2012 Kia Forte: jerking or lurching

8 of the 293 complaints about the 2012 Kia Forte describe jerking or lurching.

owner complaints: 8
of this car's complaints: 3%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 11 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Jerking or lurching by model year

2024
1
2023
3
2022
2
2021
2
2020
2
2019
6
2018
1
2017
3
2016
2
2015
4
2014
12
2013
4
2012
8
2011
6
2010
7

What owners say

Filed Nov 3, 2025 · Engine · TN

Back in July my car started jerking, stalling, and smoking. There was a recall 20v750 open for engine fires. The dealership check it out and said everything looked good. They installed a knock sensor related to the problem. Last week my car did it again leaving me stalled on the interstate at night. There is now a P1326 code for the knock sensor which confirms that there was a issue. However I'm being told that due to my mileage the warranty had expired and there isn't anything they can do.

Filed Sep 18, 2024 · Acceleration, Engine · CA

Engine keeps turning off when driving at 65 mph it also jerks accelerate by itself loosen power it occurs occasionally, engine smells burn oil and engine light comes on. Dealer has failed to reproduce failure and now they want to charge me $185 to run a full diagnose this problem started after 8/16/2017 after dealer service

Filed Dec 4, 2023 · Driver assistance · FL

I have had this car for only a couple of months and all of a sudden every time I excelerate my car wont move and it will either jerk or wont go unless you take your foot off the gas then redo it. Then we find out there was a recall now I am scared to drive my car at all. My car has the tire pressure light flashing, the abs light, the brake light, and traction control light on.

Filed Nov 16, 2023 · Engine · 139,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle briefly jerked before returning to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the camshaft. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 20V750000 (Engine) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,000.

Filed Jan 19, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · 153,000 miles · GA

My 2012 kia forte 2.0l engine keeps making a ticking, knocking noise. Took it in for service and the dealer said that they could not locate the issue, but that I may just need an oil change. Oil was severely low, even though oil was just changed. There were no leaks identified. Also, my car has a jerking issue when accelerating. The car sometimes gets thrown forward without a check engine light being thrown. This especially happens on the interstate, or if the car has been driven for longer than 20 minutes. This is an extreme safety issue.

Filed Mar 20, 2019 · Acceleration, Engine · 95,000 miles · KY

When starting my vehicle in park, I put it in reverse, and it barely goes. It seems to lack power, or is being bogged down. It almost comes to a complete stop, and then it suddenly kicks in, and jerks you backwards very fast. It is scary because I could easily hit something or crash, because the car becomes almost out of control. You never know when it is going to kick back in either. I have taken it to the kia dealer, but they said it did not do it for them of course. So I am stuck with a car that is having a lot of issues. I don't have the money to fix them right now. I am not working, and the dealership that sold me the car ripped me off. I have already put a lot of money into it. It seems to do it the worst when it rains for some reason.

Filed Jun 10, 2015 · Brakes · IN

I bought this car in april 2014 and since then I've had about three times where the brakes are applied as I'm approaching a light and the car accelerates and lurches forward, again, while braking. Another time, june 8, 2015, I was driving and applied the brake to avoid a dip in the road and it felt like the brakes were slipping and the car was not stopping. It eventually stopped, but if there were a car in front of me I would have hit it. The moments are not consistent but when they happen, it is a serious concern.

Filed Aug 12, 2013 · Acceleration, Brakes · 16,000 miles · FL · crash

I was backing out of a driveway approx. 3 feet when the car lurched backwards at full RPM while the brakes were applied and the gas pedal went all the way to the floorboard. The only way I could get the car to stop was to turn off the ignition. It was like the brakes weren't working and the throttle was stuck. This "problem" caused damage to a support beam of a carport causing it to fail and fall on a car parked underneath. I know there are similar complaints such as this on this exact car, why hasn't there been any investigations and/or recalls on this car? This is a very unsafe car. By the way, this was a rental car and no one wants to take responsibility.