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2013 Kia Forte: sudden loss of power

12 of the 195 complaints about the 2013 Kia Forte describe sudden loss of power.

owner complaints
12
of this car's complaints
6%
typical mileage
70,000
recalls
1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 8 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below

Sudden loss of power by model year

What owners say

Filed Aug 16, 2023 · Brakes, Engine · VA

No warning light or nothing just out the blue started knocking and shaking violently lost power almost got hit by a tractortrailer. It has been confirmed from independent shop #4 rod bearing spun and paper thin this happened on interstate 81 near UVA medical center the date was 8-2-2023

Filed Feb 10, 2023 · Engine, Steering · 29,000 miles · NY

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, he depressed the accelerator pedal to change lanes and heard an abnormal knocking noise sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the knocking sound occurred whenever the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine rod bearings needed to be replaced. The contact was informed by the independent mechanic that the failure could be related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V259000 (Engine). Additionally, the contact reported that he had also experienced failures with the loss of power steering functionality, but the failure was intermittent. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000. The contact stated that the manufacturer was notified but that they would not diagnose the vehicle without charge. The vehicle was checked by two different tire specialists. All of the tires were replaced.

Filed Nov 2, 2022 · Engine · PA

October 2021 vehicle shut off and loss power while stopped at red light, was able to restart and proceed. Vehicle then shut off again and would not restart Engine light illuminated(approx 75,000). Was towed to dealer and was diagnosed as needing and oil control valve replacement. Valve was replaced. Several days following repair engine light would sporadically illuminate would be on for several days then would go off for weeks at a time. Vehicle is again now experiencing same issues with shutting off while stopped, and also having issues accelerating at times.(101,000 miles) Oil is also changed regularly. I am the first owner of the vehicle and now that the 10 years are up and 100,000 miles have now passed, i am worried i will be left without my only transportation and means to provide for family

Filed Aug 19, 2021 · NC

When I’m driving down the road it’s starts losing power and the icon of car with dizzy lines starts flashing but if the car gains any speed the icon goes out .And like today when I tried to push brake to stop and pull over it started shaking so bad I felt like the whole front in was going to fall out ,The last time I had smoke come out when I tried to give it a little gas to move.

Filed Dec 21, 2020 · Engine · 83,659 miles · NJ

Coming home on september 25th 2020 at 1am on nj turnpike car started to tap very loudly and lost power at 65 MPH. Car has 83,659 miles. Car was towed to dealer on september 29th ,2020 dealer notified us on october 1st that the engine failed and it is not covered under any recall. Bought the car with 21,530 and was told we had the full factory warranty. Car has full service records, very well maintained and still looks new. Kia consumer affairs has escalated this claim twice and still refuses to fix. They know about this problem and still will not honor the repair. We also own an 2013 optima that had same problem at 90,000 and they fixed it right away. Car is still sitting at dealer for 83 days now and they are starting to get aggravated

Filed Apr 8, 2020 · Engine · 130,000 miles · TX

After leaving a red light and while accelerating, the engine started making a knocking sound and about 20 seconds later the engine lost power and the driver pulled over. . The headlights and instrument panel remained lighted. Driver tried to restart the car. The engine turned-over but would not start. A mechanic loaded the car on a car trailer and checked the engine at his shop. He determined that the engine had locked up. This seems impossible without a malfunction, as the driver maintained oil changes.

Filed Feb 25, 2020 · Engine · 87,494 miles · CO

I was driving to work on a single lane highway, and heard faint ticking/knocking sounds from the engine. The highway speed was 65mph. After a couple minutes, the faint ticks grew into hard knocks and harsh rattles as I cleared the top of a hill. I ended up coasting to the shoulder because my engine abruptly lost power and tried stalling. Since I knew my brake system operated with vacuum assist, I tapped the gas pedal to keep the engine running and had to double foot the pedals to brake and keep the engine from stalling. After I stopped on the shoulder, the engine finally died while rattling even harder. I tried starting the engine again, and it did start, still rattling and knocking, so I shut it off. The engine hadn't yet seized up. I took it to the dealer I bought it from, per my extended warranty (non-kia dealer). They were happy to help, but recommended talking to kia as a first step. I did so, and they did offer to tow my car to their own dealership, no charge to me, so they could inspect the damage. I was told they would see what could be done about potentially getting kia motors to replace the engine if needed, on them, free to me. This dealership is one of two in my city, and they are the nicer of the two in terms of customer relations. I have dealt with each dealer for various reasons over the years, and that has been my consensus. I will be waiting to see what comes of this issue, but these cars that came with the 2.4 engine need to be added to hyundai/kia's 2.4 engine recall instead of ignored.

