8 complaints reported

2010 Kia Forte Exterior Lighting

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
8
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Oct 2025

No Accident just routine maintenance finds that are concerning me . The car is 15 yrs old but over the years have had to replace the brake light bulb harness several times The brake light bulbs get too hot thus melting the bulb receptacle causing the brake lights not to illuminate. Have had vehicles come up behind me several times way too close for comfort because brake lights not working .

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2025
Apr 2025

Headlights have become very yellow and cracking formed on them. This effects evening /night time driving and you see ads to purchase cleaners that I have tried and it has done nothing. Not sure why this has not been remedied or made a recall to replace these as defective materials or what one can do to solve this with positive results or recommendations people can do with out equipment. This seems to be a big problem with a lot of vehicles mine included. Thx you for listening and thought I would report this issue as another safety concern

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Mar 2025
Apr 2024

Brake lights are consistently blowing out especially the right brake light. I have replaced the bulb at least a dozen times in the past 2 years. Also the signal lights are going out as well. There is something faulty going on with the connection that I think needs to be recalled. After a quick search on YouTube I realized that I’m not the only person this has happened to. Kia needs to have a recall to fix this issue because I can’t keep spending money on bulb replacements. Today on May 4, 2024 the brake lights weren’t working and when I went replace them they were blown on both sides. And the one on the right the actual bulb glass came off and I noticed that the plastic where the bulb connection locks in at was melted a little and the connector had slight burn marks. The bulb itself won’t stay on without me pushing the bulb in when I connect it.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Apr 2024
Feb 2024

Low beam headlights are so dim, driving at night is extremely dangerous. There is not enough illumination to detect more than 3 feet in front of the vehicle nor adequately see any potential hazards. After doing some research, it appears that this is a common problem that Kia is aware of, however, they refuse to remedy the situation. It is a manufacturer defect with the chrome that surrounds the bulb in the headlamps. The headlight bulbs burn the chrome that surrounds the cup and leads to severely unsafe visibility, while driving at night time or in the rain.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2024
Oct 2022

The contact owns a 2010 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the rear brake lights would not properly illuminate while depressing the brake pedal. After replacing the brake light bulbs, the failure recurred. The contact indicated that while depressing the brake pedal the passenger’s side brake light would not illuminate however, after releasing the brake pedal, the driver’s side brake light would turn off and the passenger’s side brake light would illuminate. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 131,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2022
Aug 2018

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 KIA FORTE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BACK UP AND BRAKE LIGHTS REMAINED ILLUMINATED AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT CALLED JENKINS KIA OF GAINESVILLE AT 855-764-9404 (LOCATED AT 3345 N MAIN ST, GAINESVILLE, FL 32609) AND SCHEDULED A DIAGNOSTIC APPOINTMENT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 127,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2018
Mar 2015

FRONT TURN SIGNAL BULBS KEEP QUIT WORKING, THIS APPEARS TO BE A POOR DESIGN ON THE BULB SOCKET TO HEADLAMP HOUSING CONNECTION, BOTH SIDES HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE MULTIPLE TIMES, IF YOU REMOVE THE SOCKET AND REINSTALL IT THEY START WORKING AGAIN, THERE IS NO CORROSION PRESENT. THIS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AS IT CREATES A SERIOUS DANGER TO OCCUPANTS AS OTHER VEHICLES ARE UNAWARE OF THE VEHICLES INTENDED DIRECTION. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2013
Feb 2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 KIA FORTE. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 40 MPH WHEN THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR LIGHTS FAILED TO ILLUMINATE INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 48,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 52,400.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2010 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2010

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2010 Kia Forte has 8 Exterior Lighting complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.