2015 KIA FORTE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-21 255 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (130 complaints · 51.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 16
  • Fires 20
  • Injuries 11
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2014 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 130 of 255 owner complaints (51.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 130 complaints, 51.0% of reports ENGINE 130 · 51.0% · 2 crash reports 15 fire reports AIR BAGS: 16 complaints, 6.3% of reports AIR BAGS 16 · 6.3% · 8 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 15 complaints, 5.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 5.9% · 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 13 complaints, 5.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 13 · 5.1% · 1 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 12 complaints, 4.7% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 12 · 4.7% SERVICE BRAKES: 11 complaints, 4.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 11 · 4.3% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 10 complaints, 3.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 10 · 3.9% STEERING: 4 complaints, 1.6% of reports STEERING 4 · 1.6% · 1 crash reports STRUCTURE: 4 complaints, 1.6% of reports STRUCTURE 4 · 1.6% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 42 complaints, 16.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 42 · 16.5% · 2 crash reports 3 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 130 51.0% 2 crashes · 15 fires
AIR BAGS 16 6.3% 8 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 5.9% 0 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 13 5.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 12 4.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 11 4.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 10 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 4 1.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 4 1.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 42 16.5% 2 crashes · 3 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, none on file, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2014. 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2019-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2019-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2020-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2020-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2021-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2021-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2021-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2021-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2022-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2022-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2022-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2022-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2023-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2023-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2024-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2024-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2025-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2025-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2025-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2025-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2026-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2026-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Oct 2014 Jul 2026 Investigation EA21003 ● Investigation EA21003 Investigation DP22003 ● Investigation DP22003
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 2
2016-Q1 Owner reports 4
2016-Q2 Owner reports 3
2016-Q4 Owner reports 2
2017-Q2 Owner reports 3
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 4
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 5
2019-Q1 Owner reports 4
2019-Q2 Owner reports 9
2019-Q3 Owner reports 8
2019-Q4 Owner reports 3
2020-Q1 Owner reports 8
2020-Q2 Owner reports 5
2020-Q3 Owner reports 14
2020-Q4 Owner reports 16
2021-Q1 Owner reports 22
2021-Q2 Owner reports 10
2021-Q3 Owner reports 10
2021-Q4 Owner reports 5
2022-Q1 Owner reports 9
2022-Q2 Owner reports 5
2022-Q3 Owner reports 11
2022-Q4 Owner reports 9
2023-Q1 Owner reports 8
2023-Q2 Owner reports 4
2023-Q3 Owner reports 3
2023-Q4 Owner reports 6
2024-Q1 Owner reports 3
2024-Q2 Owner reports 7
2024-Q3 Owner reports 3
2024-Q4 Owner reports 6
2025-Q1 Owner reports 5
2025-Q2 Owner reports 6
2025-Q3 Owner reports 7
2025-Q4 Owner reports 5
2026-Q1 Owner reports 3
2026-Q2 Owner reports 2
2026-Q3 Owner reports 2
Defect investigation 1 EA21003
Defect investigation 1 DP22003

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 255 complaints · page 1 of 11

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources