In or around July 10th, 2022, the vehicle’s engine began making knocking sounds on several occasions while my wife was driving. On July 20th, 2022, I brought it into the dealership (Dick Hannah Kia, Vancouver, WA) where it was diagnosed as a problem with a bearing of a piston rod within the engine. On my drive to the dealership, I experience a loss of power, knocking sounds from the engine, and the oil light come on indicating a loss of oil pressure. Vehicle has 70,xxx miles. Dealership has advised me that the vehicle is unsafe to drive, but is failing to cover this under powertrain warranty. Seeing that this an engine similar to those noted in a the federal safety agency as related to Flaherty et al. v. Hyundai Motor Company et al., I wanted to file a safety report so that others are aware of the potential safety issue.
2017 Kia Forte engine complaints
Page 5 of 6: complaints 101 to 130 of 158, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Rod bearing has failed, as I was driving my car jolted and die as I was on the highway and almost got hit in the rear due to my car not being able to move. Unknown,unknown.i did not have any warning lights prior or after this happen
Coil pack failed - car died with no warning driving down interstate. My mechanic found a code for a cylinder and replaced the coil pack. The car started acting the same as it did in the days prior to the engine dying while driving. I took it back to the mechanic and it showed no code. Started researching and saw a recall on coil packs on a third party website. Took it to dealership and they verified this but said they could not replace because one of the coil packs was after market and would not be reimbursed by manufacturer for any of them if all four were not returned. The manufacturer tells me there is no recall except for the trunk latch and that there is a service action they are not required to cover because it isn’t a safety issue. Seeing as how I nearly got ran over by an 18 wheeler, I’d say that it is a safety issue and my mechanic assures me it is not normal to have to replace coil packs this early. Since the problems are intermittent and no code shows up until the could pack fails, it is unsafe to drive. I’ve also noticed many people having the same problem on several complaint web sites. Someone is going to get hurt or killed.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 58 MPH, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. While the contact was pulling over to the side of the roadway to see where the sound was coming from, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the engine failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was unable to speak with a representative at the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was 98,200.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, smoke was coming in through the A/C vents. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact drove to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that a lack of engine oil caused the vehicle to overheat as there was no engine lubricant. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to two other independent mechanics where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced due to excessive oil consumption however, the contact had been completing oil changes every 3,000 miles. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for the engine replacement however, the dealer informed the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair due to the vehicle mileage. The vehicle was then taken to a second dealer Greenway Kia West Palm Beach (735 S Military Trail, West Palm Beach, FL 33415) who completed an engine update and informed the contact that he did not need an engine replacement; however, the failure recurred increasingly. The vehicle was taken back to the second dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 144,200.
Engine can stall at lower speeds (10-30 mph) after being on the highway for an extended amount of time. Can also happen after being on the highway, parking and waiting for some time (30 min), and start driving again at lower speeds. Issue becomes more prominent when going uphill slowly (little to no pressure on gas pedal). A rumble can sometimes be felt through the gas pedal too, but not always. Usually the engine starts making some noise ('gurgling') to indicate that the engine is in this state and it usually stall after coasting for some time or pressing very little on the gas (noise may become louder when doing this). I've seen the engine stall around 1000 rpm when doing this. Sometimes the oil light will also start appearing and it seems that the engine is not being responsive when pressing on the gas pedal. Car can stall in these cases or may recover and eventually stall. I've had this issue since the beginning of the year, but an engine check light has not come on for it since then (other than one for a spark plug and coil, but this was addressed in February 2022). Safety concern is mostly when driving in cities or at lower speeds and making unprotected left/right turns where the car may possible stall. Mechanic was able to reproduce this in February but suggested that I take the car to the dealer after difficulty finding the cause . Dealer was unable to solve it in April and suggested waiting for a check engine light.
On June 5, 2022 at approx. 45 miles per hour, my 2017 Kia Forte just without warning shut off. Luckily there were no cars on the usually busy road so I immediately pulled over to the side of the road and put my emergency flashers on. Was able to start the car and drove another 3 miles home. In my driveway, I opened the hood and smelled a burning smell and a slight coolant smell ( although the operating temp gauge read normal) , and I heard a knocking sound at the bottom of the engine. I turned the engine off, checked the oil level (normal) and coolant level (normal). I scanned the OBD and NO CODES came up. Called Kia dealership (the car is still under warranty with 76000 miles but they cannot look at the car until July 1.
