2018 Kia Forte: recalls and complaints
NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for the 2018 Kia Forte. The newest campaign is 22V031000. NHTSA received the report on 25 Jan 2022. The NHTSA record gives the component Air Bags. NHTSA has 136 complaints on file for this model year.
The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.
This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.
Remedy of the newest campaign, 22V031000, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.
Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .
Since the last update
No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks
Recall campaigns
3 campaigns, newest first. 667,762 units in total.
22V031000Received . 410,619 units.
Air Bags
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result in deactivated air bags that will not deploy in a crash.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.
Report filed by Kia Motors America. Manufacturer campaign number SC226. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
21V622000Received . 253,074 units.
Latches/Locks/Linkages / Trunk Lid / Latch
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.
Report filed by Kia Motors America. Manufacturer campaign number SC216. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
21V260000Received . 4,069 units.
Engine and Engine Cooling / Engine / Oil/Lubrication / Pump
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Forte vehicles equipped with a 2.0L Nu MPI engine. Foreign particles may stick inside the oil pump, which may cause an oil pump failure and engine damage.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
A damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the oil pan, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed August 16, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC210.
Report filed by Kia Motors America. Manufacturer campaign number SC210. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.
Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.
Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.
Complaints by component
136 complaints, 190 component mentions.
A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.
- 2018 Kia Forte
- All 2018 vehicles
| Component | 2018 Forte | All 2018 vehicles | Forte, all years | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 300 | 162.1 | 310 | 57 |
| Unknown or Other | 157.9 | 100.9 | 89 | 30 |
| Air Bags | 84.2 | 24.9 | 81.6 | 16 |
| Electrical System | 84.2 | 120.7 | 89.3 | 16 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 52.6 | 32.9 | 30.6 | 10 |
| Power Train | 42.1 | 102.3 | 59.5 | 8 |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 42.1 | 47.4 | 32 | 8 |
| Structure | 36.8 | 30.4 | 22.3 | 7 |
| Exterior Lighting | 31.6 | 15.2 | 49 | 6 |
| Steering | 26.3 | 58.4 | 44.9 | 5 |
The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 21.
- Complaints that report a crash
- 13
- Complaints that report a fire
- 3
- Injuries in the complaints
- 9
- Deaths in the complaints
- 0
- Date of the newest complaint
- 2 Sep 2026
These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.
Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.
Investigations
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.
Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.
Other model years
The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.
A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.
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Official channels
- NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
- NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
- NHTSA page of the 2018 Kia ForteThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 2018 Kia Forte: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/kia/forte/2018/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .
Sources
- Source
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
- Licence
- US government work, public domain
- Recall file through
- 30 Sep 2026
- Complaint file through
- 30 Sep 2026
- First complaint in the file
- 1 Jan 1995
- Manufacturer in the recall file
- Kia Motors America
The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.
Questions
- How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2018 Kia Forte?
- 667,762 units in 3 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
- How many recall campaigns does the Kia Forte have for all model years?
- NHTSA lists 18 recall campaigns for the Kia Forte, model years 2009 to 2024. 3 of them name the 2018 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 2018 Kia Forte name most often?
- Engine: 57 of 190 component mentions, or 300 per 1,000. For all 2018 vehicles the figure is 162.1 per 1,000.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2018 Kia Forte open?
- The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.