I purchased a 2019 Kia Forte in December of 2018. Starting around 7,200 miles, I noticed the engine rpms would fluctuate especially under light acceleration. Fluctuations were between 200-500 rpms. The vehicle went in for service with about 7,450 miles and I was told the transmission needed to be replaced. The replacement was completed quickly by the dealer. T seems like there is a high failure rate early on with these Kia ivt transmissions. These should be recalled. I imagine in another year and a half I will be back into the dealer for another replacement transmission. Very disappointing as this is not a vehicle you can rely on for long trips.

- Shoreview, MN, USA

I purchased this car in December for 2018. In October of 2019, it started having issues with the rpms bouncing. The dealership said the transmission needed to be replaced. I had to wait for 3 months to get my car back as we waited on a transmission. I noticed the RPM bouncing was happening again. On 5/7/2020, I was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced again. I voiced my concerns about replacing the transmission with the same model that had issues. I requested that the service department find out what model the replacement transmission is so we do not have this happen again.

- Salem, OR, USA

I had taken the car to the dealership because I felt it struggling to accelerate and overall being "jerky" driving 30-40mph on a city street with minimal hills. Dealership found nothing wrong as no codes were showing any errors. No more than 2-3 weeks later, transmission died while driving 70mph on a highway with only 8,800 miles on the vehicle. I could not accelerate the car without the RPM hitting the red line even though I was barely pressing on the gas. I'm lucky I didn't get rammed by the truck that was coming behind me as I quickly engaged my emergency warning lights and pulled over when a safe opportunity arose. I bought this car brand new (no prior owners). I did some research, and unfortunately this does not seem to be the first complaint of transmission failure in this model.

- Orland Park, IL, USA

Had car for just one month. I purchased a fleet car with 20K miles. This problem occurred at 24K miles. I was driving on highway at 65 mph, and the car started revving very high 6-7K when accelerating, where it's usually 2-3K. The car finally gave out (shaking and sputtering) and couldn't accelerate any longer. Had to pull over on the shoulder. I tried turning the car off and on, and checked under the hood. I drove the vehicle to my parents house close by at low speed trying to keep the engine from red-lining. I knew it was the transmission right away because of the symptoms. I am very disappointed because the vehicle is a new model, and it could have been a very dangerous situation. The car will get fixed because it's under warranty, but it really gives me reservation about driving it going forward. Such a critical failure is very dangerous, and will stay on the back of my mind always. I called Kia and they towed it to the nearest dealership. I am getting a rental from them.

- Grapevine, TX, USA

On a trip the car began jerking and losing acceleration with the engine running at high revs (5-6K) on the highway. Eventually the check engine light came on and the car was not able to maintain speed or accelerate. The car was towed to Kia dealership in reading, pa, 150 miles from my house. After 3 days of evaluation, I was informed the car will need a new transmission. The expected time to complete the repair is 6 weeks. The car has 10K miles on it and did not have any issues prior to this incident.

- Ijamsville, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. While the vehicle was at an intersection, the contact released the brake pedal to depress the accelerator pedal and the rpms increased to 4; however, the vehicle failed to move. The contact placed the vehicle in park, turned the vehicle off, restarted the vehicle, and it resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to all star Kia of san bernardino (735 show case dr N, san bernardino, ca 92408, (888) 480-0418) where it was diagnosed that the intelligent variable transmission assembly needed to be updated. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred multiple times intermittently. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

- River Side, CA, USA

I bought my car brand new in April 2019. I had it's 15,000 mile check up about 2 weeks ago and they said everything was fine. Right around that time I noticed that when I accelerated, my car would jump. The RPM would bounce between 1-2 rpms and when I brought it into the dealership they said everything was fine and even test drove it. I was sure something was wrong and we went out on another test drive and sure enough it happened again. I was told the next day that the transmission was bad and that it didn't trigger the check engine light. It is currently sitting at the dealership waiting a new transmission.

- Millville, NJ, USA

On 11/27, my wife was driving our 2019 Kia Forte S with about 5,000 miles on it and said it was doing something really strange. She would push on the gas pedal like normal, but the rpms would soar and the engine would rev up but the car would barely move. We drove around the neighborhood when she got back and I noticed the same thing. We called the dealership in the area that night to bring it in on Friday, 11/29. There were no issues on the way to the dealership that morning which is about 20 minutes away. We let them know we have a long trip back the next day and wanted to be sure there wasn't a big issue. The dealership said that since there wasn't an engine light on, they couldn't find any codes to troubleshoot the issue and we were sent on our way. An hour into our trip on 11/30, we were on the highway going about 70 mph and the car started having the same issue. It would rev up dramatically when touching the gas pedal and we soon lost the ability to accelerate. No engine light came on. We were able to pull over to the side of the road and got it towed to a different dealership. They couldn't look at it then so we got a rental car to get back home. I got in touch with them the following Monday and they said they will need to replace the transmission and that they will cover the rental car expense as well. I'm hopeful the new transmission will fix this issue and it's not something that will reoccur after another 5,000 miles.