My car is stalling. Stalled on the highway. Has knocking sound. And if i let up off the gas at all it stalls. Will stall in neutral as well. Was involved in an accident last year and airbags did not deploy even though they should have. My car started stalling at 86,000 miles with regular oil changes. I’ve only had the vehicle about a year and a half. My lights also are shorted out due to the trunk not closing all the way and rain water getting in. I’m still making payments. I do not know what to do. I’m a sole caregiver to my terminally Ill mother. I need this car. I do not make very much money.
I have only had the car about a year. Bought it used and within 7-10 months I’ve had to get spark plugs replaced, and ignition coil replaced as well. I’m having this issue once again after getting the things about fixed in January of 2022. It is now may of 2022 and I’m still having the same issue. I’ve read online that this is a recurring theme with this model.
I was driving and the oil light came up on the dash blinking at first and then solid then the acceleration went down and then the battery light came on and my car didn’t accelerate anymore. It also smelled like burning gas or oil and then I turned it off and had it towed. My car won’t even start anymore after turning it off.
My car is constantly stalling and I have nearly gotten into several accidents because it would stall at red lights, or while driving, turning it stalls. In order to keep it from stalling have to keep putting it into neutral. I can't get a proper scan on it because the engine light isn't on. This has been happening for about 2 months and it is getting worse. I have under 50,000 miles on it.
I got this car in January, it's only October and my speed doesn't accelerate. When I step on the gas pedal there is a huge kick and my RPM goes from under one to 4 or 5 to get to 20mph. I noticed that I could change the drive to D1 and D2 but when driving and going over 30mph my car is in D6. I have yet to find a solution. No warning lights have come on yet but I don't want it to get to that point before having the car for a year.
Coils are repeatedly breaking despite being replaced. Seems to be a common issue with this make/model but hasnt been recalled.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH, when the contact heard a loud popping noise coming from the vehicle, the contact noticed that when depressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact saw the check engine light warning light illuminated on the vehicle. The contact had to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and attempted to restart the vehicle which it did and contact smelled something burning from the interior of the vehicle and noticed smoke coming from the front hood of the vehicle. The contact was able to continue to drive to their work. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after work and continue drive to their destination, however, the failure persisted, The contact check the vehicle later that day and noticed the there was no oil in the engine and a major oil leak underneath vehicle undercarriage. The contact had the vehicle towed to the local dealer to have inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the failure engine sensor was damaged and the fuel pump was damage on the vehicle as well failure where the trunk latch will not open on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage approximately 75,000.
The engine failed during evening rush hour traffic, the car stalled in traffic and would not cut back on. Vehicle had to be pushed out of the road and towed home. Previously the engine light did appear on in the car but a recent oil change was done on the car which caused the light to go away. Vehicle was driven from the shop after oil change was done and car stalled once on the way home. I did a google search for recalls and found out there was a recall on the car (recall no. 21v260000)car was taken to kia dealership a day or 2 later and a diagnostics was done on the vehicle by the kia dealership. The kia dealership informed me that there was metal shavings in the engine of the car. They refused to fix the car despite me showing them the recall number the kia dealership said they can fix it for $7600 or I can get another car and put down between $5000-6000. They also said being that my car wasn't apart of the recall there was nothing they can do even though my car was showing signs that was stated in the recall. The car is currently parked in my backyard and currently not driveable.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the check engine and oil warning lights illuminated and then the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over and park the vehicle in a parking lot where the vehicle remained. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not associated with any recalls. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
While driving normal 35 mph speed engine started knocking loudly, pulled into parking lot shut it off. Called dad, an ASE Master Mechanic, told him what happened. He told me to start it so he could hear it, bang, bang BOOM! stench, smoke car died. He told me it sounded like the rod bearing . Got towed home. Towed to Kia dealer near home, they diagnosed blown rod bearing engine toast. This is probably the SAME engine the lawsuits were about with the SAME PROBLEM. I am thrilled that no-one was hurt, there had been fires, explosions etc. If it happened on the freeway it could have been BAD!
My car has gone in twice to the dealer for “engine missfire” both times coils were replaced under warranty, now the car just hit 60212 milles and engine missfire code again, this time not covered under warranty. Car has a bad shake at start up and moderate speeds. Third time in the past year.
