2021 Kia Forte: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 67 complaints about the 2021 Kia Forte and NHTSA has issued 2 recall campaigns. The most-reported system is engine, named in 22 of them.

67
Complaints
2
Recalls
10
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
6
Injuries
131.3
Severity index

Severity index 131.3 - 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: 131.3p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2021 Kia Forte sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 90 2021 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2021 Kia Forte ranks 9 of 90 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 90% of its model-year peers. See the full 2021 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 22 complaints (32.8%)22 33%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 17 complaints (25.4%)17 25%SteeringSteering: 9 complaints (13.4%)9 13%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 8 complaints (11.9%)8 12%Power TrainPower Train: 7 complaints (10.4%)7 10%Air BagsAir Bags: 6 complaints (9.0%)6 9%StructureStructure: 3 complaints (4.5%)3 4%Seat BeltsSeat Belts: 3 complaints (4.5%)3 4%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE2232.8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1725.4%
STEERING913.4%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM811.9%
POWER TRAIN710.4%
AIR BAGS69.0%
STRUCTURE34.5%
SEAT BELTS34.5%

Complaints filed per year

010212021: 102022: 212023: 52024: 132025: 112026: 7 (partial year)21222123242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
202110
202221
20235
202413
202511
2026 (year to date)7
Complaint volume is broadly steady year over year.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
21V16400011/03/2021AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULEKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2021 Telluride, K5, and Forte vehicles. The Occupant Classification and Detection System (OCS/ODS) unit may not detect the presence of a child restraint system in the front passenger seat. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with
22V30400005/05/2022STEERING:COLUMNKia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Rio and Forte vehicles. A bolt in the steering column may not be secured properly, which can cause the steering column to detach from the steering rack and result in a loss of steering control.
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.