The 2015 Kia Forte has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 294,756 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 323 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
ENGINE20V7500002020-12-02294,756 affected
Defect
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.
Consequence
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. …
Complaints by component
ENGINE
154
2crashes16fires1injuries
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
31
2crashes3fires4injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
24
2fires
AIR BAGS
23
10crashes6injuries1deaths
POWER TRAIN
17
1crashes
SERVICE BRAKES
15
2crashes3injuries
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
13
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
10
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
5
2crashes1injuries1deaths
STEERING
4
1crashes1deaths
Total complaints323
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The car is jerking while driving. It's caused the car to overheat. It's hard to start up and usually stalls out. It has stalled out while driving almost causing a accident. The engine light came on. I took it for a diagnostic and it was code p0172 for high pressure fuel pump. Before the incident…”
“The car is jerking while driving. It's caused the car to overheat. It's hard to start up and usually stalls out. It has stalled out while driving almost causing a accident. The engine light came on. I took it for a diagnostic and it was code p0172 for high pressure fuel pump. Before the incident…”
“Plese can you fex may car”
“Plese can you fex may car”
“Plese can you fex may car”
“Vehicle started making a ticking noise under the hood. I immediately had it towed to a mechanics shop in town. They performed an inspection and said the ticking noise is from a rod bearing # 3 has come loose and the whole engine must be replaced. The car has only 108,000 miles. There were no check…”
“I was driving today and upon braking trying to come to a four way stop, the brake pedal went to the floor with no stopping. My vehicle went through the 4 way stop endangering me and my passengers. The piston blew out where all fluid leaked over the place. This is dangerous.”
“Rod knock in engine, catastrophic failure”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP22003 Opened 2022-09-12 · closed 2023-12-12
Loss of Motive Power
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated July 13, 2022, petitioning the Agency to initiate a safety defect investigation into loss of motive power allegations attributed to oil drain pan assembly failures on certain Hyundai Motor America, Inc. and Kia America, Inc. vehicles…
InvestigationEA21003 Opened 2021-12-22 · closed 2024-02-05
Engine Fires
On March 29, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened two Preliminary Evaluations (PE19-003 on Hyundai and PE19-004 on Kia) to broadly investigate incidents of non-crash fires (regardless of origin or operational status of the vehicle) on various model year Hyundai and Kia vehicles. During the PE…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2015 Kia Forte as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.