- Durham, NC, USA

I was driving my 2019 Kia Forte at 75 mph, then lowered my speed, then accelerated again. A loud screech/grinding sound happened, then the car stalled. I was able to coast to the roadside, and re-start the car. I was not able to drive the car over 15 mph. Car was towed to the dealership the next day. They drove the car, but found nothing wrong with it. I insisted that there is a transmission problem. I suggested they inspect the transmission fluid. I don't know if they will.

- Monroe Twp., NJ, USA

I have a 2019 Kia Forte that just a few weeks after I purchased it left me stranded because it wouldn't crank. Now my transmission is out and I had a horrifying experience trying to drive home after my grandma passed away. My family lives 2 1/2 hours away. Then the service department verbally assaulted me while I was trying to receive help. I was on the interstate when the transmission started going out. I was nearly hit several times as the car would slow down and not shift gears.

- Duncanville, AL, USA

Brand new 2019 Forte with less than 2,000 miles on it. Driving down the highway at 70 mph and the engine starts to rev and jolt. Get to the right lane and it will not accelerate at all with my foot on the gas. Had to get the car towed to the nearest dealership to find I needed a brand new transmission.

- Medford, NJ, USA

On 9/6/19, on my way back from a trip to dallas, my 2019 Kia Forte (launch edition) started to randomly rev up on the highway. At first, I didn't think much of it, but then it started to lose acceleration. I tried to use the manual shifting, but no help. I pulled over and turned the car off in hopes of "resetting" it and it seemed to work, but when I pulled out onto the highway again it suddenly started to rev to 6-7 K and went nowhere. Ultimately, it would not go into gear and I had to have the car towed to a Kia dealership 5 hours away from home. Kia Consumer Affairs was not very much help! my Forte is only 3 months old with 3,100 miles on it. I purchased new in June. Be careful with this car!

- St Charles, MO, USA

While having my car for two months my, 2019 Kia Forte transmission went. I was driving on the highway and it kept stalling. It was reving all the way up to 7/8 rpms with me gently tapping on the gas. I had my grandmother with me and right when we got off the highway my car just stopping right in the middle of a busy main road. I waited a moment and took my keys out of the egnision. After 3 minutes my car turned back on and I was slowly able to get it to the gas station with it still reving. I had my car taken to the dealership where I got the car and they ended up fixing it. They said it was a defect. I'm still very concerned with this transmission because they put the same one back in. It's a cvt transmission. I don't feel safe after experiencing that issue. It could of caused a bad accident. This is a serious problem and I think the transmissions should have a regular automatic transmission put back into them. Just wanted to make you aware of this issue I had and let you know how concerned I am about it. Thanks

- Saugerties, NY, USA

Car is a couple of months old with 2001 miles showing on the odometer. The rpms would surge while driving, even at constant speed they would jump 500 RPM or so then drop back down. I took it into the dealer and the said that is normal for a cvt. A week later it was still doing that then it would fell like it was stumbling while starting up from a stop. The next day it had no power, accelerator almost to the floor and it would barely move, then the check engine light came on. I immediately headed for the dealership. When I got there I had to wait a bit and the service tech came out and told me that when they called the codes into Kia that were in the computer they said to put a new transmission in it. He told me he would have the transmission overnighted which I later found out was a lie, and that tech is no longer at the dealership. I have a rental vehicle in its place. I have started a claim with Kia.

- Rochester, NY, USA

Car was making weird noises and jumpy acceleration, took it in and they are replacing the transmission, it's been two weeks and the transmission is still not in at the dealer for replacement. I was told it's on backorder and nobody knows when I will be able to replace it. My car is now barley accelerating unless I floor it. Called Kia and the dealer and nobody seems to care

- Houma, LA, USA

Car was making a grinding noise and had to take it into the dealership to get it checked. This was around 3000 miles. Took it in confirmed the grinding noise but did not note down what it was on receipt. A month later dealership took car back and gave me a rental and had specialist look at the transmission said nothing wrong with it but still has some lost of power from time to time and grinding noises..

- Midway, GA, USA

I was driving my car on a major highway and it stopped accelerating when I exited the highway. I had it towed to my dealership and was informed the next day that it needed a new transmission. I had the vehicle for 2.5 months and 2811 miles.

- Manahawkin, NJ, USA

2019 Forte with 4000 miles and less than 4 months old. Had to be townes from my job as the transmission is gone. I brought it to my dealership one month earlier and was told nothing was wrong, and car died less than a month later. Was also told 'things happen', however my coworker with a 2019 sorrento just found out her transmission is gone. Hmmm...

- Danvers, MA, USA

The car seemed to be losing power, called for roadside assistance, and the Kia dealership where the car was towed to said the transmission needs replaced. The car has 3000 miles on it & we have only had it 2.5 months. The dealer service person said this is the 3rd 2019 Kia Forte they've had to replace the transmission in! we were driving on an interstate highway.

- Carbondale, IL, USA

Drove it a total of 2150 miles and transmission blew. Been having issues with rental under warranty agreement. Dealership I took it to would not give me a service loaner or put me into a rental car under Kia. Had to come out of pocket for a rental car. Spoke to many people at Kia. Finally got a hold of someone who isn't giving me a run around. But Kia isn't reimburseing dealerships rental car fees. So it's hard to get a service loaner.

- New Kensington, PA, USA