2012 Kia Forte: sudden loss of power

Filed Mar 4, 2026 · Engine · OH

While driving, the engine suddenly shut off without warning. The vehicle lost power in traffic, creating a safety risk. There were no warning signs before the failure. The oil level was properly maintained and oil changes were performed regularly. The dealership diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the engine needs to be replaced. The exact mechanical cause was not clearly explained to me.

Filed Oct 15, 2022 · Engine · MI · fire

Car is not included in recall, engine noise piston knocking, loss of power. Took to dealer, dealer said this is normal. Car has loss of power on highways with excessive piston slap which is getting increasingly noiser . Engine mileage 156000. Problem was there since day one from dealer.

Filed Jan 12, 2022 · Engine · WA

On 10/31/20 my 2012 Kia Forte completely died at 49,000 miles while I was traveling at around 45 mph. I lost all power, the engine started smoking badly and I was stuck in the center of a 4 lane road with cars flying past me at around 50 mph. I had to call 911 because I could not get out of the smoking vehicle and I could not get the vehicle out of the middle of the road. The police officers had to do a pit maneuver to get me safely off to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where I originally purchased the vehicle in 9/2017. I was told after inspection that it had a severe knock sensor and catastrophic engine failure. My extended warranty company was charged for the $15000 engine that they replaced And I paid my $100 deductible. Although at the time the service department at Kia knew that this was an engine recall call situation that the manufacturer was responsible for, not my extended warranty company. My Kia forte Was in the shop for 2 months and the 1st engine they replaced did not work properly so they had to put another engine in during that period of time. Kia paid for the 2nd engine that was replaced. On January 27th of 2021 I received a notice from Kia Motors notifying me that my vehicle was part of the fire engine recall. I have had my vehicle in my possession a total of Maybe 380 days out of the last 438 since this happened. Kia corporate and the service parts Manager have been completely uncooperative, deceptive and negligent in their treatment towards me.I have gone through Maybe 25 loaner vehicles, had to bring the vehicle back 30 times, now a 4th engine is in the process of being replaced, I have defaulted on my car payments due to out of pocket expenses charged by Kia, the service department manager has stuck me with a $600 rental bill, a $250 traffic camera ticket, put me in a defective loaner that caused an accident and has now spent probably around 90k on a vehicle that is worth a fraction of that.

Filed May 13, 2020 · Engine · 126,312 miles · TX

I was driving down the highway at 70mph and my car bogged down, immediate loss of power then shut off in the middle of the highway. Got some help to push it to the shoulder, and got a wrecker to tow it home. Found engine had sized up. Seems to be a common issue with kia's and this engine. Called local kia dealer and they said the forte series was not apart of the recall even though it's the same engine in other series with the same engine problems.

Filed Aug 20, 2019 · Brakes, Engine · 93,000 miles · WA

Kia,hyundai theta 2.4 engine failure, under 100k miles. I have a 2012 kia forte hatch sx with the 2.4 engine. I purchased it from sunset kia of auburn valley wa with 66,000 miles not quite 3 years ago. In that time I've put about 30k miles on the car. I've had the oil changed regularly, and it has never been low. Last week, on august 11, 2019, while driving to work the engine seized on the highway. I lost power steering and brake assist. I was able to pull off the road without causing an accident, but only because of the time of day. Had it happened during heavier traffic a significant accident could have occurred. From online research it appears that this is a common problem for this car and others that that use the same theta ii engine. This car/engine should be recalled.

Filed Aug 1, 2019 · Engine · 151,000 miles · OH

I had bought the car used 5 years ago with 36,000 miles on it. I have had no problems with the car for the at time span. I had changed to oil at the recommended intervals using oem oil filters and full synthetic oil. I was driving home from work when the engine started to develop a rattling noise. As I made a left turn onto a country road traveling at a speed of 45mph the rattling had got more noticeable and the engine had a lost of power. Eventually the rattling turn into a metallic crunching noise before the engine completely shut off on its own. I had pulled to the side of the road to further inspect the problem and that is when I had discovered engine oil coating the engine compartment and leaking onto the ground. The engine would not restarted leaving me stranded on the side of the road until a tow vehicle had arrived.

Filed Oct 17, 2012 · Airbags, Body · 8,900 miles · WA · fire

We were driving our 2012 kia forte ex (sedan) which we had purchased brand new in december 2011 to the store to get bread and were on our way home (only about 2 minutes into the drive) when we saw smoke coming from the front of the car. We pulled over within about 50 feet of seeing it, put it in park- which by the time we did so, we lost all power and couldn't even get the key out of the ignition. We got out and my boyfriend tried to pop the hood but it was already so hot he couldn't do it... I ran about 20 feet away for safety reasons, so I am not sure where it started, but within about 30 seconds, the flames came out of the sides and front of the hood. My boyfriend thinks it was about where the fuse box is, because that is where he noticed the paint start to bubble off. He is a mechanic and has never seen anything like it. The entire front of the car, through the dash is disintegrated. My airbags melted and poured out of the dash and roof, upholstery melted off the seats, and door panels bubbled up. All the speakers blew and melted. It happened so quickly, if I had kids in the back or couldn't have pulled over in time, there could have been very serious injuries or deaths. I am very thankful it didn't happen on my way to work, as I drive in traffic on a highway with no shoulder. I had no electronic modifications. It was entirely stock, with the exception of window tint, exhaust, a lowering kit, and aftermarket tires and wheels--all which were installed by professionals. The car had 8900 miles on it and all maintenance work had been done. Even 3 oil changes- even though kia claims the car can go 7k without one. My insurance company is going to treat it as a total loss and do an investigation on it. Kia has a case going but have not yet sent an engineer out.