YearsTell

all vehicles · every Forte year · method

Kia Forte 2014

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.84 per 1,000

2.5 times this nameplate’s own median · from 57 complaints filed in the first three years, of 445 ever. 95% lower bound 0.62.

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters.

Model yearPer 1,000Complaints
20100.3423
20110.2518
20120.3023
20130.3021
20140.8457
20150.3022
20160.3532
20170.6268
20180.3134
20190.7271
20200.2119
20210.3535
20220.1214
20230.4148

What owners describe

Phrases over-represented in these complaints compared with the same component on every other vehicle. Counts are complaints containing the phrase.

Engine 217 complaints

knocking3918%
campaign engine2311%
knock209%
ticking188%
converter168%
catalytic converter157%

Steering 64 complaints

coupler2641%
steering coupler1828%

Air Bags 63 complaints

airbag light1422%
control1118%
never1016%

When it breaks

18% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 78,500 miles, from 265 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

1 investigation covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Engine Fires

What owners and forums say

Not built yet. This panel is meant to carry community sentiment beside the filed-complaint data, so the two can be compared. Showing something weaker here would defeat its purpose.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page:

10549909 · 10563944 · 10565838 · 10575749 · 10575916 · 10576713

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is automated checks only, not verified against an external source.