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What 134 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Kia Forte Koup

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (134)Crash / fire / injury (15)Engine (57)Airbags (16)Electrical system (16)Speed control (10)Transmission & drivetrain (8)Body & structure (7)Fuel system (7)Lights (6)Steering (5)Brakes (4)

1 of 134 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jan 18, 2021Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemEngineCrash

NOTE: THE INDIVIDUAL SUBMITTING THIS STATEMENT OF FACTS IS PREPARED AND WILLING TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS OR ANY COURT OF LAW THAT ALL OF WHICH THAT IS CONTAINED WITHIN THIS SUBMISSION IS BASED ON FACTS AND TRUTH . ALSO LET IT BE KNOWN A DEGREE IN "APPLIED SCIENCE IN AUTOMOTIVE & DIESEL TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCED DRILL FLUIDS TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING" IS HELD BY THIS INDIVIDUAL AND THE LATER DEGREE DEALS WITH THE CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING OF NEWTONIAN AND NON-NEWTONIAN FLUIDS (I.E.> WATER BASED AND OIL BASED FLUIDS SUCH AS A ENGINE OIL ) IS WELL WITHIN THE INDIVIDUALS UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR CONSTRUCTION AND DECONSTRUCTION OF ELEMENTS . I WAS APPROACHED BY A FRIEND WHO HAD A SITUATION THAT REQUIRED QUICK ACTION IF ANY HOPES OF A REMEDY WERE TO PREVAIL , AND THE END RESULT FOR MYSELF WOULD BE OWNING A 2018 KIA FORTE . THE SAID VEHICLE HAD A TOTAL OF 41,117 MILES CALCULATED AND DISPLAYED ON THE INFORMATION DISPLAY ATTACHED TO THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER . THE VEHICLE WAS WELL MAINTAINED BY THE KIA DEALERSHIP AS PROMISED UP TO THE WARRANTY PERIOD OF 12000 MILES AS PROMISED BY KIA , AT NO EXTRA CHARGE TO THE CUSTOMER. AFTERWARDS THE 1ST ORIGINAL OWNER WOULD CONTINUE THE SCHEDULES SERVICE AS OUTLINED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL . THIS MAINTENANCE SERVICE WOULD ALWAYS BE PERFORMED AT THE OWNERS USUAL TRUSTED REPAIR SHOP AND IF NOT WITHIN THE AREA AT THE TIME SERVICE WAS NEEDED , A REPUTABLE REPAIR SHOP WOULD BE THE CHOICE . WITH A WELL MAINTAINED VEHICLE IN MY POSSESSION I SOON EXPERIENCED AN ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO METAL SHAVINGS CAUSING POOR OIL CIRCULATION AND PAIRED WITH SEVERAL OTHER FACTORS CAUSING SLUDGE BUILD UP WHICH RENDERED MY VEHICLE GARBAGE . THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMED IT WAS DUE TO NEGLIGENCE AND IMPROPER MAINTENANCE . THE FAILURE HAPPENED WHILE MY CHILDREN WERE IN THE VEHICLE DURING A THUNDERSTORM WITH FLASH FLOODING . "SATISFACTION GUARANTEE" IS A LIE !

NHTSA ODI 11388762

Working with the data? Download all 134 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2018 Kia Forte Koup verdict →