2019 Kia Forte Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
My daughter was driving on the highway. She was driving at 65 mph and then the car started to jolt a couple of times. She kept driving and then it started to feel sluggish and lost some power. Would not accelerate over 45 mph. She was almost rear ended several times and people continually swerving in and out around her as she couldn’t maintain the car at a normal pace. It eventually wouldn’t go over 35 mph. Extremely DANGEROUS speed on a highway commute. She was able to finally get off highway. The car stalled. No warning lights ever lit. She was close to home at this point. Drove it home with barely any power. Got it towed to the dealer and transmission was blown and they will not cover it because it’s past warranty of 5 yrs (2nd owner). The car is a 2019 with 53k miles. It should not need a new transmission. Apparently this car is now having many transmission issues. There was a service campaign issued by Kia back in 2018, 2020, and 2022 for this exact problem. Clearly there is an ongoing issue with their transmission. But since it is not a recall, the consumer has no way of know this until after it’s too late. When a transmission just shuts down without any warning, this is a MAJOR safety issue as you no longer are able to properly drive the vehicle. This should be a RECALL. Not an in-house technical bulletin announcement. There’s an abundance of safety concerns associated with this. Let’s not wait for somone to get killed in a car crash because it’s not being corrected by doing a recall on these transmissions that is a continual ongoing issue.
suffered an immediate loss of engine while driving due to the crankshaft wearing a hole in the block
I accelerated from a stop to turn onto the a road. Upon doing so, the car made loud sputtering and grinding noises. So I pulled it off the road and checked it out and that’s when I noticed that the engine was sunk towards the driver’s side. I got it towed to a local repair shop for them to take a look at it. When they called me I was told the transmission mount had snapped in half as well as the front drive axle and the water pump was broken. So then I called Kia and asked if there were any recalls on my car for any of those parts as this was not normal wear and tear. Of course there wasn’t so I asked if there’d be any way that I could get these repairs refunded because this is not normal, the car was never in an accident nor do I jump on the hood and kick the crap out of my car, they told me to take into a Kia repair center for them to take a look at it and send pictures to Kia to get them to possibly refund it. So I towed from the first repair shop to the Kia repair center for them to look into it. The guy at the Kia repair center took a look at it and communicated with Kia on his end about the parts that were broken to try and get a refund issued. The Kia repair center told me the transmission mount bolts snapped which caused the engine to fall and break the front drive axle as well as the water pump. They told me I was lucky I wasn’t going faster when it happened because the engine would’ve just fallen out, which would’ve cause myself and potentially others to get into a serious wreck. I drive on the interstate every day for work, so I can imagine how bad that would’ve been. Of course Kia didn’t want to refund the repairs because my car wasn’t under warranty and they said something would’ve had to have happened recently to cause the bolts to break. That is ridiculous because short of a collision I don’t know anything that would’ve caused the bolts to just snap. Again, I just pressed the gas and that happened. It’s not normal wear and tear. $1600 repair cost
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had previously received an unknown recall notification regarding the transmission. The transmission was not replaced; however, the transmission control module software was updated in January 2021. The contact stated that the failure had recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,959.
The car I currently have was recalled in 2020 one year before I brought the car . For POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT . I could have been in a really bad car accident September 18 . My car completely shut off while I was making a right turn right in the middle of the street won’t start just dead . I had to push my car to the nearest store so I can get it towed ! . The dealership sold me this car probably not knowing it was recalled That’s a safety issue
Hesitates to start. Spudders when in drive “D”. Must drive in “S” sport to stop the spuddering.
Driving along the highway and transmission failure occurred, causing engine RPM to jump sky high and rapid deceleration without warning or brake lights. Luckily we were not hit by any other cars and were able to pull get off the highway onto the service road. Check engine light came on and the car wouldn't move. Turned the car off and back on after a few minutes and the transmission wouldn't move forward without massive RPM and no faster than 12mph or so. This is the SECOND time this has happened. I didn't report the first time because figured it was a one-off occurrence. The first time we had 26,000 miles on the car, this time, the new transmission went out after only 8,000 miles. All services have been performed by the Kia dealer directly. Car is back at Kia dealer for the transmission replacement again. No confidence in keeping the car given they replaced it with the same transmission that had problems twice!
My car was vehicle was driving on the highway over 200 miles away from home when I was driving about 65 mph the speed limit. When trying to accelerate on the Highway my vehicle would jump from 2,000 RPMs - 4,000 RPM not going faster. As I hit the gas my speed decreased and I pulled over the side of the road. When I tried to turn on/off my car the check engine light randomly appeared and I was stuck on the side of the road unable to accelerate. My car could have been rear ended on the Highway with Speed Limit of 65 MPH and I could have died if I didn't think quickly and pull to the side of the road. The dealer that the car towed to confirmed my car's transmission needed to be replaced. The only prior warning was my car's acceleration was decreased after Recall SC199 was completed by the dealership.
