"How reliable is the 2018 Kia Forte?"

"Based on 187 NHTSA complaints, the 2018 Kia Forte has a median complaint mileage of 31022 miles. The most common issue is Engine."

"What are common problems with the 2018 Kia Forte?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2018 Kia Forte is Engine, accounting for a significant portion of the 187 total complaints filed."

2018 Kia Forte: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 187 complaints

187

Total Complaints

31,022mi

Median Mileage

Engine

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

7,398 25th Percentile

31,022 Median Mileage

68,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine

Unknown Or Other

Air Bags

Electrical System

Vehicle Speed Control

Power Train

Fuel/Propulsion System

Body

Steering

Exterior Lighting

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I PICKED UP THIS 2018 KIA FORTE VEHICLE ON 4/4/2018 WHICH HAD APPROXIMATELY 18 MILES ON THE ODOMETER SO I'M NOT SURE IF THIS ISSUE IS BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS STILL NEW OR BECAUSE I JUST TRADED IN A 2016 FORD FIESTA & JUST NOT USED TO THIS VEHICLE.. WHAT I'VE NOTICED IS THAT THE GAS PEDAL STICKS A LIT..."

"WELL AT PRESENT MY CAR ONLY HAS ABOUT 400 MILES ON IT I ONLY PICKED IT UP ON 4/4/2018 & IT'S STARTING TO SOUND LIKE THE 2016 FORD FIESTA I TRADED IN.. WHEN STOPPED AT A LIGHT THE IDLE GETS ROUGH AND IF THIS WAS THE 1960'S I WOULD SAY IT HAD A BAD SPARK PLUG OR CARBURETOR ISSUES; HOWEVER, THIS IS 201..."

"THIS IS A FOLLOW-UP TO MY ORIGINAL COMPLAINT # 11088519 ON 4/10/18.. WHEN I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER ON 4/25/18, I WAS TOLD IT WAS A BAD SPARK PLUG HUH ON A NEW CAR; WHAT WOULD BE NEXT.. IN ANY EVENT THE DEALER HAD TO ORDER THE SPARK PLUG ANOTHER HUH ON THAT TOO.. SPARK PLUG IS IN & I HAVE..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Engine 57 complaints

25th: 41,000 mi Median: 67,000 mi 75th: 118,000 mi

Unknown Or Other 30 complaints

25th: 6,350 mi Median: 17,787 mi 75th: 31,448 mi

Air Bags 16 complaints

25th: 10,247 mi Median: 40,500 mi 75th: 97,748 mi

Electrical System 14 complaints

25th: 31,022 mi Median: 41,000 mi 75th: 108,998 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 9 complaints

25th: 6,651 mi Median: 15,812 mi 75th: 23,245 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 26 CA: 23 OH: 16 TX: 15 NC: 12 MD: 11 PA: 9 VA: 8 GA: 7 IL: 7

Who Files Complaints?

0.5%

Original Owners

99.5%

Second+ Owners

Kia Forte — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2010	310	70,000	Engine	35
2011	213	81,300	Engine	44
2012	398	80,000	Engine	34
2013	271	75,682	Engine	26
2014	634	77,000	Engine	60
2015	320	75,000	Engine	21
2016	192	37,000	Engine	20
2017	422	36,650	Engine	38
2019	201	10,201	Power Train	19
2020	88	5,000	Unknown Or Other	12
2021	92	21,234	Engine	13
2022	35	12,800	Unknown Or Other	5
2023	87	27,500	Steering	13
2024	37	-	Unknown Or Other	11

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28