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 2013 Kia Forte. While driving at an unknown speed, there was a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to jeff belzer's Chevrolet, Dodge, Kia (21111 cedar ave, lakeville, mn 55044, (952) 469-4444) where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.
While driving at 65+ mph on the freeway, this 2013 Kia Forte sx lost power (engine light, oil light and battery light illuminated), steering stiffened and vehicle rapidly decelerated. It was very difficult and dangerous to get the vehicle directed over to the freeway shoulder. The vehicle has 61,619 miles. It was towed to a Kia dealership where, based on engine noise, Kia has diagnosed a rod bearing malfunction at the bottom of the engine. This engine is the 2.4L theta-II mpi (multi-port injection) engine (vs the gdi, or gasoline direct injection, engine that has already been recalled).
I, like many other Kia Forte owners, feel the recall should include the Forte. I have experienced the same issues as the other owners - engine knocking, oil issues, white smoke exiting the exhaust, loss of speed while driving, car dying after acceleration and finishing in a puff of smoke. When it first began in June 2016 I took the car in to the dealership where it was purchased and they said they would not repair it because it wasn't their fault. Yet, I see that the same problems are literally being repaired on other models with the same engine and issues. The theta II 2.4L engine clearly is defective in all of the vehicles. I fail to understand why the Forte was not included on this list. To make matters worse, the dealership really raked us over the coals on the purchase and five years later we still owe nearly $10K on the vehicle. Clearly other dealerships are aware of the defect because I cannot get anyone to take it as a trade in - turned down by over ten dealerships. Please advise me on how we can rectify this problem. My husband is a disabled veteran and we rely on this vehicle to get to and from appointments, as it is our only means of transportation.
The class action lawsuit for theta II engines in Kia cars needs to be expanded to include all the models with that engine. I have a 2013 Forte sx with one of those defective theta II 2.4L engines. It appears that only the optima, sorento and sportage models made the list. Not sure if it is an oversight or that they made so few Fortes with that engine. However it is, the point is that the engine is bad no matter what vehicle they deemed to place it in. Please expand the recall to make the engine the requirement for the recall. All these cars have the theta II per wikipedia: Theta/theta-II engine - 2.4L (2359cc) (G4kc, G4ke, G4kg, G4kj, ) Hyundai sonata (2006'2010) Hyundai sonata gdi (2011-) Hyundai sonata (2011-) (middle East) Hyundai tucson (2010-) Hyundai Santa Fe (2010-) Hyundai starex (2007-) Kia optima (2006'2010) Kia optima gdi (2011-) Kia rondo (2007-) Kia cadenza gdi (2011-) Kia sportage (2011-) Kia sorento (2011-) Kia Forte (2010-2013)
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
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The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact heard a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The motor failed several times, which caused the vehicle to come to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed several times to the contact's residence due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to route 6 auto mall Kia (1049 grand army of the republic hwy, swansea, MA 02777, (508) 646-9700) where it was diagnosed that the motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic and it was also diagnosed that the motor needed to be replaced; however, there was a delay in receiving the part from the manufacturer. Once the part was received, the independent mechanic would repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was not available.
The vehicle makes a really loud ticking or tapping noise while parked on idle that gets significantly louder when accelerating. There are many videos on youtube that document this noise. The noise is so loud sometimes it sounds like something in the motor will come thru the motor.
On 4/24/18 driving on residential street doing approx 35mph when car began to slow. Attempted to accelerate to no avail. Tried to turn at next corner to enter gas station. Struggled to make turn as steering was very difficult. Car cut off and would not crank even after a jump start. Car towed to independent repair shop. Diagnosis "engine locked up". no money for expensive repair.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. While driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle lost steering and braking ability. The contact coasted the vehicle into an empty parking lot and had it towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine seized. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
I was driving down the highway and heard a fizing noise and lost power pulled over and oil was pouring out of the bottom of the block, it had thrown a rod, the oil had just been change and set to proper level befor the 2 hour trip. There was no nocking or and indication of any kind.
