Problems owners report
Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 2019 Kia Forte, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.
- Power train48
- Engine37
- Electrical system23
- Unknown or other22
- Forward collision avoidance17
- Exterior lighting15
- Steering9
- Vehicle speed control7
- Air bags6
- Lane departure5
NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 5 injuries and 0 deaths reported
Compared with other years
NHTSA ODI complaints by model year
Fatal crashes in the US
From 2020 to 2023, 97 2019 Forte vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 56 people died inside them, and 9 of the vehicles rolled over. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)
New York safety inspections
At its first New York inspection the 2019 Kia Forte failed the safety check 2.42% of the time — 68% more often than the average 2019 passenger car (1.44%). Median odometer at inspection: 40,424 miles.
17,732first inspections
2.42%failed on safety
40,424 mimedian odometer
NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count
Crash-test ratings
NHTSA 5-star results for 1 variant; 0 of 1 rated variants score five stars overall. Rollover risk is the estimated chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
| Variant | Overall | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 Kia Forte 4 DR FWD | ★★★★☆ | 10.7 % |
- Electronic stability control
- Standard
- Forward collision warning
- No
- Lane departure warning
- No
- Best overall rating
- 4 / 5
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (5-Star Safety Ratings), api.nhtsa.gov · US federal work, public domain
Fuel consumption
Official Canadian test results for 2 variants: combined 6.9–7.6 L/100 km (about 31–34 mpg US), CO₂ 164–180 g/km.
| Variant | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forte · Mid-size · Regular gasoline | 7.7 | 5.9 | 6.9 |
| Forte · Mid-size · Regular gasoline | 8.6 | 6.4 | 7.6 |
Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls in Canada
2 Transport Canada recalls for the 2019 Kia Forte.
| 2020369 12 Aug 2020 | Powertrain Issue: On certain vehicles, the left-front axle shaft may not have been heat treated, and could break. If this happens, there would be a loss of power to the … |
| 2018610 2 Nov 2018 | Lights And Instruments Certain vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 108 - Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices. The… |
Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls
20V459000 · Power train5 Aug 2020 · 834 vehicles
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2019 Forte vehicles. The left front axle driveshaft may not have been heat-treated, which can cause it to break.
18V771000 · Exterior lighting31 Oct 2018 · 1,754 vehicles
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2019 Kia Forte vehicles equipped with LED headlights. The headlights may not have been manufactured with the correct low beam aiming. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words
Service bulletins
What Kia told its dealers about the 2019 Kia Forte: known faults, fixes and updates.
| Bulletin | Summary |
|---|---|
| 11007859 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: FRONT STRUT BEARING & SPRING PAD REPLACEMENT - 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 replace the front strut bearing and upper spring pad on both front (LH and RH) strut assemblies on certain 2019-2024MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced from July 09, 2018 through present, 2020-2024MY Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from November 15, 2018 through present, and 2021-2024 Seltos (SP2) vehicles produced from November 20, 2019 |
| 11005364 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: FRONT STRUT BEARING & SPRING PAD REPLACEMENT - 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 replace the front strut bearing and upper spring pad on both front (LH and RH) strut assemblies on certain 2019-2024MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced from July 09, 2018 through present, 2020-2024MY Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from November 15, 2018 through present, and 2021-2024 Seltos (SP2) vehicles produced from November 20, 2019 |
| 11004930 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: IVT OIL PRESSURE SENSOR REPLACEMENT: This bulletin provides information to replace the Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT) Oil Pressure Sensor (OPS) on some 2018-2024MY vehicles listed on page 3 equipped with IVT. The affected vehicles may exhibit a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illuminated on the instrument cluster with DTCs P084500, P084600, and/or P0867XX present with no drivability concerns due to a failed IVT oil pressure sensor. |
| 11001596 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: ANTI-THEFT S/W LOGIC UPGRADE & DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2305) - 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 the procedure to upgrade the software logic of the Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) or Body Control Module (BCM) system on certain 2014-2018MY Forte (YD), 2017-2018MY Forte (YDm), and 2019-2021MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced within the dates outlined in page 13, which may not be equipped with an immobilizer. |
