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
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 KIA FORTE. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT AN INTERSECTION, THE CONTACT RELEASED THE BRAKE PEDAL TO DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND THE RPMS INCREASED TO 4; HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO MOVE. THE CONTACT PLACED THE VEHICLE IN PARK, TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF, RESTARTED THE VEHICLE, AND IT RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ALL STAR KIA OF SAN BERNARDINO (735 SHOW CASE DR N, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92408, (888) 480-0418) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE INTELLIGENT VARIABLE TRANSMISSION ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE UPDATED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES INTERMITTENTLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 10,000.
I WAS DRIVING MY CAR ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND IT STOPPED ACCELERATING WHEN I EXITED THE HIGHWAY. I HAD IT TOWED TO MY DEALERSHIP AND WAS INFORMED THE NEXT DAY THAT IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I HAD THE VEHICLE FOR 2.5 MONTHS AND 2811 MILES.
2019 FORTE WITH 4000 MILES AND LESS THAN 4 MONTHS OLD. HAD TO BE TOWNES FROM MY JOB AS THE TRANSMISSION IS GONE. I BROUGHT IT TO MY DEALERSHIP ONE MONTH EARLIER AND WAS TOLD NOTHING WAS WRONG, AND CAR DIED LESS THAN A MONTH LATER. WAS ALSO TOLD 'THINGS HAPPEN', HOWEVER MY COWORKER WITH A 2019 SORRENTO JUST FOUND OUT HER TRANSMISSION IS GONE. HMMM...
THE CVT TRANSMISSION FAILED. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED. I OWNED THE CAR FOR LESS THAN 3 MONTHS.
DROVE IT A TOTAL OF 2150 MILES AND TRANSMISSION BLEW. BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH RENTAL UNDER WARRANTY AGREEMENT. DEALERSHIP I TOOK IT TO WOULD NOT GIVE ME A SERVICE LOANER OR PUT ME INTO A RENTAL CAR UNDER KIA. HAD TO COME OUT OF POCKET FOR A RENTAL CAR. SPOKE TO MANY PEOPLE AT KIA. FINALLY GOT A HOLD OF SOMEONE WHO ISN'T GIVING ME A RUN AROUND. BUT KIA ISN'T REIMBURSEING DEALERSHIPS RENTAL CAR FEES. SO IT'S HARD TO GET A SERVICE LOANER.
I WAS DRIVING MY 2019 KIA FORTE AT 75 MPH, THEN LOWERED MY SPEED, THEN ACCELERATED AGAIN. A LOUD SCREECH/GRINDING SOUND HAPPENED, THEN THE CAR STALLED. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE ROADSIDE, AND RE-START THE CAR. I WAS NOT ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR OVER 15 MPH. CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY. THEY DROVE THE CAR, BUT FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. I INSISTED THAT THERE IS A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. I SUGGESTED THEY INSPECT THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WILL.
ON 11/27, MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR 2019 KIA FORTE S WITH ABOUT 5,000 MILES ON IT AND SAID IT WAS DOING SOMETHING REALLY STRANGE. SHE WOULD PUSH ON THE GAS PEDAL LIKE NORMAL, BUT THE RPMS WOULD SOAR AND THE ENGINE WOULD REV UP BUT THE CAR WOULD BARELY MOVE. WE DROVE AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN SHE GOT BACK AND I NOTICED THE SAME THING. WE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP IN THE AREA THAT NIGHT TO BRING IT IN ON FRIDAY, 11/29. THERE WERE NO ISSUES ON THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT MORNING WHICH IS ABOUT 20 MINUTES AWAY. WE LET THEM KNOW WE HAVE A LONG TRIP BACK THE NEXT DAY AND WANTED TO BE SURE THERE WASN'T A BIG ISSUE. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THAT SINCE THERE WASN'T AN ENGINE LIGHT ON, THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY CODES TO TROUBLESHOOT THE ISSUE AND WE WERE SENT ON OUR WAY. AN HOUR INTO OUR TRIP ON 11/30, WE WERE ON THE HIGHWAY GOING ABOUT 70 MPH AND THE CAR STARTED HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. IT WOULD REV UP DRAMATICALLY WHEN TOUCHING THE GAS PEDAL AND WE SOON LOST THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. NO ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. WE WERE ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND GOT IT TOWED TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP. THEY COULDN'T LOOK AT IT THEN SO WE GOT A RENTAL CAR TO GET BACK HOME. I GOT IN TOUCH WITH THEM THE FOLLOWING MONDAY AND THEY SAID THEY WILL NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AND THAT THEY WILL COVER THE RENTAL CAR EXPENSE AS WELL. I'M HOPEFUL THE NEW TRANSMISSION WILL FIX THIS ISSUE AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WILL REOCCUR AFTER ANOTHER 5,000 MILES.
I HAVE A 2019 KIA FORTE THAT JUST A FEW WEEKS AFTER I PURCHASED IT LEFT ME STRANDED BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T CRANK. NOW MY TRANSMISSION IS OUT AND I HAD A HORRIFYING EXPERIENCE TRYING TO DRIVE HOME AFTER MY GRANDMA PASSED AWAY. MY FAMILY LIVES 2 1/2 HOURS AWAY. THEN THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT VERBALLY ASSAULTED ME WHILE I WAS TRYING TO RECEIVE HELP. I WAS ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN THE TRANSMISSION STARTED GOING OUT. I WAS NEARLY HIT SEVERAL TIMES AS THE CAR WOULD SLOW DOWN AND NOT SHIFT GEARS.
THE CAR SEEMED TO BE LOSING POWER, CALLED FOR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, AND THE KIA DEALERSHIP WHERE THE CAR WAS TOWED TO SAID THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS REPLACED. THE CAR HAS 3000 MILES ON IT & WE HAVE ONLY HAD IT 2.5 MONTHS. THE DEALER SERVICE PERSON SAID THIS IS THE 3RD 2019 KIA FORTE THEY'VE HAD TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION IN! WE WERE DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY.
THE CAR STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. THE CAR WOULD WOULD MOVE FORWARD OR GO BACKWARD. TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. AND ONLY HAD THE CAR FOR LESS THAN 2 MONTHS.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2019 Kia Forte has 35 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.