The Used Car Index

2023 Kia Forte problems

NHTSA lists 63 complaints for the 2023 Kia Forte, 11 of them mention a crash and 4 mention a fire. 5 complaints mention an injury, with 5 injuries and 1 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as KIA FORTE.

At a glance

Complaints
63
With crash
11
With fire
4
With injury (complaints)
5
Injuries
5
Deaths
1
Recalls
3
Do not drive recalls
2
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
3,866
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
46

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The required sales year is missing.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
STEERING1422.2%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1015.9%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE1015.9%
ENGINE914.3%
POWER TRAIN812.7%
SUSPENSION812.7%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER812.7%
LANE DEPARTURE711.1%
AIR BAGS57.9%
SERVICE BRAKES46.3%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEWARNINGS8
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEAUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING5
STRUCTUREBODY4
LANE DEPARTUREBLIND SPOT DETECTION3
BACK OVER PREVENTIONWARNINGS2
LANE DEPARTUREASSIST2
LANE DEPARTURELANE KEEP2
BACK OVER PREVENTIONREARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING1
BACK OVER PREVENTIONSENSING SYSTEM1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
loss of control1523.8%0.86
electrical electronic1422.2%0.84
mechanical failure1422.2%0.83
visibility or lighting57.9%0.91
restraint or airbag46.3%0.92
fire or overheating34.8%0.97
noise or comfort34.8%0.83
unclear34.8%0.59
structural or corrosion23.2%0.45
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate3758.7%0.87
high1422.2%0.79
low1015.9%0.80
critical23.2%0.98

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 63 tagged complaints of 63 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.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

3 recalls.

24V244000

Date: 2024-04-01. Systems: SUSPENSION.

Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles. The right front lower control arm may have been improperly welded, which can cause it to fail.

Consequence: Front lower control arm failure can cause a sudden loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Dealers will replace the right front lower control arm, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 17, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC306. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 23V-649.

Do not drive: Yes. Park outside: No.

23V649000

Date: 2023-09-22. Systems: SUSPENSION.

Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles. The right front lower control arm may have been improperly welded, which can cause it to fail.

Consequence: Front lower control arm failure can cause a sudden loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the repair has been performed. Dealers will replace the right front lower control arm, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 27, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC283.

Do not drive: Yes. Park outside: No.

22V906000

Date: 2022-12-08. Systems: STEERING.

Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the front left steering knuckle may crack, which can result in a loss of steering control.

Consequence: A loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the front left steering knuckle, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 12, 2023. Owner may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC259.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

46 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM14
ELE10
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING4
EQUIPMENT4
ENG3
STRUCTURE3
TRA3
VISIBILITY3

11036452

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

11033217

Date: 2026-05-28. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE USING UPDATE.KIA.COM - This bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable Kia vehicles using the Kia Navigation Updater available at update.kia.com. The software update may impr

11031906

Date: 2026-04-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SOFTWARE UPDATE PROCEDURE - This bulletin provides information on the process for downloading infotainment software updates and preparing USB for installation on applicable Kia vehicles. The software downloads and USB preparation process is similar across all

11026698

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

11025759

Date: 2025-11-13. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TIRE MOBILITY REPLACEMENT - This bulletin provides information to replace the Tire Mobility Kit (TMK) sealant can or TMK bag assembly on certain 2023-2024MY Forte (BDm) models produced from March 01, 2023 thorough November 30, 2023. Lower ambient temperatures can create a

11017172

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

11017109

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

11015973

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

11014912

Date: 2025-02-28. 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

11012903

Date: 2025-01-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: SERVICE ACTION: DISPLAY AUDIO 2.0/AVN5WSOFTWARE UPDATE (SA569) - 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 to update the softw

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
FORTE63

Same model, other years

All model years | All Kia models

Other Kia models, 2023

Sources

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