This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while at a stop sign, the vehicle failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,000.
i have a 2012 kia forte with 129,000 miles it started an engine knocking noise about 6 months ago im a mechanic and do regular oil changes i work at a dealership that sells kias and had them look at it they said i have the same problem as other kias being recalled to replace engine but my model doesnt fall under the recall. i looked up online and other people with same car and engine have the same issue. i think they need to be looked into. the 2.0 nu engine as being one that needs recalled also. its getting progressively worse and will cost me more to replace the engine than the car is worth. called kia usa and was told they wont do anything because car is above 100k miles.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact's son restarted the vehicle; however, the vehicle shuddered while driving and was pushed to the residence. The contact replaced the battery, but the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the timing chain and drive belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated that there was a strong gasoline odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated while starting the vehicle, the engine made abnormal knocking sounds. The contact stated that the failure occurred increasingly while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V75000 (Engine). An unknow dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
I purchased a Kia Forte, 2012, in September of 2021. The engine has stalled, several times after putting gas in it and last week after filling up, gas fumes permeated the inside of the car while driving. Recently, this has started happening regularly. When I decided to investigate why this is happening, so that I have awareness of possibilities before going to the crooked dealer, I learned of the Class Action Lawsuit settlement against Hyundai/Kia specifically related to deadly engine stalling while driving and engine fires as a result of the identical problem which I am having. When I put my VIN into your site, it comes up as zero recalls, however, as you state on your site, many vehicles VINs are still updating. I did the research to learn if my vehicle fit the category of how this is happening. The dangerous defect is happening with Hyundai/Kia Theta II multi-port fuel injection (MPI) engines, Nu gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines, and Gamma GDI engines described in the combined lawsuit and all vehicles that have the defect, which adds up to 1.05 million. The vehicles involved in the Settlement are Theta II, Hyundai Tucson/ix35 (LM) (2009-?"2015), Hyundai Sonata (2007-?"2014) Kia Forte (TD) (2008-?"2012), Kia Optima/K5 (2008-?"2012), Kia Sportage (SL) (2010-?"2013) My 2012 Kia Forte has the 2.0L DOHC MPI Theta II multi-port fuel injection (MPI) engine listed as defective. As a female Veteran who drives 60 miles to the nearest Veteran's hospital, I am now scared to drive the car due to reports of the vehicle stalling in traffic and in my case on the California freeway where speeds normally are typically 65 to 75 mph. I have no other vehicle. I purchased this vehicle for the outstanding CarFax and Experian reports as a rental car, resulting in the highest standard and consistent servicing for years. Please rush this complaint so that I can keep my VA doctor appointments. I am scared, my VIN is KNAFU4A29C5590130. Thank you.
- Palmdale, CA, USA
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Car was at KIA dealer for engine noise with 136,000 miles. They performed the knock sensor update and said the engine noise was belts. At 150,000 miles car was at a shop for oil change. They said there are chunks in the oil and engine makes a lot of noise. At 162,000 miles car went into limp mode won-??t go over 50 mph. Had car towed to KIA dealer they said the engine was covered under replacement recall. Kia emailed me a quote to do repairs on the car. The quote included a new engine under warranty for ni cost. I told them to replace belts and the engine replacement. The KIA dealer ordered the new engine and removed the old engine. Then called me and said KIA would not cover the engine replacement. I asked what my options are and they said I would have to pay $5,300 for new engine or put the old engine back in. This engine has been a problem for the last 2 years like millions of other KIA vehicles. This is a fire safety hazard, I was never notified of the recall!
Unknown-?? The car has been having on going issues with shutting off while driving. With new battery, starter, tune up, plugs, and still no fix. The signal lights do keep busting. The headlights and brake lights. It-??s expensive to keep changing the headlights that do not last more than 2 months. Driver side in particular.
Car is not included in recall, engine noise piston knocking, loss of power. Took to dealer, dealer said this is normal. Car has loss of power on highways with excessive piston slap which is getting increasingly noiser. Engine mileage 156000. Problem was there since day one from dealer.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vehicle needed to be repaired due to an engine misfire. The vehicle was then taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact stated that the engine was knocking while the diagnostic test was being performed. The contact was made aware of internal engine failure and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact related failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V363000 (Engine) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated the vehicle was previously involved in NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine) where they received an engine knock test as the remedy. The contact stated that at that time they had no failures with the engine. Approximately 2 months after while driving approximately 30 mph when the vehicle began to make a loud knocking noise inside the engine. The contact decided to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and while doing so they began to smell smoke within the cabin of the vehicle. Once the contact had successfully pulled over and exited the vehicle they began to notice smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact was able to extinguish the smoke with a fire extinguisher. The fire department did arrive and confirmed the smoke was successfully extinguished and there no longer was a fire. There was no damage, injuries, or medical attention needed. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home. The contact then had the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle nor had the vehicle been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case regarding the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000. The contact stated the vehicle shut down on its own, but contact was able to veer off the road.
