2018 Kia Forte: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Feb 19, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · FL

While driving the car with the flow of busy traffic, the engine failed and the car stopped. It eventually turn back on (side of the road) but now drives with hesitation, a strange noise, and with the engine light on. This cycle continued until we arrived at the repair shop. And after much research, it seems that this experience is common for other Kia engines. Why was mine not included? Someone could have been badly injured!

Filed Jul 17, 2024 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

2018 Kia Forte, purchased certified used June 2022, will randomly go into ECO or Sport mode on startup or while the vehicle is in motion. Vehicle is not equipped with Drive Mode control buttons, indicating that ECO/Sport modes are not supposed to be active feature. While I vaguely remember the mode change occurring during previous two years of my ownership, the first noticeable incident in 2024 was of the vehicle going into ECO mode (green indicator light) happen upon startup the morning of 5/26/24. This was noticeable due to the fact that the ECO mode slow down caused me to nearly be rear-ended by a semi while merging onto the freeway. The vehicle remained stuck in ECO mode for several weeks. On the morning of 6/10/24, while driving, vehicle began to sputter/hesitate and ECO light blinked on/off then switched to Sport (yellow indicator light) mode and vehicle surged forward. Vehicle then switched back to ECO mode and it remained in this mode until the morning of 6/13/24, at which point it went into Sport mode upon startup. It went back into Normal mode (no indicator light) upon startup the evening of 6/13/24. Vehicle was inspective by selling dealership 6/15/24 and they could not duplicate the issue nor pull trouble codes. Remained in Normal mode until the evening of 7/15/24, at which point it switched back to ECO mode. Dealership has been notified. It should be known that ECO mode slows down the vehicle response to conserve fuel, Sport mode speeds it up. While these features can be useful when wanted and properly installed with the appropriate controls, the randomness in which these features engage make them a safety hazard, especially considering the control buttons are not installed. Based on the federal safety agency VIN information the trim package of my vehicle, LX (which KIA America has yet to confirm even though I have made multiple inquiries), Drive mode is an optional feature which was not activated by the original/first owner.

Filed Jan 14, 2020 · Acceleration · 9,624 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 kia forte. The contact stated that while merging into traffic, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle hesitated. The vehicle was taken to motor mile kia 2260 roanoke st #1, christiansburg, va 24073 (540) 381-8417, to be diagnosed. The mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 9,624. The VIN was not valid.

Filed Jan 2, 2020 · Acceleration, Electrical · 31,022 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 kia forte. While the vehicle was stopped at an inersection, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal. The vehicle hesitated for approximately sixty seconds and failed to accelerate properly. The vehicle was taken to kia autosport of pensacola (6637 pensacola blvd, pensacola, fl 32505, (888) 512-0124) where it was diagnosed that the instrument cluster needed to be updated. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred multiple times. The contact referenced the federal safety agency id number: 10162043. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided case number: [xxx]. No further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 31,022. *ln *tr *dt *bf *tp*dt consumer stated bbb autoline decided to repurchase vehicle due to being lemon.*jb 'parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).'

Filed Mar 13, 2019 · Acceleration, Transmission · 5,660 miles · FL

This problem happened 2 times this week & on 2 separate days while I was driving & since I only drive this car once or twice a week this has me concerned.. The car started ok and drove for a couple of miles just fine when suddenly the car felt like I was trying to drive while the car was in neutral & even with my foot was on the gas pedal the car wasn't going anywhere.. I pulled off the road to get out of the flow of traffic & tried to put the shift lever in a different gear but it was stuck in drive even when my foot was firmly on the brake pedal, so I tried to 'jiggle' it a little from left to right but the shift lever wouldn't really move so I just sat there.. After a few minutes I made an attempt to safely pull out into traffic & the car hesitated a little but then drove fine.. When this happened the first time this week I ignored it and treated it as a 'one time only' issue, but then it happened a second time so I got concerned and made an appointment with citrus kia for 3/15/19 to have this checked out.. I'm not sure if anyone else is experiencing this but felt I should report it and will update this after the kia dealer has a look at it..