NHTSA lists 76 complaints for the 2020 Kia Forte, 9 of them mention a crash and 2 mention a fire. 4 complaints mention an injury, with 6 injuries and 0 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-08.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as KIA FORTE.
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.
| System | Complaints | Share of this vehicle's complaints |
|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 26 | 34.2% |
| ENGINE | 18 | 23.7% |
| POWER TRAIN | 16 | 21.1% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 11 | 14.5% |
| AIR BAGS | 5 | 6.6% |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 5 | 6.6% |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 4 | 5.3% |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 3 | 3.9% |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 3.9% |
| LANE DEPARTURE | 3 | 3.9% |
| System | Subsystem | Complaints |
|---|---|---|
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | WARNINGS | 3 |
| LANE DEPARTURE | ASSIST | 2 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | IGNITION | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | EXHAUST SYSTEM | 1 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | HEADLIGHTS | 1 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL | 1 |
| LANE DEPARTURE | BLIND SPOT DETECTION | 1 |
| STRUCTURE | BODY | 1 |
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.
| Label | Count | Share of tagged | Mean confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| electrical electronic | 22 | 28.9% | 0.77 |
| mechanical failure | 20 | 26.3% | 0.90 |
| loss of control | 14 | 18.4% | 0.88 |
| unclear | 6 | 7.9% | 0.81 |
| restraint or airbag | 5 | 6.6% | 0.95 |
| fluid or fuel leak | 4 | 5.3% | 0.85 |
| fire or overheating | 3 | 3.9% | 0.96 |
| visibility or lighting | 2 | 2.6% | 0.82 |
| Label | Count | Share of tagged | Mean confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| moderate | 45 | 59.2% | 0.76 |
| low | 14 | 18.4% | 0.65 |
| high | 13 | 17.1% | 0.70 |
| none | 3 | 3.9% | 0.56 |
| critical | 1 | 1.3% | 0.81 |
Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 76 tagged complaints of 76 complaints (100.0%).
Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.
Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.
See new recalls and investigations this week.
0 recalls.
0 investigations; 0 open.
100 manufacturer communications.
| System | Count |
|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 43 |
| POWER TRAIN | 23 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 16 |
| EQUIPMENT | 12 |
| STEERING | 8 |
| STRUCTURE | 8 |
| EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY | 5 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 5 |
Date: 2026-08-05. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: MISFIRE CONCERN DUE TO OVERRUNNING ALTERNATOR DECOUPLER - This bulletin provides information to address unresolved misfire events on some 2020a 2024MY Forte (BDm) produced from January 1, 2019 through September 30, 2024, and 2020a 2022MY Soul (SK3) vehicles produced fro
Date: 2026-06-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin prov
Date: 2026-02-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin prov
Date: 2026-02-19. Type: Emissions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN.
VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER RENOTIFICATION (SC199 FL301) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia is conducting Voluntary Service Campaign to update the software programming on the Transmission Control Module (TCM) and, if necessary, replace the Intelligent Vari
Date: 2025-12-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin provides information to install a Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder Protector on certain 2010-2022MY Kia vehicles outlined on page 19, which may not have bee
Date: 2025-12-17. Type: Other. Systems: STRUCTURE.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (CS2312) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting Customer Satisfaction Campaign. A software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method has been made available to owners of eligible Kia model vehicles free
Date: 2025-12-09. Type: Other. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.
PITSTOP: TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO ULTRASONIC SENSOR: This Pitstop provides information related to Parking Distance Warning (PDW) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. The PDW system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal
Date: 2025-04-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid ty
Date: 2025-04-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information on diagnosing and/or repair
Date: 2025-03-20. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: SERVICE ACTION: KIA CONNECT MODEM RESET (SA611) - This bulletin outlines the procedure for resetting the modem in certain 2016-2025MY Kia vehicles listed on page 3 that are equipped with Kia Connect Services. The affected vehicles may encounter the following issues: remot
None listed.
| NHTSA model label | Complaints |
|---|---|
| FORTE | 76 |
The free rate-limited demo needs no key.
curl "https://api.theusedcarindex.com/v1/demo/vehicle_risk?make=Kia&model=Forte&year=2020"Paid endpoint: https://api.theusedcarindex.com/v1/vehicle_risk. MCP endpoint: https://api.theusedcarindex.com/mcp.