10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
25,779 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2017 Kia Forte engine problems

engine problem

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2017 Kia Forte Owner Comments (Page 3 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #68

Nov 022021

Forte

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The engine stalls, when I try to give it gas, it will stall sometimes to the point of shutting off. It will also cut it off if I am sitting and the engine is running, it will shut off and it takes several minutes for me to be able to get it back running. It seems like it is something with fuel injectors. I know there was a recall with this very same issue on models of 2017 that was made in a different month, but I have been told numerous times mine isn-??t a recall when it seems to have same issue. This hasn-??t been a one time occurrence, it occurs almost every time I drive my vehicle.

- Fort Valley, GA, USA

problem #67

Sep 152022

Forte

  • miles
I as at work and received a message that there was a large oil spot where my car had been parked overnight at home. I checked my oil and it was not low. After work I was on my way to get my oil changed/checked and after 13 miles I heard a light knocking sound. I pulled over and checked my oil. My oil level was still good. I started my car and the noise was gone. I only had a few miles to the oil/lube express. Just as I pulled in the driveway of the business, the noise started again. The problem was the Oil Pressure Sender Unit was bad. The mechanic pushed it back on and I made it home without any noise. I called the dealership and the earliest they could make me an appt was 3 weeks out. No loaner car, my car had just ran out of warranty, and my car did not come up on recall for the list of Engine recalls. I bought the part and a recently retired certified KIA mechanic replaced it. Fast forward 4,000 the issue of the gas pump clicking off when my tank isn-??t full has happened again. It started at aprox 36,000 when the engine light came on and it was impossible to put gas in. The car was checked out but nothing showed to be wrong. The code sensor was reset and I was able to fill up. Well this time, nothing is working. After a few seconds, gas spits out. This car has been a. issue for the last 45,000 miles and my dealership was always booked. I-??ve always had the oil changed on time as well as the other maintenance. None of my other vehicles have been so unreliable. I don-??t feel I should have to pay for these things when 80,000 miles is not very many in 5 years.

- Greenwood, AR, USA

problem #66

Oct 102022

Forte

  • 130,000 miles
My 2017 Kia Forte has major engine problems after only 130,000 miles. The car just died on my son going down the road and after it started make loud knocking noise. There was no warning lights on at all. The engine is done for. I am the only owner of this car and have kept it maintanced well. I have realized after reading all the other people with issues that the oil pump on the car have cause engine damage and Kia has replaced engines. I do believe this is what has caused my troubles

- Lafayette, TN, USA

problem #65

May 282022

Forte

  • 25,258 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power and the engine was sputtering. The contact stated she pulled off the road and turned the vehicle off and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed and determined that the ignition coils needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not taken back to an independent mechanic or dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,258.

- Erie, PA, USA

problem #64

Aug 182022

Forte

  • miles
Ongoing acceleration and shaking issues. Lose power randomly and has stalled randomly. Now is frequent. I was told it is normal for cars to have some shaking however this is not normal. I try to accelorate and cannot, I had my own diagnostic test done and asked for the coil to be replaced. Kia said it was the spark plugs. Took the car back the next day because I again couldn't accelerate. Over a week later and no communication and I called and left a message. Now kia said it is the coil. Car now at approx 71K miles.

- Azusa, CA, USA

problem #63

Aug 182022

Forte

  • miles
In mid July 2022, the engine light was flickering on and off and my car started shaking. The KIA dealership told me the car needed the spark plugs to be replaced so I replaced the ones that they recommended. Then 2 weeks after that service the engine light came on again and my car began to shake so I took it in and they found a recall on the the ignition coils. They replaced those and then the next day the engine light came on and my car started shaking but this time, I started loosing acceleration in the car and the engine light stayed on. The KIA dealership tried to charge me $364.55 per ignition coil. It is scary to drive because I still have to go to work and church.

