause a sudden loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Dealers will replace the right front lower control arm, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 27, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC283.
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the front left steering knuckle may crack, which can result in a loss of steering control.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the front left steering knuckle, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 12, 2023. Owner may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC259.
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.
2023 Kia Forte Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year
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