I got this car from the dealer at auction , so I am the second owner , power train warranty voided for 2nd owner , at my 90k miles , my transmission shaft has been broken due problem with the same year 2019 recall , dealer refused to fix it because I am out of warranty . I bought another transmission and still have the same problem , the car is unuseable at all .
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning while depressing the accelerator. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V459000 (Power Train) which was linked to the failure. Upon taking the vehicle to a dealer, the mechanic was initially unable to repair the recall due to the part not being available. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer for nearly a month and immediately upon return of the vehicle, the failure persisted. The contact had taken the vehicle back to the dealer where and was informed that no fault was found with the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had worsened, and the vehicle failed to start up after multiple attempts. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage approximately 52,000.
My car is a 2019. Pretty much brand new car. I got a voluntary emissions recall notice in the mail in December 2020. The notice said something about a computer software update but I wasn't have any problems with my car at that time and I've been working non stop on the front lines since the Covid pandemic started. Well little did I know that while driving home from work one evening in April my whole car would break down! According to the dealership/service dept it needs a whole new transmission! Now I am stuck paying for a rental out of pocket or hitch hiking to work. The service dept has had my car for 3 weeks now. :( I believe the recall notice should say MANDATORY or worded saying "your car will break down on you"!
In May 2020, transmission started bouncing up and down on the highway. Then the transmission started skipping. When I came to a stop and tried to start again, there was almost no power going to the transmission. It created an extremely dangerous situation while trying to drive through an intersection with oncoming cars. The dealership replaced the transmission. in May 2021 356 days after the the second transmission was installed, it happened again and created another extremely dangerous situation when I tried to pull out into traffic and had no power. Kia is again going to replace the transmission but is going to use the same one that was installed originally and the replacement one. I think there should be an investigation into the transmission kia is using.
I HAD TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP BECAUSE I FELT IT STRUGGLING TO ACCELERATE AND OVERALL BEING "JERKY" DRIVING 30-40MPH ON A CITY STREET WITH MINIMAL HILLS. DEALERSHIP FOUND NOTHING WRONG AS NO CODES WERE SHOWING ANY ERRORS. NO MORE THAN 2-3 WEEKS LATER, TRANSMISSION DIED WHILE DRIVING 70MPH ON A HIGHWAY WITH ONLY 8,800 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. I COULD NOT ACCELERATE THE CAR WITHOUT THE RPM HITTING THE RED LINE EVEN THOUGH I WAS BARELY PRESSING ON THE GAS. I'M LUCKY I DIDN'T GET RAMMED BY THE TRUCK THAT WAS COMING BEHIND ME AS I QUICKLY ENGAGED MY EMERGENCY WARNING LIGHTS AND PULLED OVER WHEN A SAFE OPPORTUNITY AROSE. I BOUGHT THIS CAR BRAND NEW (NO PRIOR OWNERS). I DID SOME RESEARCH, AND UNFORTUNATELY THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE THE FIRST COMPLAINT OF TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN THIS MODEL.
I WAS DRIVING NORTH ON MA 495 NORTH NEAR HAVERHILL MA WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY CAR WAS OVER-REVVING AND NO POWER WAS GETTING TO THE WHEELS. I HAD TO PULL OVER ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. I WAS LUCKY I MADE IT TO A REST STOP. I TALKED TO THE TECH AT KIA AND THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM BEING A "COMMON THING" AND I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. THANKFULLY IT IS UNDER WARRANTY STILL. I FEEL KIA'S COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR CUSTOMER SAFETY IN THIS MATTER IS APPALLING. LOSS OF POWER LIKE THAT CAN CAUSE A MAJOR CRASH AND POTENTIAL LOSS OF LIFE. IF THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM THEY SHOULD DO A RECALL ON THE VEHICLES AND REPLACE EVERY TRANSMISSION.