- Hoover , AL, USA

problem #62

Jul 212022

Forte

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Powertrain, engine light on, losing power

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #61

Aug 042022

Forte

  • miles
While son was driving on I10 at 65-70 mph engine died. Was able to restart to pull off the side of the highway. Car driven to Kia dealership with loud knocking noise, using side roads with another driver following. Kia confirmed that engine needs replacement and is a known issue. Our vehicle was in the Kia system under a different owner's name/address so we did not receive the 'courtesy notification' to have a fix that would extend warranty to cover engine problem. Many calls to Kia have not resulted in an agreement to fix or acknowledge severity of issue as far as engine failing while driving at a high rate of speed with an issue that is known to them.

- Litchfield Park, AZ, USA

problem #60

Jul 292022

Forte

  • miles
My car stalled in the middle of a busy rotary -??no lights or warning-??never had an issue with the car until that day -??I always was on top of all maintenance-??was very dangerous as I was in traffic and it just stopped working..,was luckily not rearended-??when brought to a mechanic he inspected it and stated it was the engine and that it was no good anymore-??I did some research and found a lot of other Kia Forte of this year have had same issue but dealership said it-??s not recalled and they would not replace until the government recalls it..This is a major safety issue as there was no warning at all that the engine had an issue, and this has happened to my last Kia -??that was a 2015 optima and that engine was recalled so was able to get it replaced by dealership and I still have the car -??I love my Kia but this is unexceptionable and DANGEROUS The car is currently at a mechanic waiting for a new engine to be installed at my expense-??extremely expensive -??do not have invoice yet as it-??s not a completed job but I will be keeping in the event that this does become a recall as it is a hazard as there is no warning at all

- Clinton, MA, USA

problem #59

Aug 032022

Forte

  • miles
I was driving in the highway in front of a semi truck and the car engine failed. I couldn-??t accelerate or slow down and I could barely turn the wheel. The semi just barely missed me. This is the second engine failure in a year. Kia replaced my engine with a brand new one in January of 2022 but have not added my vin number to the engine recall.

- Jacksonville , FL, USA

problem #58

Jun 102022

Forte

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The engine is malfunction. My car is shaking feally bad, as well as while driving it seems like it wants to shutdown. My engine warning indicator stays lit.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #57

Jul 292022

Forte

  • miles
I started my car on Friday July 29th@9:45 am. The car sounded like it backfired. Then i attempted to drive to work thinking it was a fluke.. but a mile away the engine sputtered and then stopped. I had no warning lights come on in my car ever. I had the car towed to the local dealer kia(cherry hill nj) and they havent done anything for me yet. They keep telling me there are open recalls on the car-?? but I can not fine this recall info anywhere. I was never notified of a recall, via, mail, phone, email. I dont understand. My car has 51k miles on it, and it was purchased in late september of 2017. So i an within the warranty, and dont understand why this even happened!

- Audubon, NJ, USA

problem #56

Jul 102022

Forte

  • miles
In or around July 10th, 2022, the vehicle-??s engine began making knocking sounds on several occasions while my wife was driving. On July 20th, 2022, I brought it into the dealership (Dick Hannah Kia, Vancouver, WA) where it was diagnosed as a problem with a bearing of a piston rod within the engine. On my drive to the dealership, I experience a loss of power, knocking sounds from the engine, and the oil light come on indicating a loss of oil pressure. Vehicle has 70, xxx miles. Dealership has advised me that the vehicle is unsafe to drive, but is failing to cover this under powertrain warranty. Seeing that this an engine similar to those noted in a NHTSA as related to Flaherty et al. v. Hyundai Motor Company et al., I wanted to file a safety report so that others are aware of the potential safety issue.

- Battle Ground, WA, USA

problem #55

Jul 012022

Forte

  • miles
Rod bearing has failed, as I was driving my car jolted and die as I was on the highway and almost got hit in the rear due to my car not being able to move. Unknown, unknown.i did not have any warning lights prior or after this happen

- Royse City, TX, USA

problem #54

Feb 162022

Forte

  • miles
Coil pack failed - car died with no warning driving down interstate. My mechanic found a code for a cylinder and replaced the coil pack. The car started acting the same as it did in the days prior to the engine dying while driving. I took it back to the mechanic and it showed no code. Started researching and saw a recall on coil packs on a third party website. Took it to dealership and they verified this but said they could not replace because one of the coil packs was after market and would not be reimbursed by manufacturer for any of them if all four were not returned. The manufacturer tells me there is no recall except for the trunk latch and that there is a service action they are not required to cover because it isn-??t a safety issue. Seeing as how I nearly got ran over by an 18 wheeler, I-??d say that it is a safety issue and my mechanic assures me it is not normal to have to replace coil packs this early. Since the problems are intermittent and no code shows up until the could pack fails, it is unsafe to drive. I-??ve also noticed many people having the same problem on several complaint web sites. Someone is going to get hurt or killed.

