KIA / Forte / 2018

2018 KIA Forte problems

Owners have filed 188 complaints about the 2018 KIA Forte with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 30.3% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of electrical system at 8.5%. A further 16.0% were filed without a specific system named.

Complaints188

Crashes20

Fires4

Injuries13

Deaths0

What owners report breaking

Engine 30.3% · 57

Unknown or other 16.0% · 30

Electrical system 8.5% · 16

Air bags 8.5% · 16

Vehicle speed control 5.3% · 10

Power train 4.3% · 8

Fuel/propulsion system 3.7% · 7

Structure 3.7% · 7

Severity

Of those complaints, 20 describe a crash, 4 describe a fire and 13 report an injury.

Reading the numbers

Across the 10 model years of the KIA Forte in this data, 2018 draws comparatively few complaints; 2014 is the outlier year.

Filings are rising — 78 in the last three years against 64 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.

The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 31,022 miles.

In owners' own words

the engine was burning oil unknown to me. You had an oil change completed at 101k miles and 106k miles and there was no oil left in the engine per mechanic. This caused the check engine light to turn on. Upon running the engine scans the code for a crankshaft error was discovered. P0017 The mechanic has now stated that a new engine is required due to the damage done to the engine because of the oil loss. Engine

The contact owns a 2018 KIA Forte. While driving, the check engine indicator illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to pomona KIA (8 rio rancho road, pomona, ca 91766, (909) 664-2200) where it was diagnosed that there were metal shavings in the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 13235167. The failure mileage was 34,000. Engine · reported at 34,000 miles

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving 35, the vehicle slowed down, there was an engine misfire, and the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. Engine · reported at 150,000 miles

Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

Safety recalls

Checking NHTSA for open recalls…

Other KIA Forte years

2013 272 complaints · 39.3% engine 2014 644 complaints · 33.2% engine 2015 325 complaints · 48.0% engine 2016 201 complaints · 32.3% engine 2017 431 complaints · 33.4% engine 2019 216 complaints · 21.8% power train

Compare all 10 model years →