10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 50,068 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
My vehicle would not start moving. I am unable to ignite the engine.
- Chicago, IL, USA
2013 Kia Forte sedan, 2.4L theta II, my mpi engine approx. 98K miles (Dec 18 2020), light ticking was observed while driving as usual. This ticking quickly escalated (Dec 21, 2020) to the point of stopping the car and not driving any further. The car was towed to an ase shop to look into the issue (Dec 25, 2020). Within a few days (Dec 28 - Jan 31) it was diagnosed as internal engine damage having metal in the oil and filter. Based on my research, I have found other complaints, forums and related recalls pointing to the fact that this is a common problem. However, to date (January 18, 2021) there is no active recall on this particular platform. According to the information I have found, Kia is to announce a recall (January 27, 2021) of this specific series of engines as well. Currently the dealer from where the car was purchased has not made any effort to facilitate this engine problem. Only the fact that the service dept has agreed to keep the car until more recall information is available. Please help with information or contact to facilitate a solution to this manufacturer defect. This car has been extremely well kept with regular oil changes and routine maintenance practices.
- Salisbury, NC, USA
I was driving my car when I noticed a tapping sound as I accelerated from a stop light. I pulled over to check under the hood, but couldn't figure out what was wrong. I check all my fluid levels and everything was perfectly fine. I shut the hood and started it back up. The tapping was still there. I decided to turn back and head home. As I started to accelerate this time the sound grew to a hard pounding noise. Before I could even pull off the road my car completely shut down. I lost all power and my wheel locked up. I tried to start it again, nothing. I had to towed to my local mechanic and after a few hours it was declared as "catastrophic engine failure". keep in mind the car has only 61,000 miles on it! at this point I hadn't towed to Kia for inspection and they determined "complete engine failure". "something has come loose internally". this engine is a obvious defect.
- Vero Beach, FL, USA
As I was driving down the road headed to the store the vehicle just died right there where I was at so I had to push the brake and move gear shifter to park, turn it off, turn it back on and then it was fine the rest of the way. I just bought this car from auto smart in longview tx on 10/22/2019 and when I got home I started looking up the VIN number to see if I could find any details like a car fax report and I came across this site and found that there are actually recalls on this vehicle that have not been fixed yet. The motor already sounds rough and it has 120K miles and the none of the adapters work (like to plug ur phone for charging)!or the radio. That company said they had another one order. Also the driver side window when U roll it up it will automatically roll right back down so U have to make sure U hold it up all the way to the end.
- Longview, TX, USA
I was entering the freeway, accelerated to match traffic speed, I heard the engine's rpms increase but almost immediately afterwards the car shut down. I was in the middle lane of a very busy interchange and going about 60mph when the car quit. I kept trying to restart the car by putting it in neutral and at the same time steer it towards the shoulder. There were no warning lights. When I heard the engine noise I looked at the dash, all was normal, the D for drive was visible. It happened very quickly. Once stopped and out of traffic, I tried to restart the car, it ran for just seconds then nothing. This car had just been serviced at the Kia dealer. It only has 51K miles on it. I had to have it towed to the dealer. They are telling me the engine is faulty but they don't make it anymore and they have no resolution for me. The car is only 4 months past the 5 year mark and it is under 60000 miles. It has been maintained perfectly, it still looks new. The original owner did all the service as well. Kia knows they have faulty engines, yet they do nothing to warn the owners or remedy the problem. The say their cars are good for 10yrs or 100K miles, then they should make it so. This car is a top of the line 2013 Forte sx (with all the bells and whistles). I believe it is also affected by the latest airbag recall as well.
- Chattanooga, TN, USA
I am the original owner of my 2013 Kia Forte ex, the vehicle roughly has 70,000 miles on it. The vehicle has always been properly maintained via oil changes, filters, etc on time with quality name brand fully synthetic oil and filters per the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule which is every 7500 miles. I was driving my vehicle home on a very busy freeway on the East coast. I was in the center lane of 5 lanes on the South bound side and all of a sudden my car lost all power and was slowing down at an unsafe rate of speed because I had no power and did not want to touch the brakes obviously. I panicked but was able to put my right signal on to try and get to the shoulder of the freeway I continued to panic because my car was steady slowing and eventually would come to a stop because I had no power, the gas pedal would not function and I knew the car shut down because all the lights were on on the dash as if you were starting the car. Thankfully someone was watching over me that day and I made it to the shoulder before the car rolled to a complete stop. If I were unable to safely move over two lanes and make it to the shoulder on momentum I would have been stopped in a lane of travel on a busy freeway and what would I have done? I probably would have caused and been part of a major accident, even though I did make it to the shoulder I was still panicking because this is a very busy freeway and I felt helpless. The car would not start it would make a funky noise and that's it but would never start so I was stranded. I looked in my owners manual and called Kia, the dealership was 10 minutes from my location. I was told there was nothing they could do because they didn't have a tow truck and I was on my own. I had the car towed there and was told the engine blew up and it was the bottom end. I believe it was in the timing system and Kia is lying.
- Mullica Hill, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact stated that immediately after parking and attempting to remove the keys from the ignition, the shift lever rolled out of park into reverse. The vehicle ran over the contact and proceeded to roll into the contact's yard. The vehicle then struck a couple of trees and came to a stop in the contact's neighbors yard. It was unknown if the contact sustained any injuries or if a police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 58,000.
- Hiram , GA, USA
10/21/2014 I purchased a 2013 Kia Forte with about 21, 620 miles on it and this particular unit work like a champion but it is defective and just without warning won't turn on. I had the same issue five to seven times already in two months. I recorded five times, 10/29/2014, 11/12/2014, 12/02/2014, 12/16/2014, and 01/06/2014. The dealer worked on the vehicle for the 12/02 & 12/16 incidents but find the vehicle working fine and I returned the vehicle to service department on 01/08/2015. I want my money back. It is unreliable and it might be a hazardous condition, the vehicle just die on me and won't turn on. The dealer replaced the starter. However, the consumer continued to experience problems. Updated 10/29/15.
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
I bought the car a year after it was released and it seems to jerk at high speeds when going over minor bumps in the road. Also shakes when riding through high winds. It seems extremely light weight and is hard to control if there is strong winds(15mph) present which extremely nerve wracking especially traveling long distances, or with my children, or on the highway. The jerking should not be occurring for minor bumps on the road, makes me feel the car is unsafe.
- Fairview Heights, IL, USA
- Clifton Forge, VA, USA