THE IVT TRANS WENT BAD WITH OUT WARRING I WAS DOING 70 MPH ON I 77 IN NC WITH CRUSE ON . THEN THE ENGINE TACKED UP TO 7000 RPM A FUE TIMES THEN I SHIFTED TO SPORT MODE THE RPMS STOPED JUMPING AROUND TILL I GOT TO HICKORY NC . WHEN DRIVING TO DEALER SHIP THE CAR WOULD NOT HARDLY PULL ITS SELF/ NO WARRING LIGHTS OR ANY TYPE OF WARRING OF LOST OF POWER. OTHER THEN HIGH RPM ON THE ENGINE. THE CAR IS AT DEALERSHIP NOW TO GET A NEW TRANS . IT ONLY HAS 17500 MILE ON IT THIS IVT IS TRASH AND DANGEROUS. IT WILL KILL SOME ONE THAT DONT KNOW AUTOS
IVT TRANSMISSION FAILURE. CAR HAS ABOUT 27K MILES, PURCHASED AT 22K USED. AFTER DRIVING OFF THE HIGHWAY FROM 70MPH TO A NEAR STOP AT THE FEEDER ROAD STOP SIGN, THE CAR WOULD BARELY MOVE, SEEMS LIKE THE GEAR RATIO DID NOT ADJUST BACK DOWN. THEN NOTICED SEVERE JERKS WHEN TRANSMISSION TRIES TO CHANGE THE GEAR RATIONS, AND RPM WOULD SHOOT UP ERRATICALLY. TOOK IT TO THE NEAREST KIA DEALER, HAD TO WAIT ABOUT 10 DAYS FOR AN APPOINTMENT. THEY CONFIRMED A TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND REPLACED TRANSMISSION IN ABOUT 5 DAYS.. NOT SURE HOW LONG THIS WILL LAST. DEFINITELY A SCARY AND SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS A CLOSER LOOK AT THE DESIGN
I PURCHASED THIS CAR IN DECEMBER FOR 2018. IN OCTOBER OF 2019, IT STARTED HAVING ISSUES WITH THE RPMS BOUNCING. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I HAD TO WAIT FOR 3 MONTHS TO GET MY CAR BACK AS WE WAITED ON A TRANSMISSION. I NOTICED THE RPM BOUNCING WAS HAPPENING AGAIN. ON 5/7/2020, I WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. I VOICED MY CONCERNS ABOUT REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION WITH THE SAME MODEL THAT HAD ISSUES. I REQUESTED THAT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT FIND OUT WHAT MODEL THE REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION IS SO WE DO NOT HAVE THIS HAPPEN AGAIN. *TR
I PURCHASED A 2019 KIA FORTE IN DECEMBER OF 2018. STARTING AROUND 7,200 MILES, I NOTICED THE ENGINE RPMS WOULD FLUCTUATE ESPECIALLY UNDER LIGHT ACCELERATION. FLUCTUATIONS WERE BETWEEN 200-500 RPMS. THE VEHICLE WENT IN FOR SERVICE WITH ABOUT 7,450 MILES AND I WAS TOLD THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE REPLACEMENT WAS COMPLETED QUICKLY BY THE DEALER. T SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A HIGH FAILURE RATE EARLY ON WITH THESE KIA IVT TRANSMISSIONS. THESE SHOULD BE RECALLED. I IMAGINE IN ANOTHER YEAR AND A HALF I WILL BE BACK INTO THE DEALER FOR ANOTHER REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION. VERY DISAPPOINTING AS THIS IS NOT A VEHICLE YOU CAN RELY ON FOR LONG TRIPS. *TR
ON A TRIP THE CAR BEGAN JERKING AND LOSING ACCELERATION WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AT HIGH REVS (5-6K) ON THE HIGHWAY. EVENTUALLY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR WAS NOT ABLE TO MAINTAIN SPEED OR ACCELERATE. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO KIA DEALERSHIP IN READING, PA, 150 MILES FROM MY HOUSE. AFTER 3 DAYS OF EVALUATION, I WAS INFORMED THE CAR WILL NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. THE EXPECTED TIME TO COMPLETE THE REPAIR IS 6 WEEKS. THE CAR HAS 10K MILES ON IT AND DID NOT HAVE ANY ISSUES PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT.
HAD CAR FOR JUST ONE MONTH. I PURCHASED A FLEET CAR WITH 20K MILES. THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED AT 24K MILES. I WAS DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH, AND THE CAR STARTED REVVING VERY HIGH 6-7K WHEN ACCELERATING, WHERE IT'S USUALLY 2-3K. THE CAR FINALLY GAVE OUT (SHAKING AND SPUTTERING) AND COULDN'T ACCELERATE ANY LONGER. HAD TO PULL OVER ON THE SHOULDER. I TRIED TURNING THE CAR OFF AND ON, AND CHECKED UNDER THE HOOD. I DROVE THE VEHICLE TO MY PARENTS HOUSE CLOSE BY AT LOW SPEED TRYING TO KEEP THE ENGINE FROM RED-LINING. I KNEW IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE OF THE SYMPTOMS. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS A NEW MODEL, AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE CAR WILL GET FIXED BECAUSE IT'S UNDER WARRANTY, BUT IT REALLY GIVES ME RESERVATION ABOUT DRIVING IT GOING FORWARD. SUCH A CRITICAL FAILURE IS VERY DANGEROUS, AND WILL STAY ON THE BACK OF MY MIND ALWAYS. I CALLED KIA AND THEY TOWED IT TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP. I AM GETTING A RENTAL FROM THEM.