Filed Jan 22, 2020 · Engine, Fuel system · 61,000 miles · FL

I was driving my car when I noticed a tapping sound as I accelerated from a stop light. I pulled over to check under the hood, but couldn't figure out what was wrong. I check all my fluid levels and everything was perfectly fine. I shut the hood and started it back up. The tapping was still there. I decided to turn back and head home. As I started to accelerate this time the sound grew to a hard pounding noise. Before I could even pull off the road my car completely shut down. I lost all power and my wheel locked up. I tried to start it again, nothing. I had to towed to my local mechanic and after a few hours it was declared as "catastrophic engine failure". Keep in mind the car has only 61,000 miles on it! At this point I hadn't towed to kia for inspection and they determined "complete engine failure". "something has come loose internally". This engine is a obvious defect.

Filed Apr 2, 2019 · Engine · 62,000 miles · TN

I was driving home like usual not even a week after my regular oil change and as I was pulling up a small hill close to my apartment my engine sputtered, backfired and stalled. I lost all power steering and brakes at this point. I put the car in neutral and coasted to a stop. After some troubleshooting I finally got the car to turn over and the engine immediately started knocking very loudly. It is clearly unsafe to drive at this point and an obvious manufacturers defect. The car is at 62,000 miles and the warranty is good to 100,000 miles. I have seen dozens of complaints about this model of car worth the same issue and hundreds of complaints with other models using the same engine. It is quite an issue to take care of monetarily for the customers of kia and should be investigated further.

Filed Jul 23, 2018 · Engine · 61,619 miles · CA

While driving at 65+ MPH on the freeway, this 2013 kia forte sx lost power (engine light, oil light and battery light illuminated), steering stiffened and vehicle rapidly decelerated. It was very difficult and dangerous to get the vehicle directed over to the freeway shoulder. The vehicle has 61,619 miles. It was towed to a kia dealership where, based on engine noise, kia has diagnosed a rod bearing malfunction at the bottom of the engine. This engine is the 2.4l theta-ii mpi (multi-port injection) engine (vs the gdi, or gasoline direct injection, engine that has already been recalled).

Filed Mar 12, 2018 · Engine · 109,887 miles · TX

I was driving down the highway and heard a fizing noise and lost power pulled over and oil was pouring out of the bottom of the block, it had thrown a rod, the oil had just been change and set to proper level befor the 2 hour trip. There was no nocking or and indication of any kind.

Filed Apr 5, 2016 · Engine, Transmission · 70,000 miles · NJ

I am the original owner of my 2013 kia forte ex, the vehicle roughly has 70,000 miles on it. The vehicle has always been properly maintained via oil changes, filters, etc on time with quality name brand fully synthetic oil and filters per the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule which is every 7500 miles. I was driving my vehicle home on a very busy freeway on the east coast. I was in the center lane of 5 lanes on the south bound side and all of a sudden my car lost all power and was slowing down at an unsafe rate of speed because I had no power and did not want to touch the brakes obviously. I panicked but was able to put my right signal on to try and get to the shoulder of the freeway I continued to panic because my car was steady slowing and eventually would come to a stop because I had no power, the gas pedal would not function and I knew the car shut down because all the lights were on on the dash as if you were starting the car. Thankfully someone was watching over me that day and I made it to the shoulder before the car rolled to a complete stop. If I were unable to safely move over two lanes and make it to the shoulder on momentum I would have been stopped in a lane of travel on a busy freeway and what would I have done? I probably would have caused and been part of a major accident, even though I did make it to the shoulder I was still panicking because this is a very busy freeway and I felt helpless. The car would not start it would make a funky noise and that's it but would never start so I was stranded. I looked in my owners manual and called kia, the dealership was 10 minutes from my location. I was told there was nothing they could do because they didn't have a tow truck and I was on my own. I had the car towed there and was told the engine blew up and it was the bottom end. I believe it was in the timing system and kia is lying.

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

EngineReported December 2, 2020 · 294,756 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Sorento, 2012-2015 Forte and Forte Koup, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, 2014-2015 Soul, and 2012 Sportage vehicles. An engine compartment fire can occur while driving.
Risk
An engine compartment fire increases the risk of injury.
Remedy
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine compartment for fuel and/or engine oil leaks, perform an engine test and make any repairs, including engine replacement, as necessary, free of charge. In addition, Kia dealers will update the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) software, free of charge. The recall began January 27, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC200.

Recall number 20V750000 · Recall details

Questions about the 2013 Kia Forte loss of power

Is sudden loss of power a common problem on the 2013 Kia Forte?

12 of 195 owner complaints about the 2013 Kia Forte (6%) mention sudden loss of power. The model year with the most reports is 2014.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2013 Kia Forte?

There is 1 recall and 8 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2013 Kia Forte

Knocking 48Engine failure 41Check engine light 21Stalling 15Fire or smoke 13No deployment 9Won't start 7

All model years of the Kia Forte

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