2017 Kia Forte: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2017 Kia Forte include 4 reports of a fatality, alongside 23 crashes and 9 fires across 300 filings.

300
Complaints
3
Recalls
23
Crash reports
9
Fire reports
21
Injuries
158.0
Severity index

Severity index 158.0 - High. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 158.0p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2017 Kia Forte sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 136 2017 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2017 Kia Forte ranks 12 of 136 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 91% of its model-year peers. See the full 2017 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 144 complaints (48.0%)144 48%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 49 complaints (16.3%)49 16%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 46 complaints (15.3%)46 15%Exterior LightingExterior Lighting: 43 complaints (14.3%)43 14%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 29 complaints (9.7%)29 10%Air BagsAir Bags: 18 complaints (6.0%)18 6%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 17 complaints (5.7%)17 6%Engine And Engine Cooli…Engine And Engine Cooling: 13 complaints (4.3%)13 4%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE14448.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER4916.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM4615.3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING4314.3%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM299.7%
AIR BAGS186.0%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL175.7%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING134.3%

Complaints filed per year

022432017: 72018: 212019: 402020: 312021: 402022: 402023: 402024: 302025: 432026: 8 (partial year)1718192021222324254326
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20177
201821
201940
202031
202140
202240
202340
202430
202543
2026 (year to date)8
Complaint volume is broadly steady year over year.

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.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.