2015 Kia Forte problems
Owners have filed 327 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Kia Forte. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 50% of complaints. Next are electrical system (9%) and air bags (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 327 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 50% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 21 and 21
- Injuries and deaths
- 17 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 75,000 miles 180 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 20 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 19 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 22 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 40 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 32 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 20 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 13 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 8 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 180 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 75,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 86,000 miles (88 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 21 complaints mention a crash; 21 complaints mention a fire; 17 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2015 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the Kia Forte with enough data (147 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Driver was in middle lane driving around 55 MPH. For some unknown reason, driver lost control of vehicle. Car began flipping while still in the roadway, eventually hit a guard rail and continued flipping. Driver was ejected and killed. Airbags never deployed...updated 11/13/15 .....updated 12/23/15 updated 1/11/2015 updated 9/17/2017
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 kia forte. While driving at any speed, the contact lost control of the vehicle while driving over a bump in the road. The contact stated that the weather conditions also contributed to her being unable to control the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated before or after the failure. The vehicle was driven to steve landers chrysler dodge jeep ram (401 colonel glenn plaza loop, little rock, ar), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified.
I was driving on highway 8 in san diego,ca and I heard a loud rattling noise, the check engine light lit up and the engine died and I was lucky to be able to coast the car to the shoulder of the freeway. I had it towed to my kia dealership in el cajon, ca. They looked at it and told me my engine seized and the engine was blown. I bought this car 11 months ago as a cpo and it is within the warranty of 10 yrs/100,000 miles. I've only put 21,000 miles on it.