| 11000787 | This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced. |
| 10248691 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: FRONT STRUT BEARING & SPRING PAD REPLACEMENT - This bulletin provides information to replace the front strut bearing and upper spring pad on both front (LH and RH) strut assemblies on certain 2019-2024MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced from July 09, 2018 through present, 2020-2024MY Soul (SK3) vehicles produced from November 15, 2018 through present, and 2021-2024 Seltos (SP2) vehicles produced from November 20, 2019 through present. The affected vehicles may exhibit an intermittent noise when turning the steering wheel both when driving and when the vehicle is not in |
| 10245168 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PARTIAL SEAT TRACK REPLACEMENT FOR INOPERATIVE FRONT SEAT - 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 inspect and repair an inoperative front seat mechanism on some 2019-2024MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced from June 18, 2018 through Present and some 2018-2023MY Rio (SC) vehicles produced from January 2, 2017 through August 16, 2023. Symptoms of an inoperative front seat include the inability of the seat to move forwar |
| 10245167 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: ANTI-THEFT S/W LOGIC UPGRADE & DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2305) - 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 the procedure to upgrade the software logic of the Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) or Body Control Module (BCM) system on certain 2014-2018MY Forte (YD), 2017-2018MY Forte (YDm), and 2019-2021MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced within the dates outlined in page 13, which may not be equipped with an immobilizer. |
| 10244289 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: HVAC BLOWER MOTOR CONNECTOR REPLACEMENT - 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 replace the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) blower motor connector on some 2019-2023MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced from July 09, 2018 through present, which may experience the air conditioning function inoperative. The blower motor connector pins may have poor pin tension. Poor pin tension occurs when the female pin |
| 10240758 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: SERVICE REMINDER SETTING RESET PROCEDURE - 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 regarding the service reminder setting, which may have been auto-set by the Kia Vehicle Inspection and Delivery application (KVID) at time of Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI). Beginning with the 2023MY, Oil Life Monitoring (OLM) has been applied to all models, except Forte (BDm), Stinger (CK), Telluride (ON) and Soul (SK3). Refer to TSB ENG24 |
| 10240757 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: HVAC BLOWER MOTOR CONNECTOR REPLACEMENT - This bulletin provides information to replace the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) blower motor connector on some 2019-2023MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced from July 09, 2018 through present, which may experience the air conditioning function inoperative. The blower motor connector pins may have poor pin tension. Poor pin tension occurs when the female pin is slightly open which will not allow for a proper electrical connection. While driving, the road conditions can cause the connector pin to slightly move |
| 10240737 | CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN: OWNER RE-NOTIFICATION - This document is the owner re-notification advising that Kia has developed a software upgrade that can be installed on the vehicle to restrict the operation of the vehicle's ignition system should a locked vehicle be the subject of a break-in and theft attempt without the key. This software upgrade will be available to the customer free of charge for eighteen (18) months from the date of the original letter. When the software upgrade is complete, Kia will also provide the customer with window stickers that can be applied to the vehicle to |
| 10240563 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: KIA GENUINE REMOTE START CONTROL MODULE UPGRADE FOR ANTI-THEFT LOGIC COMPATIBILITY (CS2310) - 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 software logic in the Kia Genuine Remote Start Control Module on certain 2012-2022MY model vehicles listed on page 7. Vehicles equipped with a Kia Genuine Remote Start feature and have had the Anti-Theft software logic (CS230*) applied to the Integrated |
| 10239715 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: ANTI-THEFT S/W LOGIC UPGRADE & DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2305) - 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 the procedure to upgrade the software logic of the Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) or Body Control Module (BCM) system on certain 2014-2018MY Forte (YD), 2017-2018MY Forte (YDm), and 2019-2021MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced within the dates outlined in page 13, which may not be equipped with an immobilizer |