I received a letter in the mail in the beginning of April about a recall. The Slave Cylinder just happened to go out at this time, so I tow it in to Kia Downtown LA on April 6th. I let them know I have recalls on the vehicle and the problem with the clutch, or more specifically the slave cylinder. They give me a estimate on how much it would be to replace the slave cylinder, so I decline the offer and asked them to just get the recalls done. That was on April 13th. We have this back and forth phone calls about when was I going to pick up my vehicle and I had to constantly remind them that I was waiting on them to call me letting me know when the recalls were finished. It took until April 22nd to find out that none of the recalls were done, after being told they are "still working" on the recalls. I go to pick up my car asking about why none of the recalls were done and their excuse was they could "not turn it on, the car was shaking, or because the clutch issue." I had to pay a fee of $189.95 for the "diagnostics" and in order for them to release the car. I get the car fixed as of June 3rd, and on that day the engine locks. The component that failed is the 'knock sensor detection system' which could have prevented the engine from locking or worst catching on fire. I very much feel that me, my spouses, and others around me on the road were not safe. There was no warning lamps on or messages on to indicate the engine was under any problem. At the same time the oil had been changed on April 1st, and they gave no indication that the car was ever leaking oil. As of June 10th the car was towed into the dealership again. I have called every day they were open, and finally got a hold of a advisor on June 13th. The same advisor as the one I had last time. He now alleges the technician "couldn't get a proper reading from the scanner" last time, and how the "PI 2002" recall has expired so they might not be able to do anything about the engine.
Check engine light came on. Kia dealer ran a diagnostic test on it. Says there is a knock in the lower part of the engine. Expects it is a rod knocking. Found metal filings in the valve oil filter. After replacing that oil filter, valve solenoid and adjusting the valves the check engine light came on again. This time the Kia dealer says the engine needs to be replaced.
1 month and 2000 miles out of warranty engine started ticking at start up. 1 month later engine ticks all the time. Brought to Kia dealer and they said motor needed to be replaced.
I purchase the car from a car lotin the city where I live I got the car in March of 2020 I drove the car for 3 months one of my head lights started to short out so ialevieated the problem two months later a motor mount went bad I had it replaced after that my sensor S started to malfunction
On 10/31/20 my 2012 Kia Forte completely died at 49,000 miles while I was traveling at around 45 mph. I lost all power, the engine started smoking badly and I was stuck in the center of a 4 lane road with cars flying past me at around 50 mph. I had to call 911 because I could not get out of the smoking vehicle and I could not get the vehicle out of the middle of the road. The police officers had to do a pit maneuver to get me safely off to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where I originally purchased the vehicle in 9/2017. I was told after inspection that it had a severe knock sensor and catastrophic engine failure. My extended warranty company was charged for the $15000 engine that they replaced And I paid my $100 deductible. Although at the time the service department at Kia knew that this was an engine recall call situation that the manufacturer was responsible for, not my extended warranty company. My Kia forte Was in the shop for 2 months and the 1st engine they replaced did not work properly so they had to put another engine in during that period of time. Kia paid for the 2nd engine that was replaced. On January 27th of 2021 I received a notice from Kia Motors notifying me that my vehicle was part of the fire engine recall. I have had my vehicle in my possession a total of Maybe 380 days out of the last 438 since this happened. Kia corporate and the service parts Manager have been completely uncooperative, deceptive and negligent in their treatment towards me.I have gone through Maybe 25 loaner vehicles, had to bring the vehicle back 30 times, now a 4th engine is in the process of being replaced, I have defaulted on my car payments due to out of pocket expenses charged by Kia, the service department manager has stuck me with a $600 rental bill, a $250 traffic camera ticket, put me in a defective loaner that caused an accident and has now spent probably around 90k on a vehicle that is worth a fraction of that.
I tried starting my vehicle and it wouldn't turn over so I pulled the key out of the ignition and the engine kept running. It stopped quickly, so I thought it was weird so I tried again and it made the same vacuum type noise and started smoking, all while the key was not in the ignition. It stopped smoking but I walked away for a sec and came back and the entire place was filled with smoke and the engine had then caught on fire. I was in a parking garage so many other vehicles could have been damaged, and people could have inhaled smoke and other things of that nature. I was also concerned that it would explode and cause even more damage. There was no other signs that this would happen, my vehicle had driven fine the morning of. The car is totaled of course and was towed off.
The engine failed and the car broke down while driving one of the busiest highways in Texas. The engine has a risk of catch fire too apparently. I have received a diagnostic from an independent mechanic who was able to confirm the problem as total engine failure due to manufacturer oversight. (H&H Auto Repair, 512.863.4411 located at 2524 N Austin ave. Georgetown, tx 78626) The manufacturer has informed me that i can have it brought of which I will be responsible for towing the car as well as for replacing the engine, expecting to cost several thousand dollars. No police have no been involved and the insurance does not cover mechanical work. There was NO indication at all prior to failure.
Two months after the knock sensor update was completed the motor quit running. Prior to this update the car was running great. Even after the motor bearings supposedly were going bad, the car did not leak or burn oil or antifreeze and had been getting 26 miles per gallon in town. Had we traded in the car before the last update we were offered $5400, now the car is only work $800 in salvage. Kia has refused to assist us in any way on this matter and we are having to seek litigation to get some sort of restitution. If you can help this would be greatly appreciated. When the motor failed the car was traveling at highway speeds and just locked up. My daughter, who is 17 and was driving could have been killed as she had to go from the left lane to the right shoulder without any power or power assisted brakes/steering. This is completely unacceptable and Kia would not offer any compensation in the repair of the vehicle and now is seeking a signature absolving them of any liability in this matter.
Driving on highway the car made a noise and stalled. Pulled over and all the oil was on the highway. Kia dealership said a piston in the engine blew and a rod broke and made a hole in the engine block. Car is less than 10 years old. Car has 98,000 miles. Kia refuses to replace the engine because I-??m not an original owner. The whole engine needs to be replaced
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Medford, OR, USA