10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,808 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #49

Jan 142021

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #48

Feb 022024

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #47

Jan 302024

Forte

  • miles
Steering wheel is clicking or catching when initiating a turn. Problem is with the steering coupler.

- Platte City, MO, USA

problem #46

Dec 292022

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #45

Dec 182023

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #44

Mar 112023

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #43

Oct 242022

Forte

  • miles
I have 3 major recalls on this vehicle. I received recall from Kia but dealership will not fix the problem

- Memphis , TN, USA

problem #42

Jul 012023

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #41

Feb 022023

Forte

  • miles
Clunk and clicking in steering. There is extra play in steering. All research points to a steering coupler.

- District Height, MD, USA

problem #40

Jun 082023

Forte

  • miles
Steering wheels coupler problem

- Hudson Falls, NY, USA

problem #39

Mar 012023

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #38

Mar 232023

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #37

Nov 232022

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #36

Jan 262023

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #35

Oct 102022

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #34

Aug 012020

Forte

  • miles
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

problem #33

Jul 102022

Forte

  • miles
Car shuts down while driving. ABS and traction control light comes on, cruise control shuts off, power steering light comes on and no power steering, screens and radio stop working, no a/c or heat, car finally completely shuts down.

- Gallipolis , OH, USA

problem #32

Jun 242022

Forte

  • miles
On June 24, 2022 I was driving my vehicle on 435N to work. My steering wheel jerked to the left and started spinning out of control. I was driving at 60mph in the inside lane. When my steering jerked it caused me to turn headfirst into the inside wall. I proceeded to spin out of control across 3 lanes of rush hour traffic, clipping a second vehicle, before smashing into the outside wall and then resting in the outside lane horizontally. I was rushed to the emergency room where I suffered a broken back. Upon looking at the recalls and safety issues with my vehicle there was a recall #17V773000 for the brake pedal stopper; a most recent

- Lawrence, KS, USA

problem #31

Mar 022022

Forte

  • miles
Steering coupler needed to be replaced. There have been warranty extensions for this part on several Hyundai cars as well as Kia Optima. Same issue as I experienced. No recall yet on my vehicle. Had to pay $500 to get replaced. Failure around 78,000 miles

- Matthews, NC, USA

problem #30

Aug 012021

Forte

  • miles
My steering wheel feels loose and makes a noise when turning. Feels like I need to turn the steering wheel a bit before my tires start to turn and then it clicks again when my wheel goes back to neutral. This also has caused my cruise control and windshield wipers to stop working.

- Cornelia, GA, USA

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