The contact owns a 2017 KIA Forte. The contact stated while driving 55 mph, the vehicle started losing motive power with an abnormal clicking sound coming from the engine. The vehicle eventually stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and coast to the side of the highway as the engine ceased. Upon inspection of the vehicle, the contact saw oil leaking in the engine compartment. The contact left the vehicle on the highway and walked home. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. Two weeks later, the vehicle was initially towed to her grandfather's home where he discovered debris in the oil pump which he linked to the vehicle failure. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where they informed her that her vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V260000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.
My vehicle is at 60,116 miles. While driving down the interstate, it started making a slight rattling noise. Then not even 5 minutes later it made this awful sound, smoke was going everywhere and it was pouring oil out. The traction control light, engine light, and oil light all came on. It had thrown a rod through the engine. Prior to this, there were no issues at all. No engine light. No rattling. Nothing. It just happened all at once within 5 minutes.
The contact owns a 2017 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at 70 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the engine needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to the federal safety agency campaign number: 21V260000 (Engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and informed the contact that the issue falls on the driver due to improper maintenance. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
The car keeps giving a misfire code. Kia says the only recall is for the coil boots. They replaced the coil boots and the car is still giving the misfire code. I see lots of people having to replace the coils to fix the problem. I asked kia about this and they say there is no problem with my coils. At this point my car isnt usable and kia says theres nothing they can do. The car loses power and stalls while driving along. It also does the same thing while at an idle.
2017 kia forte check engine light turned on and was heading to mechanic. While driving the car completely died while driving and all warning lights came on. Oil pan flashed on so oil change was done on spot. The car drove fine then days later same issue occurred. Got car towed to a mechanic for the mechanic to tell me there were foreign particles stuck in both the oil pump and oil pan that LED to engine damage now needing a new engine. Take my car to kia dealership for the recall that I seen online for possible engine failure due to faulty oil pump and kia is not honoring the recall since it has a date posted for later this year in june.
I already filed a complaint on this previously, however in 2020 my engine failed stop working. And I was unable to drive it or fix it. I lost my job, I had to get a rental car. The car lost speed while driving and would not go anymore..
I was driving down 84th st and came to the light on 84th and pacific ave and the engine wanted to die out and put my foot on the gas pedal to keep it running and then turned right onto pacific ave and went to 80th and pacific ave and the car died out towed it to the house and checked the oil and everything and there was no oil the oil indicator light did not turn on at any point of time so I added oil and started the engine back up and now it has a engine knock like the rod bearing went out I am going to contact the kia dealer in the morning and see what's the problem and everything and everything happened on city streets
Engine coils keep going bad. First engine coil went bad at 60,000 miles and now my second engine coil has gone up at 67,000 miles.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 kia forte. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start-up. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to kia autosport of pensacola (6637 pensacola blvd, pensacola, fl 32505). The contact stated that the dealer claimed that the vehicle started with no problem. The contact also mentioned that the ignition coil and spark plug may have caused the vehicle not to start or misfire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
In motion on highway going 70. 2017 kia started making ticking noise no oil light on or any warnings after few miles rod went through side of block then into starter damaging it leaving car disabled. Removed engine from car to replace opened the engine up and found to be a result of a recall issue car has 104000 on it. Found sump filter clogged with bearing material restrictting oil flow. The dealer or kia wont do anything refusing to fix it. I now have a new engine ordered and getting it wensday, the car is not even paid off and as a result I can not make it to work to make a living till I get the engine installed. This has been going on for 4 months.
I was stopped at a stop light with my foot on the brake. My vehicle lunged forward with my foot still on the brake so I pulled the emergency brake up and my vehicle stopped, thankfully I did nothing hit anyone or anything. When the light turned green I drove forward and my engine light turned on; after no more than 30 seconds, the light turned off. All has been fine since, however I looked up this problem and apparently kia has a serious problem with cars lunging forward and causing major accidents. I honestly am terrified for this to happen to me.
2.0 has 73k miles on it. Engine noisy when cold start, like a rattle and knock for about 2 seconds. Oil is good and no codes. Even when warmed up, the engine almost sounds like the multi port engines made in the 80's and 90s when accelerating. Kind of a 'wa wa wa wa wa' sound. To me, it sounds like it is ready to 'check out'. Someone told me it could be rod bearings.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2017 Kia Forte?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history