KIA / Forte / 2020

2020 KIA Forte problems

Owners have filed 107 complaints about the 2020 KIA Forte with NHTSA. Engine accounts for 18.7% of them, narrowly the most common, ahead of power train at 15%. A further 24.3% were filed without a specific system named.

Complaints107

Crashes12

Fires2

Injuries6

Deaths0

What owners report breaking

Unknown or other 24.3% · 26

Engine 18.7% · 20

Power train 15.0% · 16

Electrical system 10.3% · 11

Forward collision avoidance 5.6% · 6

Air bags 4.7% · 5

Vehicle speed control 3.7% · 4

Engine and engine cooling 2.8% · 3

Severity

Of those complaints, 12 describe a crash, 2 describe a fire and 6 report an injury.

Reading the numbers

Across the 12 model years of the KIA Forte in this data, 2020 draws comparatively few complaints; 2014 is the outlier year.

Filings are rising, 56 in the last three years against 41 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.

The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 7,000 miles.

In owners' own words

The engine has failed in this vehicle just like it has in other 2.0L kia vehicles 2020-2026. The piston rings have failed and the pistons have all pitted or developed holes in them just like in the recall 25V-099/kia safety recall SC336 Engine

Engine burning excessive oil over a quart in 1000 miles. Catalytic converter code P0420 because of the excessive oil burning. Oil was always changed within the specified dealer milage range. Engine

While driving I heard a pop then the lights on my dash lit up my car came to a stop i.e cut off tried to start back up the engine caught fire burned the whole front end off total loss Engine

Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

Safety recalls

Checking NHTSA for open recalls…

Other KIA Forte years

2015 327 complaints · 48.3% engine 2016 205 complaints · 32.2% engine 2017 436 complaints · 33.3% engine 2018 190 complaints · 30.0% engine 2019 221 complaints · 21.7% power train 2023 109 complaints · 13.8% steering

Compare all 12 model years →