BRAND NEW 2019 FORTE WITH LESS THAN 2,000 MILES ON IT. DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH AND THE ENGINE STARTS TO REV AND JOLT. GET TO THE RIGHT LANE AND IT WILL NOT ACCELERATE AT ALL WITH MY FOOT ON THE GAS. HAD TO GET THE CAR TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP TO FIND I NEEDED A BRAND NEW TRANSMISSION.
ON 9/6/19, ON MY WAY BACK FROM A TRIP TO DALLAS, MY 2019 KIA FORTE (LAUNCH EDITION) STARTED TO RANDOMLY REV UP ON THE HIGHWAY. AT FIRST, I DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF IT, BUT THEN IT STARTED TO LOSE ACCELERATION. I TRIED TO USE THE MANUAL SHIFTING, BUT NO HELP. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE CAR OFF IN HOPES OF "RESETTING" IT AND IT SEEMED TO WORK, BUT WHEN I PULLED OUT ONTO THE HIGHWAY AGAIN IT SUDDENLY STARTED TO REV TO 6-7 K AND WENT NOWHERE. ULTIMATELY, IT WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR AND I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO A KIA DEALERSHIP 5 HOURS AWAY FROM HOME. KIA CONSUMER AFFAIRS WAS NOT VERY MUCH HELP! MY FORTE IS ONLY 3 MONTHS OLD WITH 3,100 MILES ON IT. I PURCHASED NEW IN JUNE. BE CAREFUL WITH THIS CAR!
WHILE HAVING MY CAR FOR TWO MONTHS MY, 2019 KIA FORTE TRANSMISSION WENT. I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND IT KEPT STALLING. IT WAS REVING ALL THE WAY UP TO 7/8 RPMS WITH ME GENTLY TAPPING ON THE GAS. I HAD MY GRANDMOTHER WITH ME AND RIGHT WHEN WE GOT OFF THE HIGHWAY MY CAR JUST STOPPING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY MAIN ROAD. I WAITED A MOMENT AND TOOK MY KEYS OUT OF THE EGNISION. AFTER 3 MINUTES MY CAR TURNED BACK ON AND I WAS SLOWLY ABLE TO GET IT TO THE GAS STATION WITH IT STILL REVING. I HAD MY CAR TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I GOT THE CAR AND THEY ENDED UP FIXING IT. THEY SAID IT WAS A DEFECT. I'M STILL VERY CONCERNED WITH THIS TRANSMISSION BECAUSE THEY PUT THE SAME ONE BACK IN. IT'S A CVT TRANSMISSION. I DON'T FEEL SAFE AFTER EXPERIENCING THAT ISSUE. IT COULD OF CAUSED A BAD ACCIDENT. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND I THINK THE TRANSMISSIONS SHOULD HAVE A REGULAR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PUT BACK INTO THEM. JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THIS ISSUE I HAD AND LET YOU KNOW HOW CONCERNED I AM ABOUT IT. THANKS
CAR IS A COUPLE OF MONTHS OLD WITH 2001 MILES SHOWING ON THE ODOMETER. THE RPMS WOULD SURGE WHILE DRIVING, EVEN AT CONSTANT SPEED THEY WOULD JUMP 500 RPM OR SO THEN DROP BACK DOWN. I TOOK IT INTO THE DEALER AND THE SAID THAT IS NORMAL FOR A CVT. A WEEK LATER IT WAS STILL DOING THAT THEN IT WOULD FELL LIKE IT WAS STUMBLING WHILE STARTING UP FROM A STOP. THE NEXT DAY IT HAD NO POWER, ACCELERATOR ALMOST TO THE FLOOR AND IT WOULD BARELY MOVE, THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I IMMEDIATELY HEADED FOR THE DEALERSHIP. WHEN I GOT THERE I HAD TO WAIT A BIT AND THE SERVICE TECH CAME OUT AND TOLD ME THAT WHEN THEY CALLED THE CODES INTO KIA THAT WERE IN THE COMPUTER THEY SAID TO PUT A NEW TRANSMISSION IN IT. HE TOLD ME HE WOULD HAVE THE TRANSMISSION OVERNIGHTED WHICH I LATER FOUND OUT WAS A LIE, AND THAT TECH IS NO LONGER AT THE DEALERSHIP. I HAVE A RENTAL VEHICLE IN ITS PLACE. I HAVE STARTED A CLAIM WITH KIA.
CAR WAS MAKING WEIRD NOISES AND JUMPY ACCELERATION, TOOK IT IN AND THEY ARE REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION, IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS AND THE TRANSMISSION IS STILL NOT IN AT THE DEALER FOR REPLACEMENT. I WAS TOLD IT'S ON BACKORDER AND NOBODY KNOWS WHEN I WILL BE ABLE TO REPLACE IT. MY CAR IS NOW BARLEY ACCELERATING UNLESS I FLOOR IT. CALLED KIA AND THE DEALER AND NOBODY SEEMS TO CARE
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Quick Summary
The 2019 Kia Forte has 35 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.