| 10239108 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: KIA GENUINE REMOTE START CONTROL MODULE UPGRADE FOR ANTI-THEFT LOGIC COMPATIBILITY (CS2310) - This bulletin provides information to update the software logic in the Kia Genuine Remote Start Control Module on certain 2012-2022MY model vehicles listed on page 6. Vehicles equipped with a Kia Genuine Remote Start feature and have had the Anti-Theft software logic (CS230*) applied to the Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) or Body Control Module (BCM) may experience five (5) inadvertent honks after starting the vehicle with the remote start feature. |
| 10238485 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: IVT SOFTWARE LOGIC IMPROVEMENT AND/OR IVT REPLACEMENT - This bulletin provides the procedure to update the Transmission Control Module (TCM) software logic and, if necessary, replace the Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT) assembly on certain 2019-2021MY model vehicles listed in the chart below, which may exhibit an MIL ON with the DTC(s) listed below and a lack/delay in acceleration due to transmission slippage. |
| 10238222 | VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: IVT SOFTWARE LOGIC IMPROVEMENT AND/OR IVT REPLACEMENT (SC199) - 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 was previously referred as SA424 or ELE 200.) This bulletin provides the procedure to update the Transmission Control Module (TCM) software logic and, if necessary, replace the Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT) on certain 2019-2021MY vehicles listed in the chart below. The affected vehicles may exhibit the illumination of |
| 10237139 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: OVERHEAD CONSOLE SUNGLASS DOOR-LATCH REPAIR - This bulletin provides information to repair the overhead console lamp assembly and sunglass door latch on some 2012-2023MY model vehicles listed in the table below, which may encounter the sunglass case of the overhead console lamp not closing properly. |
| 10236651 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ANTI-THEFT S/W LOGIC UPGRADE & DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2305) - 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 the procedure to upgrade the software logic of the Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) or Body Control Module (BCM) system on certain 2014-2018MY Forte (YD), 2017-2018MY Forte (YDm), and 2019-2021MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced within the dates outlined in page 13, which may not be equipped with an immobilizer. |
| 10235406 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: ANTI-THEFT S/W LOGIC UPGRADE & DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2305) - 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 the procedure to upgrade the software logic of the Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) or Body Control Module (BCM) system on certain 2014-2018MY Forte (YD), 2017-2018MY Forte (YDm), and 2019-2021MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced within the dates outlined in page 10, which may not be equipped with an immobilizer. |
| 10235094 | CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia has developed a software upgrade that can be installed on the vehicle to restrict the operation of the vehicle's ignition system should a locked vehicle be the subject of a break-in and theft attempt without the key. This software upgrade will be available to the customer free of charge for eighteen (18) months from the date of this letter. When the software upgrade is complete, Kia will also provide the customer with window stickers that can be applied to your vehicle to discourage a |
| 10234597 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: ANTI-THEFT S/W LOGIC UPGRADE & DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2305) - This bulletin provides the procedure to upgrade the software logic of the Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) or Body Control Module (BCM) system on certain 2014-2018MY Forte (YD), 2017-2018MY Forte (YDm), and 2019-2021MY Forte (BDm) vehicles produced within the dates outlined in page 10, which may not be equipped with an immobilizer. This logic upgrade will add anti-theft ignition start logic to the vehicle's system operation. |
| 10230489 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN CLOSED: FUEL TANK INLET CHECK VALVE (ICV) MODIFICATION - FUE052 Superseded by FUE056 |
| 10226555 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced, refer to applicable vehicles in the chart starting on page 2. |
| 10226554 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PARTIAL REPAIR: COMPRESSOR FIELD COIL ASSEMBLY INSPECTION AND REPLACEMENT - 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 regarding A/C Compressor Field Coil Assembly inspection and replacement on some 2017-2018MY Forte (YDm) and 2019-2023MY Forte (BDm) vehicles. |
NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)