- Texarkana, TX, USA

problem #53

Jul 122022

Forte

  • 98,200 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 58 MPH, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. While the contact was pulling over to the side of the roadway to see where the sound was coming from, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the engine failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was unable to speak with a representative at the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was 98,200.

- San Antonio, FL, USA

problem #52

Jan 242022

Forte

  • 144,200 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, smoke was coming in through the A/C vents. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact drove to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that a lack of engine oil caused the vehicle to overheat as there was no engine lubricant. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to two other independent mechanics where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced due to excessive oil consumption however, the contact had been completing oil changes every 3,000 miles. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for the engine replacement however, the dealer informed the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair due to the vehicle mileage. The vehicle was then taken to a second dealer Greenway Kia West Palm Beach (735 S Military Trail, West Palm Beach, FL 33415) who completed an engine update and informed the contact that he did not need an engine replacement; however, the failure recurred increasingly. The vehicle was taken back to the second dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 144,200.

- Delray Beach, FL, USA

problem #51

Jun 102022

Forte

  • miles
Engine can stall at lower speeds (10-30 mph) after being on the highway for an extended amount of time. Can also happen after being on the highway, parking and waiting for some time (30 min), and start driving again at lower speeds. Issue becomes more prominent when going uphill slowly (little to no pressure on gas pedal). A rumble can sometimes be felt through the gas pedal too, but not always. Usually the engine starts making some noise ('gurgling') to indicate that the engine is in this state and it usually stall after coasting for some time or pressing very little on the gas (noise may become louder when doing this). I've seen the engine stall around 1000 rpm when doing this. Sometimes the oil light will also start appearing and it seems that the engine is not being responsive when pressing on the gas pedal. Car can stall in these cases or may recover and eventually stall. I've had this issue since the beginning of the year, but an engine check light has not come on for it since then (other than one for a spark plug and coil, but this was addressed in February 2022). Safety concern is mostly when driving in cities or at lower speeds and making unprotected left/right turns where the car may possible stall. Mechanic was able to reproduce this in February but suggested that I take the car to the dealer after difficulty finding the cause. Dealer was unable to solve it in April and suggested waiting for a check engine light.

- Glen Burnie, MD, USA

problem #50

Jun 052022

Forte

  • miles
On June 5, 2022 at approx. 45 miles per hour, my 2017 Kia Forte just without warning shut off. Luckily there were no cars on the usually busy road so I immediately pulled over to the side of the road and put my emergency flashers on. Was able to start the car and drove another 3 miles home. In my driveway, I opened the hood and smelled a burning smell and a slight coolant smell ( although the operating temp gauge read normal), and I heard a knocking sound at the bottom of the engine. I turned the engine off, checked the oil level (normal) and coolant level (normal). I scanned the OBD and NO CODES came up. Called Kia dealership (the car is still under warranty with 76000 miles but they cannot look at the car until July 1.

- Union City, GA, USA

problem #49

May 182022

Forte

  • miles
My car is stalling. Stalled on the highway. Has knocking sound. And if i let up off the gas at all it stalls. Will stall in neutral as well. Was involved in an accident last year and airbags did not deploy even though they should have. My car started stalling at 86,000 miles with regular oil changes. I-??ve only had the vehicle about a year and a half. My lights also are shorted out due to the trunk not closing all the way and rain water getting in. I-??m still making payments. I do not know what to do. I-??m a sole caregiver to my terminally Ill mother. I need this car. I do not make very much money.

- Oklahoma City , OK, USA

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