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2018 Kia Forte

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Kia Forte do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 141.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

51 reports with mileage · 85 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 57 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

13 crash reports3 fire reports8 injury reports

Visibility/wiper complaints

2 reports
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Mileage unknown · Sep 18, 2023
Visibility/wiper

I am the 2nd owner. Mileage currently: 25,562 Mileage when purchased in August, 2020: Approx 15,500 Air Compressor Car was not driven for most of 2020 and stayed in garage (pandemic). Car has only been serviced at Kia. Service in May 2022: Dealer checked off all components, valves, hoses, etc. were fine (option boxes were gr…

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I am the 2nd owner. Mileage currently: 25,562 Mileage when purchased in August, 2020: Approx 15,500 Air Compressor Car was not driven for most of 2020 and stayed in garage (pandemic). Car has only been serviced at Kia. Service in May 2022: Dealer checked off all components, valves, hoses, etc. were fine (option boxes were green, yellow, red, red being needing service soon. They checked "green" for box being discussed. August 2023 Brought car in for 3 recalls. Several weeks prior I noticed that the AC wasn't functioning as well as it used to so I had them check. Coincidentally, warranty expired 2 months earlier in June. Paid for the diagnostics, results are that the air compressor is leaking which will cost $1700 less the $300 that I've paid (estimated). Not sure why this wasn't noticed in May 2022 when warranty may have covered some/all of this repair. The car is barely driven since I am underemployed. Additionally, the compressors should last 8-10 years, not under 5 years or 25,000 miles. Regardless, while AC is always nice on a hot day, have your ever tried to drive your car on a rainy day without a working AC? Try it. I bet your windows fog up really quickly. So yes, it is a safety issue. I've reached out to KIA USA for assistance as a good will gesture to meet me half way (not even asking for free, just to meet me half way). It has been almost 2 weeks and they keep stringing me along. I only have a small window with Kia Ventura to decide if they should finish this work before I lose out on the $300 that I've already paid. It's ridiculous.

NHTSA ODI #11545255

Mileage unknown · Dec 6, 2021
Visibility/wiper

I live in Chicago it was approximately 35 degrees and raining out today, so I had my defrost on. I was in the line at a fast-food restaurant and I heard a crack noise. I looked at my windshield and there was a straight, horizontal line crack approximately 8-10 inches long. When I got out to look to see if something had hit my wi…

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I live in Chicago it was approximately 35 degrees and raining out today, so I had my defrost on. I was in the line at a fast-food restaurant and I heard a crack noise. I looked at my windshield and there was a straight, horizontal line crack approximately 8-10 inches long. When I got out to look to see if something had hit my window, I saw that there were no impact chips and it is a crack that just begins at the very edge of the windshield going into the center. I took pictures but I have not done anything to stop the crack from spreading because I do not want to void my warranty or anything just in case. Kia already has this same issue happening with the 2020 Kia Tulleride.

NHTSA ODI #11442762

Official recalls

3

22V031000 · Air Bags

Jan 25, 2022

Kia 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 in deactivated air bags that will not deploy in a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.

21V622000 · Latches/locks/linkages:trunk Lid:latch

Aug 9, 2021

Kia 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 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.

21V260000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/lubrication:pump

Apr 13, 2021

Kia 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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the oil pan, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed August 16, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC210.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.