7 complaints reported

2012 Kia Forte UNKNOWN OR OTHER

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

Reports
7
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Jan 2025

The security system is locked on my Kia forte 2014. This is the second time it's happened. Now can't get it to unlock the system.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2025
Oct 2024

UNKNOWN

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2024
Jul 2021 Fire

Driving up mountain road, heard a ‘pop’ and smelled smoke-like chemical odor.lost control of steering and battery icon came on. Was able to get into a turn out and exited the car. Saw orange flames under engine. No cell service in this are so flagged down a passing car who called 911. Fire truck came and put out the flames that had already engulfed and burned the car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Dec 2021
Aug 2019

AFTER I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MY CAR FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTES, IT STARTS TO MAKE A METALLIC POPPING SOUND. IT IS MORE NOTICEABLE WHEN I AM DRIVING UNDER 30 MPH OR WHEN I AM COMING TO A STOP. I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF THE SOUND AND I AM CONCERNED THAT IT IS RELATED TO THE ENGINE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2019
Jan 2019

MY SON WAS DRIVING HOME AND WAS GOING ABOUT 55 MPH ON AR HWY 62. THE ROAD NARROWS DOWN FROM TWO LANE TO ONE RIGHT BY A BLUFF WHEN THE MOTOR WITHOUT WARNING, THREW A ROD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY AND SHATTERED THE ENGINE. ABSOLUTELY NO WHERE TO PULL OVER. HE WAS VERY LUCKY NOT TO BE HIT AS HE COULDN'T GIVE ANY NOTICE TO THE VEHICLES BEHIND HIM. WE ALWAYS MADE SURE TO CHANGE THE OIL AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS IN TOP NOTCH. COME TO FIND OUT THE OIL WASN'T MAKING IT TO THE ENGINE. KIA SHOULD INCLUDE THIS IN THEIR RECALL AS THEIR OTHER ENGINES HAVE HAD MAJOR ENGINE FAILURES ON THE SAME ENGINE IN OTHER VEHICLES. WHAT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER IS IF THEY REPLACED IT BECAUSE ANOTHER ENGINE WOULD DO THE SAME THING. SINCE THIS ENGINE IS IN PIECES NOW! UNFORTUNATELY I IT'S NOT EVEN FULLY PAID FOR. IT HAS SINCE BECOME A $10,000 YARD ORNAMENT. SO THANKFUL NOBODY WAS HURT BUT KIA SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE. I'M SURE WE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2018
Oct 2018

HAD PHONE CHARGING AND A GPS SYSTEM TO TRAVEL ,DIRECTIONS. 3/4 OF THE WAY BOTH STOPPED WORKING 100%. NEVER WERE CHARGED EITHER. THEN AT THE PLACE NEEDED TO GO ,OVERNIGHT THE BATTERY MUST HAVE DIED AS THE CLOCK AND RADIO WERE RESET TO 12:00 ETC... THE USB AND ROUND CHARGERS STILL DID NOT WORK. BATTERY WAS CHECKED AND WAS PERFECT. DO NOT KNOW WHAT CAUSED ALL THIS MESS. TERRIBLE WHEN NEEDED IT ALL. THIS HAPPEN WHEN IN MOTION BUT THEN STATIONARY STILL NOTHING.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2018
Aug 2014

A HUMMING SOUND / AND VIBRATION IS COMING FROM ENGINE COMPARTMENT & DOES NOT COINCIDE WITH ENGINE RPM. FASTER THE SPEED THE LOUDER IT GETS THE LOUDEST @ 45MPH. SOUND IS LIKE A SMALL MOTORCYCLE IT'S NEXT TO YOU. HAVE ALREADY ROTATED/BALANCED TIRES & DIDN'T HELP. IT IS ALMOST A TRANSMISSION WHINE BUT IT DOESN'T CHANGE W/ SHIFTING OR WHEN IN NEUTRAL

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2012 KIA FORTE, Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2014

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2012 Kia Forte has 7 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.