10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 28,593 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.
I was driving the Forte and my steering wheel started to feel loose. It would click when I turned it. When I would go over a speed bump or hit a pot hole, my steering would jolt and make a loud noise. While driving on the highway, steering seemed loose and wasn't stable. I drove slower because I was afraid the problem would become worse or I would lose control of the steering.b
- Woodbury Heights, NJ, USA
The contact's mother owns a 2014 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving and turning the steering wheel, the steering wheel made an abnormal popping sound. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the flexible coupling in the MDPS (motor-driven power steering) needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Kia Campaign Number: 074. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact the VIN was not covered under the campaign. The failure mileage was approximately 43,350.
- Bardstown, KY, USA
The contact owns a 2014 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel made an abnormal sound and jerked abnormally. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the flexible coupling valves needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall and to Customer Satisfaction Program: CS1604/WTY006. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 11,503.
- Miami, FL, USA
Steering is popping and clicking most of the time when I turn the steering wheel, mainly when I turn left but definitely seems to be a safety hazard. Not sure if it-??s the steering coupler or what but I believe it should be under a recall. Thank you.
- Frederick, MD, USA
While turning the steering wheel will pop or click loudly. The issue is hard to control completely as the steering column vibrates. I have been told that I need the steering column coupler replaced. Consulted shops and they want $480 to replace a $10 plastic piece. This is a safety issue as you could loose control of steering.
- Lexington, KY, USA
Steering wheel is clicking or catching when initiating a turn. Problem is with the steering coupler.
- Platte City, MO, USA
Flex coupler went bad - $500 replacement. The Optima was already recalled for this same part. Please recall the Forte lines so that we can be reimbursed for this obvious Kia issue.
- La Vergne, TN, USA
Clunking sound in steering column. Steering Coupler in Steering motor defect Has failed in my steering column. Dealer refuses to repair under other agreements.
- Phoenix , AZ, USA
My car was in for a recall repair on another item and the repair of the steering coupler part was noted to be needed. The parts personnel stated they informed me that the steering coupler was in need of repair and that I had declined this service. My vehicle did not have 100,000 miles on it yet. They in fact said nothing to me about this repair needed to be be done. It affect the steering of the vehicle and causes a lot of play in the car-??s steering.
- Knoxville, TN, USA
I have 3 major recalls on this vehicle. I received recall from Kia but dealership will not fix the problem
- Memphis , TN, USA
I took my 2014 Kia Forte Ex for a warranty job for Fex steering coupler. The service advisor(Nick Lum)at DCH of Temecula said it only cover 5 years, 60,000 miles. I understand Kia extending the warranty to 10 years, unlimited Miles. The Service advisor told me they won't fix it because it's not on the computer information. I would like to get this fixed as my 10 years end on [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Lake Elsinore, CA, USA
Clunk and clicking in steering. There is extra play in steering. All research points to a steering coupler.
- District Height, MD, USA
Steering wheels coupler problem
- Hudson Falls, NY, USA
Steering Coupler in Steering motor defect. Known issue in many models and see a recall on some vehicles: this issue was corrected on my 2016 Sorento but not on my 2014 Kia Forte. My son-??s friend also has his Kia Optima denied repair for the same issue. An acknowledged problem that somehow Kia has been forced to correct on ALL their models. A major flaw over poor design using a $5-7 part that Kia Dealers charge $500 to repair. Unethical.
- Aliso Viejo, CA, USA
Steering wheel started feeling loose then progressed to jerking back and forth. Jerks from side to side simply driving easy down the road. Making ticking, clicking, grinding noises too. I do not feel safe and can no longer drive my car. I-??m taking it to the dealer tomorrow (a long wait) and suspect it is the same mdps coupler kia and Hyundai have issued an extended warranty on - for all vehicles except the Kia forte. What gives with that? Ridiculous.
- Richmond, VA, USA
Failure of the flexible coupling in the Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS). This is a known issue and Kia has extended the warranty on the Optima, Soul, and Cadenza that use the exact same defective part. For some unexplained reason the forte has been excluded from coverage. It should also be noted that Hyundai has included the Elantra (which is the sister model to the Forte) as well as the Sonata. As mentioned all of these vehicles were assembled with the same, admittedly defective part. The warranty has been extended on every model with the exception of the Forte. The current TSB (CHA 074) acknowledges the problem without offering a comparable remedy as provided for all other affected models.
- Chantilly, VA, USA
This morning I needed to move my son's 2014 KIA Forte. There was very notable clicking noise in the steering wheel with even the slightest turn. I googled "clicking noise in steering wheel" and found thousands of listings (all KIA and Hyundai) for failures of a coupler in vehicles along with numerous videos with the same symptoms that I experienced. I also found that for 2012/2013 Soul and 2014 Cadenza that KIA had done an extended warranty for 10 years unlimited miles that was posted on the NHTSA website. I could not find anything similar for the KIA Forte even though I found many on-line consumer complaints for the same issue in the KIA. I contacted both the nearest service dealer (no appointments until April) and KIA Consumer and they said they had a significant back-log for any service. I would like to know if there have been enough complaints from KIA Forte owners that the warranty extension would apply. If not, I would like to add this complaint for the KIA Forte so that the NHTSA knows that the issue is more widespread than just for the models listed in the original extension. Thanks so much.
- Bowie, MD, USA
My husband was driving down a street going roughly 45 miles an hour and all of a sudden there was a jerking feeling and the steering wheel locked up on him and he could no manage the direction that the car would go.yes it is available for inspection upon request. The steering and the direction of the car going 45. miles an hour definitely endangered us that was in the car and those that were on the road at the approximate time that we were. There was only 42000 miles on the car and we had only had it 58 days. We had it towed to the dealership Kia Nissan in Monroe La. And was told that it would cost 2000 to fix. So I then had it towed to another mechanic and got a completely different story. that the car had been wrecked before even though it didn-??t show on the Carfax and they were there was ways to tell it and also told that rack and pinion-??s don-??t break usually until 220 300,000 miles. I spent every penny I had saved after losing everything in hurricane Laura to buy this car. Not only do I feel very lied to by the dealership that I bought it from and misinformed and uninformed a certain issues that would-??ve prevented me from buying a car on top of that I-??m paying 24% interest rate and now they want to increase the interest rate because the car is broke down and they had to defer some payments because I can-??t get to work because I don-??t have a vehicle. I-??ve had Kia check out the car and I-??ve had two other mechanics check out the car and both of them told me separate stories different problems different prices and I need some help establishing where is the fault lies. Because I don-??t think I should be responsible for a injury to a car or is it something that broke on its own and almost endangered our lives when the car had only been driven 42,000 miles. There was absolutely no warning signs no flashes of light no nothing to warn of this problem it happened out of nowhere and it was very scary and not rush I wanna keep the car anymore because I was scary.
- Winnsboro, LA, USA
My engine burns oil very fast, I am constantly putting oil in it even after oil changes. At one point, I was told by the dealership that I would need a new engine and that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced as a result of the engine problem. I ended up having to come out of pocket for the catalytic repair, 2 times... Thats right... 2 times. Upon returning to the dealership about engine, I was told that there was a recall for another issue in the engine that they would take care of. Upon asking about the engine, I was told the engine was fine. Also the coupler in the steering wheel column has gone bad, it was fine, until my clock springs were replaced by the dealership. The clock springs were under a recall/extended warranty issue.
- Stonecrest, GA, USA
- Asheville, NC, USA