2017 Kia Forte problems and recalls

Owner complaints on the 2017 Kia Forte include 4 fatality reports, 23 crashes and 10 fires across 305 filings.

305
Complaints
3
Recalls
23
Crash reports
10
Fire reports
21
Injuries
133.6
Severity index

Severity index 133.6 High. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 133.6p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 5 of 138 by severity index among 2017 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 96% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2017 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

EngineEngine: 145 complaints (47.5%)145 48%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 49 complaints (16.1%)49 16%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 47 complaints (15.4%)47 15%Exterior LightingExterior Lighting: 44 complaints (14.4%)44 14%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 29 complaints (9.5%)29 10%Air BagsAir Bags: 18 complaints (5.9%)18 6%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 17 complaints (5.6%)17 6%Engine And Engine Cooli…Engine And Engine Cooling: 14 complaints (4.6%)14 5%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE14547.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER4916.1%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM4715.4%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING4414.4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM299.5%
AIR BAGS185.9%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL175.6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING144.6%

Complaints filed per year

022432017: 72018: 212019: 402020: 312021: 402022: 402023: 402024: 302025: 432026: 13 (partial year)1718192021222324254326
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20177
201821
201940
202031
202140
202240
202340
202430
202543
2026 (year to date)13
Filings in 2023 to 2025 were close to 2020 to 2022 (113 against 111).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
22V03100025/01/2022AIR BAGSKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result
21V62200009/08/2021LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TRUNK LID:LATCHKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of F
21V26000013/04/2021ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:OIL/LUBRICATION:PUMPKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Forte vehicles equipped with a 2.0L Nu MPI engine. Foreign particles may stick inside the oil pump, which may cause an oil pump failure and engine damage.

Other Kia Forte model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 12 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-10-09. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.