The contact owns a 2024 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while a friend was driving 65 MPH, the vehicle was pulling to the right. Suddenly, the vehicle bounced up and down, pulled over and crashed into a railing, and the driver was forced to stop the vehicle using the parking brake. The driver was unable to maintain steering control due to the severe pulling to the right. After exiting the vehicle, the driver became aware that the frame and engine were sitting on the ground on the right side. Due to the crash, the driver sustained a black eye, a bruise behind the jaw, a bruised thigh, and a bruised left foot; however, no medical attention was sought. The vehicle was towed to a Jeep Chrysler Dodge dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the structural and steering failure. The contact referenced the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 24V244000 (Suspension); as a possible cause for the failure; however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 65,000.
Kia Forte pulling problems
13 of the 2,565 owner complaints about the Kia Forte describe pulls to one side, most of them for the 2015 model year.
- owner complaints
- 13
- worst model year
- 2015
- typical mileage
- 63,000
By model year
- 20241
- 20233
- 20212
- 20193
- 20153
- 20121
Often reported together
What owners say
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Lane Keep Assist system activated briefly, taking control of the vehicle and the vehicle started pulling to the right lane. As a result of the failure, the contact completely lost control of the vehicle and spun out into oncoming traffic narrowly avoiding a crash. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The issue I’m having was confirmed by the dealership so when I drive on the highway, there’s a specific patch of highway that zigzags the car will follow that zigzag after getting off of the highway onto regular road. The car computer system will start a down shift erratically and feel like the car is pulling backwards. Also there is a lack of acceleration and it feels like the transmission is slipping, but I have confirmed with the dealership that the transmission was not slipping that the computer was shifting erratically. They would reset the computer and the car would would begin driving in a more normal state shifting correctly. I get on the highway again. The car once again will start shifting erratic. When you let go of the gas, the car downshift so many times that the car almost comes to a complete stop without hitting the brakes. The dealership has the car once again trying to figure out what’s going on with the car and why when I go on the highway the computer starts shifting erratically on that specific patch of highway. The car will pull left and right the entire time once you get off the highway the erratic shifting happens the dealership let me borrow a car which is a 2025 Kia Sorrento went on the highway with the car and had the same exact issue. The car they let me borrow is also downshifting erratically and feels like the transmission is slipping. The dealership did confirm that the car was not driving as intended, and they were confused as to why it was happening. They’ve also confirmed that the test that they’ve done on the car itself. had not passed prior to them resetting the computer.
Car has steering issues. When driving on flat straight roads steering wheel will slightly tighten and start to pull to the right. This happens about 70% of the time. Resistance on the steering wheel is needed in order for the car not to drive off the road or into another vehicle. It is hard keep the car in the lanes at times. Car was kept in the shop for 4+ months and verified by the dealership that there was an alignment issue. It has had 5+ alignments. Dealerships have not fixed the issue, but are now saying the car is driving as designed. Alignment has been done by a different dealership two more times after they said, the car was driving as designed. There are recalls on this car for steering issues, but I was told my vin is not associated.
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle would pull to the right direction and drift to the left direction. Also, while driving at highway speeds the vehicle would shake and rattle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who recommended replacing the front tires. The front tires were replaced but the failures continued to occur. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
New 2023 Kia Forte LXS (barely 1020 miles) steering wheel feels stiffer and steering the car becomes challenging when driving at or above 45 mph with lane-assist feature set to 'Warning only'. Vehicle starts to steer away (wander) automatically. This issue is subtle when driving at lower speed such as 20 -30 mph. Passengers in the back seat felt unsafe including the driver at the time of this occurrence. I emailed the dealer twice but didn't hear back for 2-3 weeks. Then I called dealer to vent out the frustration over the issue then they asked me to visit the Service center for inspection of the problem. Right from the beginning, service dept. was in denial of such an issue after test driving the car. In the first visit, they checked the wheel alignment which was OKAY. In the second visit, they sent me back saying no appointments were available. In third appointment the technician turned blind-spot feature to 'warning only' and sent me back. So far these visits or appointments were atleast a week or more apart. I drove the vehicle again with the damn features off such as Blind-Spot, Lane-assist still the issue persists with steering wheel being felt stiffer at higher speed and softer or loose at lower speed. I have another car, the steering wheel of which remains softer when driving at 50 mph or more however the new 2023 Kia Forte does not.
Car has a steering/pull issue. Car will pull to the right when driving on a flat straight road. Steering wheel will tighten up and then the pull starts to occur. Resistance must be applied in order to keep the car on the road. The lane keep safety feature has to be turned completely off or car will jerk back due to the pull issue. The pull issue becomes more noticeable after taking right turns. Car was taken to dealership with around 500miles on the car due to this issue. Dealership has attempted to fix this issue 5 times and each time said it was a alignment issue and was fixed. On the 6th time they said it’s normal and that’s how this car drives. Car was kept at the dealership for over 2 months straight with confirmation that it has a pull. Every time the car has been in the shop they have acknowledged the pull. During this time the emergency brake has activated twice while driving around 40mph for no reason.
I have noticed recently that the car keeps all of a sudden pulling to the right and I have not had the lane assistance on since a week after I bought the car. It is at 4000 miles right now and this problem began at approximately 3000 miles. Not sure if anyone else has noticed this but if it is just as if the lane assistance was turned on. I have also noticed that when I have my work bag which is approximately 40 pounds in my lunchbox in the front seat without the seatbelt connected the seatbelt warning does not come on like it did in my last car with the same items on the seat. Not sure if there is a different weight limit now but I figured I would add this in in case there isn’t.
We have contacted the kia dealer where we bought the car multiple times about brake issues. The car was still under warranty. Well today it happened. When my husband hit the brakes the car pulled to one side, almost flipped and hit a guard rail.
I had suddenly engine made sound shutter , I almost got hit by 18 wheel truck, I manager to pull finelly and avoid accident and manage to pull right, firar it was close to side rails . The car had sp much engine noise , and it cuts of. 1.8 engine was wonderfull . I wanna this engine to repkaced by dealer has only 78 thousands miles
Related recalls
Steering: linkages: knuckle: spindle: arm
- What is wrong
- Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Forte vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the front left steering knuckle may crack, which can result in a loss of steering control.
- Risk
- A loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the front left steering knuckle, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 12, 2023. Owner may contact Kia customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC259.
Recall number 22V906000 · Recall details
Steering: column
- What is wrong
- Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Rio and Forte vehicles. A bolt in the steering column may not be secured properly, which can cause the steering column to detach from the steering rack and result in a loss of steering control.
- Risk
- Loss of steering control can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will tighten the lower steering column u-joint retention bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 27, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4542. Kia's number for this recall SC235.
Recall number 22V304000 · Recall details
Questions about the Kia Forte pulling
Which Kia Forte years have pulls to one side problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2015 (3 complaints), 2019 (3 complaints) and 2023 (3 complaints).
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