This is the 2nd engine replacement I have had to do in a 2013 car. Driving 60mph without warning car stalled and I was forced to coax to the side of rural country road, in the middle of extreme cold weather the 2nd time. The 1st time I was driving the car abfter just getting oil changed and car made a loud noise and car stalled while driving on interstate at 70mph. Car was towed and engine was blown each time. I have contacted Kia on both occasions and on both occasions car was sent to dealership and could not figure out why engine blew. Oil levels where found good. This is ridiculous that I have had two replace 2 engines in a 2013 Kia which is financed and Kia refuses to do anything about it. I have receipts as well as reports done on car each time this occurred. However they are in glovebox of car at garage getting a new engine!
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. While driving 70 mph, the motor failed. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to deland Kia (2322 S woodland blvd, deland, fl 32720, (386) 734-7800) where it was diagnosed that the crank shaft failed and destroyed the engine. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer stated that they would not repair the vehicle because there was no open recall and the vehicle was not under warranty. The failure mileage was 66,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a blown bearing in the engine, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact found an upcoming recall online, but the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 91,000.
Several months ago I was driving to the Forte and the car idled down and stopped at the stop sign and shut off. The next day I was driving home and I heard a noise from the hood, the car began idled down then shut off while driving. The car was taken to a mechanic shop, there were no oil going through the lines. Many months before that I was out with the Forte and it would not start, that happened several times, I got the oil changed and I was told no oil was getting through the line. Recently, this month I was driving the Forte to work and the car began to jump and idling down the engine was trembling and the vehicle shut down. A tow truck was called.
This is in addition to a previous complaint. I forgot to add important information. I was told by Kia that my engine issue is a "blown rod" inside the engine. Kia has several other models that have had the exact same issue that are currently in litigation. I feel as though I've "missed the boat" on this issue.
Was driving the vehicle at 50 mph when an unknown noise began coming from the engine. I was about 3 miles from home, by the time I got home the noise was much louder. I shut it off and immediately had the vehicle towed to my closest Kia dealership. The vehicle is currently 2,200 miles under the 100,000 mile warranty (original owner). The dealership called me about 2 hours later and told me that the engine experienced a "catastrophic failure" (later I learned a rod had gone bad) and my warranty was voided due to "oil sludge" in the engine. The service department immediately began talking about selling me a new car, which I declined. I also declined any maintenance to be performed. I then had the vehicle towed to a private certified mechanic who sent a camera inside the engine and determined that there was no "sludge" to be found. The mechanic also determined that there was no way for Kia to know this since he could tell that neither the valve cover, nor any other engine part, had been removed to facilitate such inspection. Now I am faced with $3,700 in engine replacement costs since Kia refuses to acknowledge the problem. Kia seems to have somehow determined engine "sludge" without even looking inside the engine. I have a few external photos as proof that the engine had not been touched by Kia but I am unable to upload them here.
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.
When driving 55 - 80 miles per hour, especially right at 70, the car shakes, and the engine knocks. It feels like a vibration, and the wheel shakes under your hands with a rhythmic knocking noise from the engine. The car also has issues with the front right brake when it is chilly or wet. The brake sticks and will not come up, grinding and causing the car to become difficult to drive. The pedal sinks in and will not come back up. I have taken the car to the dealer and been told nothing is wrong with the car. Both issues are still going on, and worsening as I drive it. Pretty sure being pushed past my warranty. Taking to another dealer for second opinion, worried in mean time the car is not safe to drive based on other similar reports. I bought my car from dealership, and was able to verify it had one owner. At time of purchase the car drove fine, but within days both issues had begun. I took it to a different dealer for service.
The oil engine light came on while the car was at idle. Turn the engine off and it failed to restart. I had the car towed to the nearest dealer and after numerous times of them trying at starting the car, the car started up only to shut off. Then they checked it out again to find that the engine had lock up. Now I am being asked to pay for a new engine or get a new car.
Car makes loud noise while driving down fwy sounds like engine is going to drop out from underneath it - shakes and vibrates and acts like it's going to stop any moment. Brakes will not disengage, thereby making the gas pedal unable to engage. Car loses power while driving when brake doesn't disengage because the gas pedal doesn't engage. Brakes smell of burning rubber. Car rides like all 4 tires are flat - car shakes and vibrates as well. This has happened numerous times - more than 10 - took to dealer - they told me there was nothing wrong with the car. It is extremely dangerous to drive - I had the brake system line flushed and bled and the shop told me that what was in the brake line was not brake fluid - written right on the invoice. Kia is not standing behind their cars and screwing people - especially women. Service managers would just smirk and laugh when I took it in with the complaints - like I was an idiot.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lakeville, MN, USA